ABOUT KATIE
Katie graduated from SDSU with a BS in Psychology and minor in Leadership and Management of NPOs. She also holds an AAS for Occupational Therapy Assistant and is a licensed Massage Therapist.
Katie is an Expert Level Myofascial Release Therapist. She began practicing JFB MFR in 2014 and has since completed over 1,100 hours of training in therapeutic body work with her major focus being on The John F Barnes Myofascial Release Approach.
In June of 2017 she established Love your Life Myofascial Release in Chamberlain, South Dakota. That fall she expanded her practice to include Equine Myofascial Release. In May of 2019 she began offering Myofascial Release services in Hot Springs, SD. In January 2021 she returned to the Black Hills of South Dakota and established Black Hills Myofascial Release, LLC.
KATIE'S MYOFASCIAL RELEASE JOURNEY
Following graduation from SDSU Katie worked as a field instructor in a Wilderness Therapy program in Utah. In January 2012 she slipped while hiking up a ridge carrying a 70 pound pack and sustained a back injury that ultimately derailed her career path and resulted in months of therapy. After seven months of physical therapy, acupuncture, massage therapy, and chiropractic treatments, she had improved some, however still suffered from pain and relentless muscle spasms that would also trigger anxiety attacks. The spine specialist who had been overseeing her care told her there was nothing more that could be done. She was given a refillable prescription for muscle relaxers and pain killers, and then signed off on as having a permanent partial disability. She was also told that she would never backpack, bike, climb, run, kayak, ride her horse, or do many of the activities she enjoyed again. She returned to her home state of South Dakota and enrolled at LATI in the OTA program. During the fall semester of 2014 a flyer was posted announcing an upcoming John F Barnes Myofascial Release seminar for pain relief to be held in Pierre, SD. At this time, she had no idea what Myofascial Release was but was desperate for pain relief so she signed up. The course was life changing.
When the seminar concluded, Katie felt like a totally different person. She felt amazing. The pain which she had carried around for almost 3 years was gone, she had energy, and all her motions felt more fluid and unrestricted. The small aches and pains she mostly tried to ignore up to this point had also disappeared. She had not realized how restricted her body was until it wasn’t.
Katie had a new amazing sense of wellbeing and a fire had been lit inside her. She had found her passion in life and how she was to give back through service to others. Following graduation Katie worked as an OTA while completing requirements to obtain LMT credentials as well as continued training in John F. Barnes Myofascial Release. In June 2017, she established Love Your Life Myofascial Release with the mission of helping others return to a pain free active lifestyle. In December 2020, Katie established Black Hills Myofascial Release, LLC to empower you to rediscover freedom by eliminating restrictions traditional care ignores.