David A. Clinger

LMT, NCMMT, LLCC, MAT – Owner & Licensed Massage Therapist

David ClingerFor 31 years, David Clinger worked at a factory, where he helped coordinate the Health & Wellness Committee and learned firsthand about repetitive use injuries as well as the importance of ergonomic awareness to physical function. On February 1, 2004, David retired from the Autolite spark plug factory with a personal goal of finding ways to stay healthy and a professional goal of helping others develop the habits of wellness.

 

A runner since his 20’s—David competed in races and participated in the 1983 Boston Marathon. A lifetime of running taught him to remain relaxed and thus fluid in motion. His lifelong passion for a healthy lifestyle clarified the importance of balancing the physical and emotional needs for health. As a runner, the benefits of massage inspired him to become a Massage Therapist.

 

Graduating from The Blanchard Valley Academy of Massage Therapy in 2002, he started his second career as a therapist in January 2003. Over the years, his practice has become an alternative and integrative approach to healthcare—utilizing massage, acupuncture, nutritional counseling, life coaching, and other treatment modalities for overall wellness.

 

As a therapist, he pursued educational programs, which significantly extended his knowledge and skills in areas beyond the initial massage training. First, David completed a 140-hour training for Lymph Drainage Therapy at the Upledger Institute. Additionally, he attended a 14-day course with David Luther to become the first Nationally Certified Master Medical Massage Therapist in Ohio. These certifications enable David to work with the patients under the care other medical professionals.

 

To build bridges and obtain better outcomes for clients, he advocates collaboration with a community of medical professionals in Northwest Ohio who wish to provide more comprehensive healthcare. For instance, he works with dentists whose patients suffer from TMJ (temporal mandibular joint dysfunction) and FHP (forward head posture, a common physiological outcome of a flexion-addicted society).

 

In order to practice Orthopedic Massage and Pain Management, David completed 100 hours of direct training with James Waslaski at the Center for Pain Management to become the first certified Orthopedic Massage Therapist in Ohio. David continues to study while teaching with Erik Dalton on his specialty—Myoskeletal Alignment Techniques (MAT)—at the Freedom from Pain Institute. Dalton’s work advances the innovative theories of three prestigious pioneers of whole body therapy:  Ida Rolf, Philip Greenman, and Vladmir Janda. Working with the current “Dalton Gang” of trained therapists in workshops throughout the US and Costa Rica, David is developing skills of holistic massage in a community of influential teachers and practitioners. Certified in Medical Massage, Orthopedic Massage, and Myoskeletal Alignment Techniques—David now has the background to combine such manual therapies with his initial massage training into a whole body approach to wellness. David’s focus on lifelong learning has led him to the most innovative practicioners of medical massage, thereby enlarging his capacity to treat a wide spectrum of inter-related problems.

 

As a therapist with a wide-angle view of the body from experiences and education, David sums up his accumulated understanding that “our bodies live for movement.” Without exaggeration, David’s passion for massage has been fueled by a desire to help others achieve healthier lives. Opening the Wellness Center, therefore, was the culmination of a lifetime devoted to healthy personal choices and public service.

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