Jenna Smith LMT

One of the things I love most about what I do is getting to watch someone slowly get their life back.

A couple of weeks ago, I started working with a client who had been dealing with chronic lower back and hip pain. At her first session, her pain was sitting somewhere between an 8 and a 10 every day.

After her first session, she told me it had dropped to around a 3 or 4. After a couple of sessions, she was down to around a 1 or 2.

She recently shared this on her personal page, and I was incredibly touched by her words. With her permission, I'm sharing them here, too.

I never want to promise someone that I can make their pain disappear completely. Every person is different, and every body has its own story.

But when someone tells me they're nowhere near where they started, that they can do more, move better, or simply go hours without thinking about the pain that used to be on their mind all day, that's progress.

And that's what makes this work so meaningful to me.

I'm incredibly grateful that I get to be part of these journeys. ❤️

Progress doesn't always happen the way we expect. It often has peaks and valleys, twists and turns, and unexpected detours. That's true whether we're talking about personal growth, business, our careers, or getting better at a sport or hobby. This week reminded me that it's true for healing, too.

I had one client push their appointment back because they went back to a physically demanding job and... they were still feeling good.

Another, who's been dealing with chronic pain for a long time, was finally able to stretch his appointments farther apart because he's moving better and building strength again. That's exactly the outcome I hope for. The goal isn't for people to need me forever—it's to get them back to living their lives. And often, it's getting back to everyday activities, hobbies, workouts, and routines that keeps the momentum going.

I also had someone whose original shoulder pain improved, but a different area started bothering her. At first glance, that might sound discouraging. But sometimes, as one area calms down, another piece of the puzzle becomes easier to identify and treat.

Each of those stories looked different, but each one was a step in the right direction.

That's why I try not to judge healing by what happens in a single day or even a single appointment. I look at the overall trend. Are you moving better? Are you getting back to the activities you enjoy? Are you needing me less over time?

Those are the kinds of changes that matter most. It doesn't always look the way we expect, but when people are able to get back to living their lives, that's something worth celebrating.

One of the things I enjoy most about my job is that no two people walk through my door with the exact same goal.

One person wants to get back to golfing.

Another wants to be able to sleep through the night.

Someone else just wants to get through a workday without their back reminding them of every movement.

And sometimes the goal is simply, "I'd like to pick up my grandchild without thinking twice about it."

Those goals are all different, but they have one thing in common.

None of them are really about pain.

They're about getting back to living life a little more freely.

🎆🇺🇸 Happy Independence Day! 🇺🇸🎆

Today we celebrate 250 years of America. I'm incredibly grateful to live in this country—for the freedoms and opportunities we enjoy, and for the people who have made it all possible.

I hope you get to spend today doing things you love with the people you love. Wishing you a safe, joyful Fourth of July!

God Bless America! 🇺🇸

When you come to see me for an assessment, we’ll talk about your pain—what hurts, what makes it better or worse, how long it’s been going on. You know, the usual pain management things.

But there’s one question I almost always ask: “What would you do if this pain was better?”

Sometimes the answer is, “I’d golf more.”

Sometimes it might be, “I’d travel again.”

Or, “I would play with my grandkids.”

I’ve heard, “Hopefully I would sleep through the night more.”

And, “I’d love to be able to sit through a movie again.”

And I’ve also heard variations of, “Wow… there would be so many things.” (This is essentially what my dad said.)

And that question does something really important—it opens up what might be possible.

It’s not really about the pain (though of course everyone is happy to hurt less). It’s about getting you back to living your life again.

That is always the real goal.

Not “my pain is a 2 instead of a 9,” but “I can roll out of bed and go do the thing I’ve been missing.”

That’s the direction we’re always working toward.

I was working on some behind-the-scenes business things this morning when I had a realization.

When people ask me what I do, I usually say, “I help people get out of pain.” That’s true—and it’s the simplest version (if you know me, you know I can definitely overexplain 😅).

But what I realized today is that it’s not really about the pain.

The part that actually matters most to me is what I hear after the pain starts to move into the background.

It’s someone telling me, “I went on a hike this weekend,” or “I finally got a long bike ride in,” or even, “I slept through the night without my neck bothering me.”

That’s the real win. ✨

Not just less pain—but more of your life again.

And when I step back and look at all of that, it becomes pretty simple.

Pain is the obstacle. Getting people back to living their life is the mission.

So the absolute greatest feeling in the world is when I hear you did the thing again—golfing, biking, walking, sleeping, whatever it is—and I get to think…
Mission accomplished. ✔️

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I helped a client this week who came in with low back and hip pain that is an every day, all the time ache. She said sitting usually makes it worse, like she's getting stabbed, but it really just hurts all the time.

So I did my thing:
“I'm gonna poke you here. You're gonna move like this."

And we definitely found some sore spots. We worked through them and moved on to a few other areas that seemed to be contributing.

At the end of the session, I asked her to stand up and move around a bit.

She got up and said,
“I have no pain." 🤯

She couldn't believe how she felt.

She told me she's one of those people who is so used to hurting that she's not really sure what it's like not to. She was happy.
Surprised.

Then she pulled her knee up toward her chest like she was putting on a shoe and said, "That doesn't hurt."
Apparently it usually does.

Now, I always try to set realistic expectations. She may be sore the next couple of days. Some of the pain may creep back. One session doesn't necessarily mean the problem is gone forever.

