38 | JANUARY 30 • 2020
times a week. She said Sjogren
has helped her decrease her
“wobbliness” and gain mobili-
ty in her right leg and arm.
“To me, it’
s miraculous,”
Rosenberg said, again using
the “M” word.
AN ADDITIONAL, HELPFUL STEP
Rosenberg, always an active
person whether it’
s her creative
work, her community service
or being physically fit, has prac-
ticed Pilates. After her stroke,
she continued working with
her Pilates instructor Leanne
Bourassa, who also guides
clients through the MELT
Method. Rosenberg began
using the MELT Method sev-
eral weeks after her stroke and
works with Bourassa several
times a week.
This method was created
by Sue Hitzmann, M.S., CST,
NMT, who became inter-
ested in neuromuscular and
manual therapies as a way to
resolve her own debilitating
pain. Bourassa works with
Rosenberg weekly on MELT
movements and Pilates.
MELT focuses on working
with a person’
s connective tis-
sue and nervous systems. Like
Feldenkrais, MELT allows
the client to do the work
themselves, with no hands-
on instruction required. The
practice incorporates the use
of soft foam rollers and balls
to stimulate fluid in a person’
s
cells.
“Hydrated tissue is health-
ier tissue,” Bourassa said. “It
helps the body’
s own healing
system.”
Many people who come to
see her are experiencing back
pain, says Bourassa, who was
first trained in MELT in 2012.
People with sciatica also can
benefit from the practice, she
said, along with anyone who
is experiencing pain in gen-
eral.
“(MELT) calms the nervous
system and it creates fluid
movement in the body,” said
Bourassa, who added that the
method also reduces inflam-
mation by hydrating tissues
that have become depleted.
Bourassa describes
Rosenberg’
s recovery as
“remarkable” and said it’
s her
motivation to recover that is a
critical part of her successful
healing process.
A PHYSICAL THERAPIST’
S VIEW
Nora Cascardo, an orthope-
dic manual physical therapist
and co-owner of Premier
Therapy Centers in West
Bloomfield, is
familiar with the
Feldenkrais, Anat
Baniel and MELT
methods. She said
Feldenkrais is
the most “main-
stream” alter-
native therapy while Anat
Baniel and MELT are newer.
She said there are many
paths to recovery for stroke
patients but believes that
every stroke patient should
receive physical, occupational
and speech therapy as the
very first step to recovery.
“I always like a very clear
diagnosis” when it comes to
working with stroke patients,
Cascardo said. “Not all
strokes are the same. I always
advocate for the alternative
approaches when traditional
approaches have failed to
gain the patient’
s mobility.”
From a practical stand-
point, Cascardo, who has
been a physical therapist
since 1988, notes that the
alternative therapies are not
typically covered by health
insurance. Schaver, Sjogren
and Bourassa confirmed that
their practices are private
pay.
“They are not covered for
a reason,” Cascardo said.
“There is too much variety
between who is administer-
ing the treatment.”
She advises people to
obtain the credentials of the
person who is providing
therapy and to get recom-
mendations from other trust-
ed sources.
“A well-intentioned, under-
trained person can do a lot
of harm,” she said. “Ask the
proper questions: Are you
licensed through the state?
What licensing do you have?
Health
“To get anything
done, you have
to have passion
and creativity. If
we can address
what we need
and if we can use
creativity, there
is no problem we
can’t solve.”
— BRENDA ROSENBERG
continued from page 37
Nora
Cascardo