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

