Raul Garcia felt he had two choices, neither of them good.
He could either try to endure severe back pain or suffer a horrible rash from the pain pills prescribed by his doctors that provided some relief.
It was his son, Raf, who provided a permanent solution by going to massage therapy school and using what he learned on him. Now, Raul is pain- and rash- free.
Raf and his wife, Linda, founded Living Kinetics Mobile Body Works. If clients cannot get to their office for a treatment, Raf will come to them.
“Everyone has the right to live pain free,” Raf said.
He started the business because his dad had been in a head-on collision with a drunk driver. “I heard him on the phone trying to get his insurance stuff straightened out. He looked totally fine and he was for a few weeks.”
It was not long before pain in his back started to become severe. Doctors prescribed ever-increasing dosages of pain medication that did not eliminate the pain, but caused a body-wide, painful skin rash.
“It was so bad and scratchy that it cracked the skin.”
His father was a fairly happy-go-lucky fellow before the accident, but not so much afterward.
“I never saw him smile,” King said.
It was a dream that showed him the path to his life’s work. “I was having a nightmare. I was holding my dad and he was turning into goo,” King said. “When I woke up, an ad for the Arizona School of Massage was on. I knew it had to be a sign. I signed up the next day. I knew I had to do something. It seemed like the logical thing to do. I have been at it for about 10 years now. It is my service of love. That’s the only way I can describe it.”
King threw himself into his classes and every night brought home what he had learned that day, practicing on his father. School lasted 15 months. He learned advanced techniques as he progressed and practiced each one on his dad.
Soon, Raul was able to cut down on medication. By the end of King’s training, Raul needed no medication at all.
“I had two hernias in my back,” said Garcia. “I still had to work because I was in the retail business. Management thought all you need is a month off and you would be okay. That was not the case.”
Garcia, 68, sought the services of a pain management business, which put him on pain relievers. But as his tolerance grew, he needed higher doses. “I was taking a gram of morphine a day and still going to work,” he said.
And, there was the rash. It was about this time that Raf began his massage therapy training.
“I was noticing immediately the pain level was going down. I was able to move around better,” Garcia said.
In about a year, he was pain free.
Now Garcia recommends massage therapy to anyone with pain. After graduation, King was invited back to the school to become a teacher’s aide and then a full-time teacher.
“I loved that job. I really fell in love with the educational process,” he said. “The best part was inspiring others.”
After leaving the school, he met Linda. They both went to work for a chiropractor. “We were constantly thinking, ‘We can do this on our own and even better. We can give more help.’ We started our own business and it has been really, really good so far,” he said.
The couple moved to Prescott about a year and a half ago and have concentrated on growing their business. They currently have about 200 clients.
One of them is 76-year-old Ellen Searles. “I am getting up in years and I have aches and pains. Raf is very good. He always makes me feel at ease and comfortable. He does not give the kind of massage to make you feel good and relax; he is there to fix things and he does without being too aggressive.”
Raf said he could not possibly do what he does without his wife Linda. “Linda is the business. She is the brains. I am just the husband. If we didn’t have her, we would not have a website or logo or the client database we have right now,” he said.
The couple’s typical day begins with client visits at the office for an hour-long appointment. Raf said there are many modalities to deal with the pain including cupping; Gua Sha scraping, which is using a flat stone along the skin to break through scar tissue; hot stones; aromatherapy or vibration therapy. QCBN
By Patty McCormac, QCBN
To learn more, call 989-910-4572 or visit livingkenetics.com.
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