When people think of a gym, they often picture muscle-bound bodybuilders lifting stacks of weights, waiting for that one popular machine, or rooms jammed with treadmills and stationary bikes… but there are plenty of other options in Santa Cruz.
Providing a bridge between a traditional gym and alternative health care, spaces like Santa Cruz Core Fitness and Rehab and Athletic Club Santa Cruz blend fitness, medical and day spa all under one roof. This is a new and vital trend, as folks are discovering treatments usually reserved for a medical clinic, such as regenerative Platelet-rich Plasma (PRP), stem cell therapy and mental health therapy, in the same spaces as weight training, yoga and health coaching.
As January arrived and New Year’s resolutions abounded, I resolved to add something new to my fitness routine, which until now, was primarily yoga and walking on the beach. I started my New Year’s wellness journey with a consultation downtown at Santa Cruz Core Fitness & Rehab. With both one-on-one private and semi-private classes, the first thing I noticed at the downtown wellness center is no crowds, just a handful of private clients, each engaged in a different modality. While one person was working with weights in the downstairs studio, another was getting a sports massage, and a third was getting acupuncture in a private room.
For more than 17 years, owner Jami Jansen has led a dedicated team helping patients to reduce pain, restore mobility and improve overall health.
For Jansen, the path to wellness started with a bike accident many years ago when she was hit by a car while biking at UCSC, suffering a ruptured disc and traumatic brain injury. After the injury, she learned first-hand how professional treatment sought early can make a big difference in outcomes and reduce the risk of serious health issues down the line.
“We started as a preventative treatment center, and now we are doing pre- and post-operative work,” she says. “Instead of going to medical school, I hired experts to help. We take a holistic approach to health and wellness, whether someone is rehabbing from an injury or training for the Olympics.”
My consultation included in-body analysis, which calculates a basal metabolic weight, considered more accurate than a Body Mass Index (BMI). Jansen asked about my health goals, past injuries and trouble areas. I explained that I had degenerative rotator cuff pain and recurring knee pain.
Armed with results of my posture and movement assessment, the fun part begins: selecting both traditional and alternative treatments to address my chronic pain, osteoarthritis and injury recovery. Following are some of the treatments I tried or may try in the future.
Red Light therapy is a way to reduce fine lines and boost cellular regeneration. It is FDA-cleared and proven to stimulate collagen production, which can lead to faster wound healing and improve skin’s elasticity. It also claims to boost energy, improve blood flow and calm inflammation, says Janson.
As for reducing fine lines, I did notice an immediate improvement and overall brighter complexion after only 20 minutes under the Red Vive 300 light panel. Treatments start at $25 and include a workout session on a Vasper bike.
Unlike UVA light, Red Light Therapy is not damaging to the skin and can treat many conditions, including acne, wrinkles, hair loss, and joint and muscle pain. It is also “good for eyes, skin and gum disease,” saysCamille Perriat, co-owner of Athletic Club Santa Cruz with husband Chris Ellis.
ACSC offers a full-spectrum red light bed and the RedRoom + heated studio classes. Walking into the club’s Recovery Lounge, visitors can access both private or small group spaces, dry stone sauna and cold plunges.
“We have the biostacking fiber acoustic lounge with a red light canopy for those beneficial rays,” Perriat says. The facility also has two hard-shell hyperbaric oxygen chambers.
For an extra chill, the Snow Shower at ACSC blasts chilled, “really cold water” from above which lasts about 30 seconds.
The workout. At Core Fitness, there is onlyone bike. The Vasper (vascular performance) is a seated elliptical with three modalities: cooling, compression and grounding. The cooling and compression work with the goal of pushing muscles to failure and creating lactic acid, which creates human growth hormone (HGH). Riding a Vasper involves pedaling on copper plates to create grounding and draw out impurities. Twenty-one minutes on the Vasper is purported to produce hormone recovery benefits equivalent to a 2-hour workout, Jansen said.
After the initial assessment, Santa Cruz Core personal trainer Guy Ferreira walked me through an exercise regimen to address my osteoarthritis and leg syndrome. Ferreira says he trains about 12 people weekly. He designed a fun program using lacrosse balls to loosen quads and hip resistance bands, small hand weights and a dome-shaped Bosu Ball.
