Hope Wellness Center of the Great Lakes has been supporting healthy lifestyles since 2013. The center opened in Ludington and offers massage therapy, supplements and education on what you can do to boost your body’s self-healing process.
Carol Hoekstra is our physician and a naturopathic doctor, which includes massage therapy, herbal medicine and nutrition.
She explained what they do specifically at the Wellness Center, saying they educate and help clients learn what their bodies need in order to heal.
There are several types of therapy clients can receive during their visit.
Among these is myofascial massage therapy, which focuses on the part of the body beneath the skin called the fascia.
“When you do a massage, you’re primarily working with the muscles, but when you do myofascial therapy, you’re working with the fascia,” says Hoekstra.
She explained that fascia is present throughout the body and is found under the skin around every organ in the body.
This is a common treatment at the facility, most commonly performed after surgery.
In these medical procedures, surgeons must cut through skin, fascia, and muscle to reach the part of the body that needs treatment.
However, patients often remain in pain even after the mouth is surgically reclosed.
That’s where massage can help relieve pain, Hoekstra says, as tissues often need to realign after surgery.
“And with so many people going through surgery, I think massage is what gives them the most hope,” she said.
Their range of massages involves stretching clients, applying pressure to specific areas and sometimes using a device called a percussion massager to reach deeper tissues.
Using magnets can also help with massage, increasing blood flow and reducing inflammation.
Before entering the massage room or area, you will first be escorted to the supplement room where you can receive your herbal supplements.
“It’s about using the right supplements and treatments in the right amounts, in the right sequence, for the right length of time,” Hoekstra says.
Meanwhile, clients also receive an educational understanding of all this, including nutritional education on what they need to eat depending on their blood type.
“Our bodies have a DNA blueprint from birth, and we’re trying to help the body get back to that blueprint,” she said.
Hoekstra shared how he himself gained education in all of these fields and ultimately became an ND.
Here’s the story: About 30 years ago, she suffered from heavy metal poisoning and began to suffer from occasional episodes of paralysis.
Three specialists had told her she had only a short time left to live, but Dr. Hoekstra disagreed.
“I crossed my arms and said, ‘I have no intention of dying,'” she said.
During this time, someone recommended that she see a naturopath, who she quickly found. He told her it would take three to five years to regain her health.
“And that’s the way the body works. If you have a chronic illness, or any illness, it takes three to five years to recover,” Hoekstra said.
It took 18 months for the paralysis to resolve, she said, and during that time, Hoekstra asked ND whether there was a medication that could make the symptoms go away.
“But she said, ‘God didn’t make the body like that,'” Hoekstra said.
Hoekstra received her ND from Trinity School of Natural Health and is also a certified nutritional counselor, massage therapist, and master herbalist.
The facility is located at 701 North Washington Ave. in Ludington.