But when she walked out of my office, she was moving without pain and feeling great.

And when you've been hurting for a long time, it's easy to start believing that’s just how life is now.

So sometimes the biggest win isn't just feeling better. It's realizing that feeling better might actually be possible.

And that's exactly why I do what I do.

Over the years, I've realized that new clients often walk in expecting one thing and walk out having had a very different experience.

That's probably because what I do doesn't fit most people's picture of what "massage therapy" is supposed to look like.

Here are some of the things that tend to surprise people the most:

🔹 You will stay fully clothed.

Since there is no need for lotion and I am not trying to "slide and glide" across your skin and muscles, there is no need to undress.

🔹 You won't just be lying on the table for the whole session.

Movement is part of the treatment, so lying there passively the whole time isn't really an option.

You may stand, sit, lie on your side, then your back, then your stomach. In each position, I might ask you to do something simple like turn your head, raise your arm, or bring your knee toward your chest.

Fair warning: if you're hoping to take a nap, this probably isn't the session for you. 😆

🔹 Sessions are targeted rather than full body.

Since I am all about pain relief, I really want to focus on the thing that is actually bothering you.

Rather than spending an hour trying to work every muscle in your body, we'll focus on the issue that brought you in. It's one reason sessions are generally shorter and only deal with one or two painful problems at a time.

🔹 I may spend less time on the sore area than you'd expect.

While I will absolutely work on the area that hurts, I'm also looking for other things that may be contributing to the problem.

If you come in with low back pain, for example, you may be surprised to find I spend quite a bit of time working with your hips or legs. Sometimes the painful area is only part of the story.

🔹 Treatment is not about "breaking up knots" or adhesions.

I know that's become fairly common terminology in the massage and manual therapy world, but that's not really what my sessions focus on.

Instead, I'm working with your body's protective response. When that system becomes a little too sensitive, it can create a surprising amount of pain, tension, and movement limitation.

🔹 You'll likely leave moving and feeling better immediately.

Most people notice some amount of relief during the session.

I've had people surprised that they can suddenly raise an arm higher, turn their head further, bend over to tie a shoe, or move with significantly less pain before they even leave the office.

That doesn't mean every problem is a one-and-done fix. Most issues take more than one visit, and many seem to need at least a few sessions to really stick.

But you won't find me putting people on a "three times a week for six weeks and then once a month forever" plan.

I want you to feel good and then go off and live your life!

TL;DR: I became passionate about helping people after watching my own dad struggle with chronic pain following a work injury. Seeing how much pain changed his life—and later getting to watch him reclaim some of it—ended up changing mine too.

Now the story: When I was a kid, I saw my dad as some kind of cross between MacGyver and the Crocodile Hunter. He was always tinkering or fixing something and if he came across a critter, he would have to take a minute to catch it, check it out, tell us something cool about it, then send it on its merry way in a safe spot. I can’t tell you how many turtles and snakes we moved across roads after a quick check of their condition.

He also used to be one of those people who jogged all the time.

He jumped on the trampoline with us. He kayaked. He surfed. He was present.

He also had back problems, even then. But they were minor and didn’t usually interfere with life.

Then an injury slowed him down for a while. He had to spend some days in bed. He gained some weight and hated it. He decided that wasn’t what he wanted, so he got back to working out. He lost the weight. But he kept some of the “my back is out” days.

It was the first time I saw him slow down, but he didn’t stop.

Then, some years later, another injury at work completely changed his life. It forced him to retire, to live with constant pain, to give up so many things, and to depend on pain medication for years.

Eventually, he got to experience some hands-on therapy. The relief he experienced was the first hint that his life didn’t have to be defined by pain.

Seeing that made me curious.

I got very curious about massage therapy. I went to school without ever having had a massage. I just knew I wanted to help people like my dad.

After school, I spent years learning and looking for better ways to help people with pain.

And years later, I got to help the person who started it all.

After his second treatment, my dad walked his first continuous mile in about 20 years.

I’ll probably never stop getting emotional about that.

“What’s the point of all that movement during a session?”

In other words, why “movement-based manual therapy” instead of passive massage like most therapists?

It’s a good question. And the answer gives me a chance to explain some pain science stuff to you. 😆

The reason for all of the movement during my sessions is simple:

Movement is part of the treatment.
It provides valuable information. Not only to me, but to your body and nervous system as well.

If you come in and tell me:
“I get this sharp pain in my neck when I turn my head.”

Or: “I can’t bend over without my back locking up.”

Or you explain any other movement that hurts…

That gives me way more clues about what is driving your pain than simply pointing to where it hurts. Pain with movement helps identify what the body is trying to protect.

On the unfortunate side of things, painful movement often teaches people to stop moving. They get extra careful. They avoid certain activities. And while that seems like the right thing to do, over time it can cause them to lose confidence in their bodies.

When you move during treatment, one of the things we are doing is showing your body and nervous system that movement can be safe again.

And my favorite moments are when someone discovers that the movement they were expecting to hurt…doesn’t.
Or it hurts less.
Or it’s easier.

Movement gives us a chance to show your body that maybe it doesn't need to protect you quite so much anymore.

That is what we are really after.

It’s not about perfect posture, pretty MRI findings, or chasing every little ache and pain around the body.

It’s about feeling good in your body again. Good enough to get out there and live your life! ❤️