ACSC offers a full gym floor with premium equipment and includes kick boxing, yoga and circuit training in its heated Red Room. Perriat says: “Yoga has a much different feel, heated with infrared heat and humidity.”
“The Soft Tissue Lounge with Normatec compression is great for lymphatic drainage,” Perriat added. “It feels like you’re getting an amazing foot massage.”
Among the workout options are Keiser pneumatic resistance machines for smooth, joint-friendly training, and five stations to work out muscle soreness. “All of our members have access to this. It’s used constantly … and “great for muscle soreness and tissue release.” Personal trainers are available for biomechanical consultations and metabolic testing to optimize cardio output.
Acupuncture adventure
I showed up at Santa Cruz Core eager for my first-ever acupuncture treatment, albeit a bit nervous. As a form of Traditional Chinese Medicine, acupuncture purports to relieve acute tissue damage by identifying markers which send out signals for help. As the immune system kicks in and nerve signals are processed, the patient receives hormonal regulation.
Acupuncturist Amberlee Gustafson calmed my qualms right away. The single-use needles are tiny .14 to .25 mm, and often undetectable. A board-certified Doctor of Traditional Chinese Medicine with more than 3,000 hours of clinical training at Five Branches University, Gustafson focused treatment on chronic muscle pain areas, such as wrist flexion, the aforementioned shoulder, and a knee and hip diagnosed with Patello-femoral Temporal Pain Syndrome. I didn’t notice any significant improvement after one session, so I booked five more sessions. After my third treatment, my shoulder pain had cleared considerably and range of motion improved.
Sports Chiro-therapy
Chiropractic medicine is widely-known for spine decompression, but there is so much more to this approach to spine and musculoskeletal disorders. Dr. Rhodes Walton is a sports chiropractor who uses assessment-based tools to pinpoint pain and create an intense but effective means to release soft tissue known as Sports Chiro-therapy at Santa Cruz Core Fitness. Each program is informed by the individual’s body movement.
Adjustment and soft tissue release is the majority tool of sports chiro-therapy, along with corrective exercise, Walton explained. “The treatment is influenced by how your body moves,” Walton said. “I wanted to get a more dynamic approach to help with soft tissue function. Adjustment is part of the protocol.” I felt a little sore after this treatment and I didn’t feel any different.
Corrective Exercise & Rehab Beau Jansen is an advanced elite personal trainer and fitness director at Santa Cruz Core, trained in Hanson Muscle Therapy method, a trigger point therapy informed by how your body moves. “It’s like acupressure mixed with a little art and moves along the meridian lines,” he said. A mix of active release therapy and physical therapy, HMT emphasizes the parasympathetic nervous system for a balance of rest and digest to achieve optimal benefits.
Two massage therapists are on hand at Athletic Club Santa Cruz, offering a variety of massages, including deep tissue, relaxation and therapeutic massage.
From Medical Aesthetics to Mental Health
State-of-the-art health therapies co-exist with physical fitness at both facilities. Santa Cruz Core offers Xeomin injection, prolotherapy, rejuvenative Platelet-rich Plasma (PRP) “super healthy for injury prevention” Jami says, and stem cell therapy for bone repair, cartilage and ligaments. Injection of PRP helps create blood flow and bring blood to non-vascular tissues, she said.
Santa Cruz Core accepts most major health insurance. They also offer wellness treatment for various disorders such as anxiety, depression and addiction recovery as well as Ketamine therapy.
ACSC offers medical procedures as well, including full blood work, hormone therapy, peptide therapy, vitamin shots and B12.
Another local option, Dr. John Grady’s Harbor Health Center, provides a full line of weight loss, aesthetic and rejuvenative services including weight loss peptides, microneedling and PRP injections. I tried the facial micro-needling treatment with PRP, also known as the “vampire facial” because it harvests your own stem cells drawn from your own blood. I don’t want to use any artificial fillers or ingredients. This process speeds healing from the microneedle injuries and reduces recovery time from about 5 days to 1 or 2 days. I am making this one a regular part of my wellness routine.
Santa Cruz Core Fitness & Rehabilitation, S315 Potrero St., Ste. C Santa Cruz 831-425-9500
Harbor Health Center, 4450 Capitola Rd., 831-278-8800
Athletic Club at Santa Cruz, 901 Soquel Ave., 831-425-4653
