Therapist Nancy Benington has almost two decades of bodywork experience, but massage therapy wasn’t always her focus. Prior to moving to Boulder, Benington worked as a physical therapist in Washington D.C. specializing in outpatient orthopedic rehabilitation.
      Today Benington practices solely as a massage therapist at MassageSpecialists’ Boulder office while maintaining her physical therapy licensure. Benington says her physical therapy background gives her specific knowledge about the body’s mechanics. Benington prefers practicing massage therapy because she can use her technical knowledge, but also encourage clients to follow their intuition about how to heal their bodies.
      “In terms of who knows your body better than anyone, it’s not me,” says Benington. “I try to get people trusting their intuition about what they think they need. That’s where I diverge from the physical therapy path. I enjoy the problem solving, but not in the capacity of ‘I’m fixing you.’ I want to get people in touch with what [they] need. It’s more empowering.”
      Benington enjoys performing detailed and focused therapeutic work, whether it’s on the musculoskeletal system, myofascial network or craniosacral system. When working with clients who have injuries, Benington isn’t afraid to dig into problem areas. Years of working with injured tissue as a physical therapist has prepared her well for massage therapy.
      “That’s my landscape,” she says. “I like being the person that gives the context of what’s going on and how long it takes for a soft-tissue injury to heal.” Benington’s background in physical therapy also gives her familiarity with the healing cycle. She starts out by focusing on clients’ specific issues, and then moves clients toward measures that are more proactive to prevent injury reoccurrence.
      When Benington isn’t working at MassageSpecialists, she’s raising her four-year-old daughter, Anna. Benington also enjoys running, hiking and just recently took up swing dancing.
      To schedule an appointment with Nancy click here!

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