Business & Tech
She's Got Your Suwanee Stress Relief
Karen Krotz has been healing Suwanee ailments through massage therapy for over 15 years.
Giving massages may not be your ideal job, but for Karen Krotz of Suwanee, it has become a way of life. Massage therapy has always been known to help people relax and unwind from stress. But the benefits cover more areas than many people know, and massage is now considered by many as a component of an overall wellness program.
Krotz will tell you that massages help with a variety of health conditions including:
- Stress (number one reason for massages)
- Anxiety
- Low back pain
- Headaches and migraines
- Carpal tunnel pain
- General muscle aches
- Shoulder pain
- Arthritis
- Tendinitis
On her website, Krotz lists several types of massages that she uses in her practice. The most common is a Swedish massage, which she describes as a light rubbing that loosens the muscles. A deep-tissue massage uses more forceful pressure and targets muscles at a deeper level. It is commonly used to help muscle damage from injuries. A third type of massage is trigger-point. It focuses on specific areas of tight muscle fibers that may be causing pain.
—Have you ever had a massage from Krotz? Tell us in comments below.
“People want to know if it will hurt.” Krotz says. “I tell them that they are in control of the level of pressure. It's their time and their hour. I want them to be comfortable but get as much therapeutic benefits as possible.”
Krotz says that most of her clients come in once a month and that she has some patients that have been clients for 15 years. With a business like this, it's no surprise that her best advertisement is word of mouth and direct referrals. But she has also been a Suwanee Business Alliance member for 11 years, and you'll find her listed on local service review site Kudzu.
Krotz has been a Suwanee resident since 1999. She's a Kentucky native who moved to the Atlanta area in 1986. In February of 1996 Krotz graduated with a certification in Professional Massage Therapy from the Atlanta School of Massage. She has also has a national certification from the National Certification Board for Therapeutic Massage & Bodywork, which she has to renew every four years and that has requirements for annual continuing education.
The idea for massage therapy came from co-workers at a chiropractic office. They told her they thought she would be good at massage therapy and should go to school to become certified. “I didn't think I had the stamina for massage,” Krotz says. But she was interested in the idea and decided to pursue it.
Everything clicked into place at an open house session about the profession. “When I went to an open house from the school, I felt like I had found were I was suppose to be,” says Krotz. It was the touch that won her over. With massage therapy Krotz found a way to help people through touch. In her words Krotz says, ”It's the time spent with the person in a healing manner. I want to help people.”
“There wasn't enough time to do both massage and try to open my own business,” says Krotz. So in 1996 after getting her degree, she started to ease towards a goal of being completely independent. She initially worked for two chiropractic doctors part time and started to do massages as an independent therapist as well.
Eventually after a couple of years she was completely on her own and working out of an office in Duluth. Then in 2003, she added an extension to her Suwanee home and now works with clients right in the heart of Suwanee. The office has a single massage room equipped with a massage table and supplies such as lotion warmer and hot stones. She works Monday through Friday and every other Saturday morning.
For more information visit Karen at www.karenkrotz.com.
Interested in local real estate?Subscribe to Patch's new newsletter to be the first to know about open houses, new listings and more.
Don’t miss any Suwanee news. Subscribe to Suwanee Patch’s free newsletter, like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter.