How my journey began

Allison became interested in health and wellness in her teens. Fascination grew as she sustained sports injuries and learned how the body works like an intricate machine, and how it adapts to protect itself after injury. Her goal is to utilize massage to address muscular imbalances, regulate the nervous system and improve body mechanics, to allow people to return to a greater level of activity and enjoy their lives with less limitations from acute or chronic injuries.  

Allison believes that pain has a purpose and it can be a guide, to help tell us what we can do without causing further injury. She feels that you don’t have to endure pain, in order to see results in your massage. Pain is there to tell us something and the problem isn’t always where the pain is, but it can help us to discover the problem and work towards some resolution of symptoms.

She strongly believes in collaboration with other healthcare providers, to ensure the best results and to avoid harm. Each provider can put together a piece of the puzzle, but can’t always complete the whole puzzle on their own. Client wellbeing comes first, so she believes in referring out to other providers that are outside the scope of massage therapy, when massage is not indicated for their specific issue.

Allison’s career did not begin with massage. Her interest in injuries and healing led her to Iowa State University, where she majored in Athletic Training before Graduating and heading Minnesota State-Mankato to accept a Graduate Assistant Athletic Trainer role, and to study Sport Management. After graduate school, Allison returned to Iowa and accepted a position as a Licensed Athletic Trainer with UnityPoint Health System and Grandview University (GVU). She has worked first hand with many different sports as an athletic trainer, helping assessing, treating, rehabing and returning injured athletes back to their sport safely . That experience led to following her passion for helping others, into the massage realm, as she graduated from Body Wisdom Massage School and opened Serene Strength Massage at the end of 2018. She maintains both Athletic Trainer and Massage Therapist credentials to this day.

PROFESSIONAL AFFILIATIONS:

Licensed Massage Therapist, LMT, State of Iowa, 2018-present
Association of Massage and Bodywork Professionals, ABMP, 2017-present
Licensed Athletic Trainer, LAT, State of Iowa, 2008-present
NATABOC Certified, ATC (National Athletic Trainers Association Board of Certification), 2008-present