'I'm doing what my hands know...'

Lynn Shell’s family has always called her “the little healer,” and Shell, the owner of Burke Myotherapy, takes pride in intuitive connections with her clients.

She says she listens with her heart as well as her hands as she provides massage services as well as joint and muscular therapy.

At a young age, Shell found she could offer comfort and healing through touch, but it took a family tragedy for her to answer a calling to her life’s work. 

She recognized the strength in the power of touch at 11 years old when her older brother was diagnosed with cancer.

“He was a catalyst for me,” Shell said. “I would work on him during his chemo treatments, just intuitively, doing what I felt like needed to be done.” Shell said her “therapy” sessions provided comfort for the brother she soon lost.

Although her brother succumbed to cancer when Shell was 13, she never lost her desire to help and heal others through touch.

After graduating from massage school in 1996, Shell worked as a massage therapist in a wide variety of settings, from salons and spas to gyms. 

For a period of time, she focused on sports massage, and her jobs included stints working with professional wrestler Ric Flair, NASCAR drivers and with minor league baseball’s Hickory Crawdads. 

Shell even had an opportunity to take her talents overseas where she worked as a massage therapist on the world stage at the 2004 Olympics in Greece. 

Shell traveled to Athens as one of 100 therapists from around the world. She worked in the Olympic Village, where the world’s best athletes were housed. During her Olympic experience, Shell provided massage therapy services to athletes from 30 different countries. 

Throughout her career, Shell has never stopped being a student. She has an associate’s degree in Osteopathic medicine and is currently going to school for her masters as an Osteopathic practitioner. 

Clients at Burke Myotherapy can expect professional treatment that goes beyond traditional massage. 

According to Shell, Osteopathic medicine is a "whole person" approach — treating the entire person rather than just their symptoms. Doctors of Osteopathic Medicine (DOs) focus on preventative health care and strive to help patients develop attitudes and lifestyles that don't just fight illness, but help prevent it, too.

Shell has worked with several mentors in the Osteopathic medicine field, one of whom told her “You're an intuitive healer trapped inside a scientific world. We just have to teach your head what your hands already know.”

Shell said her sense of touch is one of the most valuable tools in her arsenal.  “I can actually feel what's going on when I put my hands on skin,” she said, referring to the skill with which therapists can evaluate their clients.

“I’m doing what my hands know,” she added. Shell often uses therapeutic grade essential oils in her practice, adding an aromatherapy component to her treatments.

Shell has access to a wide scope of professionals, whom she can reach on behalf of her clients.  She has a nutritionist on staff and a podiatrist on call. 

Shell offers traditional spa services such as body scrubs and foot treatments, but she sees every client as a whole person, “bringing in all I know to treat each individual that comes into my office.”

According to Shell, massage can help relieve pain, improve circulation, lower blood pressure and clear toxins. She spends part of a client’s initial visit conducting an interview and consultation. 

“I spend time looking at people,” she said, “how they walk, how they hold stress.” Shell uses integrative manual therapy, deep tissue work, and active isolated stretching.

“It's not just muscles,” she added. “I treat muscles, but I look at it from a whole body aspect. 

“It’s not just fluff and buff massage,” she stated. “I’m actually treating the whole person.”

Sandra Wilkerson Queen is the education and business reporter for The Paper. She may be reached at 828-445-8595, Ext. 2002, or via email at sandra@thepaper.media.