Just... Amazing. The are the anchor of my physical health. I first came to address knee pain - then to rehabilitate my arm after a badly broken bone - then to prepare for a 160 km hike. I get my massages here, I use their sports nutritionist, and I train in their gym. They have made the world my oyster, and have been my guides and guardians.
Part of the magic of having a trainer, physical therapist and nutritionist under one roof is that they can talk to each other, so all my efforts and theirs work in unison. They have a lot of other services I haven't used as well - acupuncture, sleep therapist, physician, amongst others. I have also been intrigued by athletes using their concussion program. One can truly get complete care here.
I am a dedicated user of their gym. You make an appointment to see someone who will provide you with a program based on your current abilities and your goals. I adore their science-based approach, which cuts through all the bad advice of magazines and blogs, and appreciate how they are always keeping up with reliable studies to keep improving their services. During weekdays their gym opens to supervised training where you drop in and do your workout, a professional walks the room and corrects everyone on form and technique and spots people when needed. I love these sessions. Some of the people I train beside are real athletes, some are recovering from major injuries, some are learning to live a full life with disabilities, some are elderly and looking to age in comfort. Some, like myself, are just looking to stay fit and healthy.
I first came to Craven after developing knee pain with no clear cause, my doctor suggested a physical therapist. With some observations and checking my body, Lee concluded that my walking posture during hikes was the culprit. They worked with me to improve my motion and then gave me some exercises and stretches to do on my own to prevent it from happening again.
It was so effective I started seeing them to work through all my nagging aches and discomforts, learning a lot about my body in the process and gathering a collection of excesses and stretches to fix most common problems on my own, making self-care much easier.
Now that I was free of pain, I wondered if they could help me become a runner. I never really did any running. They got me on a treadmill and helped me learn proper running posture so I would not hurt my joints or muscles, then taught me about buying the right shoes, and gave me a running programming that would help me get stronger and faster gradually, but also give me the sense of continual progress. Then we started on a heart rate training system which taught me how to use the information my fitness tracker provided in a meaningful way. I worked with their nutritionist to support my running and weight goals.
Then I thought -could they help with my hiking? Help make my upper body stronger? Make me a better kayaker? I went in and explained my goals. They gave me a weight and cardio program. It's made a huge difference in my ability to be active and not feel shy and weak.
Craven opened a world of travel, mountain hiking in the Rockies, Kayaking in Thailand, trekking in Scotland - all things made possible with their targeted and thoughtful care. Amidst all this, their massages keep my muscles relaxed and ready to take on more. They've also been great about helping me with sports injuries, giving me a program to keep active while letting the injury make a full recovery, then breaking me back into my old routine in a sensible fashion. I especially learned a lot about getting back to running after a long and horrible flu.
Then came the day when I broke a bone after a bad fall. My surgeon was pleased I had chosen Craven to rehabilitate my arm and torn ligaments in my wrist. They were in communication with the doctor and got a copy of my x-rays. Physical therapy was painful, but I got full range of motion in my arm and fingers back. Then they helped me get all the strength back in my arm, and eventually, I was back to doing push ups and lifting weights. If it weren't for my surgery scar, I would never know I had broken it.
In short - this place is amazing. I went from being a slightly pudgy couch potato to being active and exploring the world. Whether you have fitness goals, discomfort or specialized needs, Craven is the place to go. read more
