With My Heart,

I Give My Hands

A Letter From Sylvia:

My mother used to always say to me: "Achica las problemas. Si es salude, problemas con relascoines o con trabajo." This means: 'make problems smaller' and that's what I do for my clients, I help them to heal and work through problems...even if they seem insurmountable at the time. I put my heart into my work by using my hands to alleviate health complications that range from minor imbalances to major diseases.

My journey and training in the physical therapy field began back in 1982. It all started when I suffered a severe knee injury and I was prescribed to do physical therapy at JMP Physical Therapy. I was inspired by all the hard work that they put into my recovery. I started to work for them in 1983 at all three of their locations located in Reseda, Sherman Oaks and Agoura Hills. JMP Physical Therapy is considered, one of the most preferred rehab facilities by top surgeons such as Kerlan and Jobe. I received daily, intense but informative training while working on pre-op, post-op patients, those with sports injuries as well as with patients with arthritis and other autoimmune diseases. My eagerness to learn was noticed by Jeff Hooper, RPT, in 1989 and I began to work directly under him at his location in Northridge and at his pediatric Physical Therapy location in Newell. He specialized in rehabilitation for patients suffering from all autoimmune diseases including all types of cancer, stroke, cardiac and amputees. 

I also worked at Simone Kelmans Physical Therapy in Northridge. She specialized in Fibromyalgia, breast cancer as well as head, neck and hand therapy. I expanded my knowledge while working at The Runners Clinic Physical Therapy under owner and PT Jeff Walberg. He is known for his successful rehab work with runners, but also has a great reputation working with clients suffering from autoimmune diseases such as Crohn’s Disease. I worked at all seven Physical Therapy locations concurrently between 1983-2000 amassing over 13,000 hours. 

I moved to Orange County in 2000 and started to work for Dana Point Physical Therapy. As I became more experienced, I realized that 10 to 20 minutes of massage therapy, as prescribed by most doctors, was an inadequate amount of time to maximize their results. I needed to work on their bodies for 75-90 minutes in order to adequately have them receive the full benefits of rehabilitation massage therapy. Through my experience and observations and meticulous medical progress notes throughout my career, I created the MACSL technique, an acronym for Mizokami (my last name) Advanced Circulatory (a technique to increase the body’s circulation) Sports (all cross fiber techniques in sports massage) Lymphatic (we follow by strokes , hand feathering and dry brushing towards the lymph channels and to target lymphatic watersheds and pathways).

MASCL is useful as a supplemental treatment for the remission of cancers, autoimmune disorders such as Hashimoto’s, Lupus, Crohn’s and Rheumatoid arthritis. MACSL also helps to increase range of motion, reduce Lipedema, Lymphedema, Edema, Atrial fibrillation and many inflammatory diseases. Through increased circulation and lymphatic flow, MACSL allows the body to eliminate it’s own debris, which can be visible on a towel that the client lies on during treatment.

Due to heavy demand I have trained qualified rehabilitation Massage Therapists, Physical Therapists and Chiropractors to be part of my team to help clients through their health challenges and toward better health. 

This is my life’s work and I’m passionate about helping people and grateful to all who have assisted me on my life’s journey.

Sincerely,

Sylvia Mizokami; CMP, CACSM, CCM

Inventor and master practitioner of Mizokami-Advanced Circulatory Sports Lymphatic (MACSL) therapy