Part of the daily grind for most might include doing chores and going to work. These often entails doing repetitive movement and handling a fair amount of stress that all have a continuous and cumulative effect on our bodies.

Often, even the simple fact of acknowledging this is pushed aside in the flow of things and self-care is usually put on the back burner or pushed at the end of the daily list of things to do.

Massage therapist Cody Labombard is here to help with all of that. He is currently establishing . . .

his massage therapy business in Bryson and is looking forward to building a local clientele.

Originally from Douglas, Ontario, Labombard is not new to the Pontiac, he has family in the area and has lived in Portage-du-Fort for a while.

As a recent graduate from the Académie de Massage et d’orthothérapie in Gatineau, Labombard was a mobile Massage Practitioner in Ontario, trained in Swedish therapeutic massage and deep tissue release. He hopes to take an orthotherapy course in the near future, which would enable him to provide physiotherapeutic massages as well.

“I have also taught yoga classes. I really enjoyed teaching people. I taught golden yoga, for a group of 65 plus. I’ve also taught all kinds of different people, groups and categories of kids, including recovering addicts,” Labombard stated.

“I really enjoyed seeing their mental growth as well as their regained physical ability because it all relates,” he added.

Situated at 356 Cobb Street just behind the Immaculate Conception church, his office is located in the stone house that used to be the nuns’ residence. The large, open space provides a serene atmosphere that is very relaxing, welcoming and provides a level of comfort as soon as one walks in.

“It’s a nice small town community and I thought it would be a good place to start doing massages, there’s nothing like this offered in this town. I saw this as an ideal opportunity and location to offer a good service,” Labombard said.

When working with people who have medical conditions, Labombard’s focus is primarily in helping to relieve pain symptoms, muscle issues, postural problems.

“Working with patients with injuries or osteoarthritis is the type of direction that is kind of more of my focus and taps into my love for what I do,” Labombard told The Equity.

Labombard’s background in yoga, and even the work he did as a butcher, have been beneficial in honing his anatomy skills and have enabled him to better understand the human musculoskeletal system. Exercise also plays a large role in treating his clients.

Helping to correct postural position by doing stretches and exercises are key in helping to improve mobility. “It all begins with being self-aware and taking the time to do things in a more mindful manner,” said Labombard.

“I usually prefer to recommend a more natural strengthening and stretching method. Of course, it always depends on the conditions and the limitations someone might have,” he emphasized.

“If you can strengthen the body it really can help with mobility, though depending on what the issue is, some cases of course do require surgery,” he added.

Finding a balance is fundamental in treatment, according to Labombard, who focuses on both the mobility and flexibility of his clients.

“What’s great about massage therapy is that you can loosen the muscles up to a point where you can then work with the range of motion. Stretching also comes in to play a role as well as adding a strengthening component.” Labombard claimed, “So it’s not just one thing that fixes all, which is why I always try to give my clients these options to help themselves.”

Postural limitations generally result from injuries and old injuries, it doesn’t take long to weaken from them. But they can also occur from repetitive action and bad postural habits that can arise from situations like being hunched over computers and telephones or playing video games for extended periods of time.

“Generally it’s always the same issues that I encounter. I see lower back pain and hip pain. Also pain in between the shoulder blades, their necks hurt, they get tingling in their hands, and a lot of it is caused by shoulder positioning,” he noted.

Physical disabilities and limitations play a big role on people’s psyches, their emotions. And if we take a step back to think about it, it can work in the opposite way as well; people who are depressed tend to hang their head, people who are angry clench their jaws tight. Stress is another big contributor to headaches, tension headaches. These can all in turn cause disabling moments and limitations in our everyday lives.

“It’s amazing when I can alleviate some of these with just some hand manipulations. People feel like a new person, because it’s not an enjoyable thing to be living with constant pain. It’s really hard on you,” Labombard remarked.

Being conscious of their body movement, their posture and their breathing is something that Labombard tries to impart upon his clients, so that they can reset and realign themselves accordingly throughout the course of their day-to-day activities.

It all starts with thinking about it once in a while and as people begin to notice a difference, they find themselves thinking about it more often and then it will become second-nature.

“People really tend to neglect themselves, from a really young age we’re taught not to think about ourselves that much. We’re taught to exercise but nobody properly teaches us the way to do it and if we don’t do it properly, over time you’re setting yourself up for pain,” Labombard claimed.

It’s easy to get into bad habits, especially in today’s workplace. In factory work, construction and even desk jobs, people can’t get away from certain motions or repetitive actions. That’s why it’s important to counter one’s posture; to exercise in order to strengthen, restore and maintain a balance, as well as engage the musculoskeletal systems in a safe and more natural way.

Labombard is enthusiastic about helping people in the area and is looking forward to building his client base. He hopes to offer yoga classes one day and would also like to collaborate with a nutritionist in the future, in order to provide a more complete path to wellness for his clients.

Anyone interested in his services can visit his Bryson Massage Therapy facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/Bryson-Massage-Therapy-105438711998143 or call 819-593-3664 to make an appointment.

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