About Us

Meet Carlie.

Carlie Hickson, RMT

The Nest is a pregnancy & postpartum registered massage therapy in Nelson BC that focuses on maternity massage, infant & children’s massage, and more.

Carlie is a Registered Massage Therapist and owner of The Nest Registered Massage Therapy practice. She was born and raised in Nelson BC and couldn’t be happier to have established her practice in this community.

Carlie’s treatments incorporate a variety of modalities including myofascial release, scar tissue and post-surgical treatment, lymphatic drainage, cranial sacral therapy, and therapeutic exercise. She has a passion for working with individuals during pregnancy and continuing care during the postpartum period for both parents and infants.

Carlie has taken extensive training to be able to support mothers, parents, infants and families throughout their childbearing years and beyond. Carlie offers perinatal massage therapy for pregnant and postpartum folks, infant craniosacral therapy, infant massage therapy and breastfeeding (chest) support for newborns and infants after birth for general support, for infants with feeding challenges, and other conditions.

Specific manual therapy care for complex post-surgical conditions, lymphatic conditions, women’s health conditions, and care for trans and gender-diverse folks is also a primary focus of Carlie’s. These offerings include care after a mastectomy, reconstructive surgery, cesarean scar massage, abdominal surgeries, cosmetic surgeries, swelling, prolonged healing and more.

Carlie strives to provide evidence informed massage therapy care from a patient centred approach with the whole person in mind.

Carlie’s Specific Experience & Training

Pregnancy & Postpartum

- Paula Jasper’s RMT Trainings – Part 1: Pregnancy, Part 5: Cesarean Section Treatment, Part 6: Breast Treatment
- Holistic Treatment of the Pregnant Body
- Breastfeeding Course for Health Care Professionals: Breast Feeding and Chest Feeding Support
- Julie Garehardt’s Craniosacral Therapy & Infant Mind Body Training (2 years, CST certification & Infant CST certification)
- Best for Baby Osteo: Infant Intraoral Treatment & Treating the Infant Cranium
- Gold Learning Symposium(s) 2020-2025

Lymphatic Drainage & Scar Care

- Dr Vodder Manual Lymphatic Drainage. Full certification (2014)
- Lymphatic Medical Taping (Vodder Schools International)
- Measuring for Medical Grade Compression Stockings (For pregnancy & other swelling conditions)

& More

When Carlie isn’t in her Nest, you might find her spending time with her daughter & husband, exploring the beautiful mountains that surround us, or in her garden.

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Our Clients at The Nest

I have seen many RMT's over the years, and Carlie is one of the best. She is very knowledgeable, especially around women's health issues. As a health professional myself, I have referred multiple pregnant and postpartum clients to Carlie with full confidence in her treatments and the education she provides.

Mel M

I began seeing Carlie for massages in January of 2019. I consistently would book with her bi-weekly since the time of first meeting her because I love the way she worked so much. Carlie is intuitive in her healing touch, has a great warmth to her personality, and consistently met my needs for RMT care. I highly recommend connecting with Carlie if you are looking for a great massage backed with a lot of knowledge and skill, and want to work with someone who genuinely cares about your wellbeing.

Samantha B

Finding Carlie as my massage therapist and lymphatic drainage practitioner was a blessing in my life. She is a talented and gifted professional who treats with an intuitive touch. She was able to work magic on my general muscle weariness from yoga and was a god send when I injured my wrist! I was new to MLD (manual lymphatic drainage) when she suggested it for inflammation in my wrist and I was sold when it made such a difference reducing the inflammation related to my injury. I highly recommend her for both massage and MLD.

Darcy A

Carlie was my massage therapist during my pregnancy and through to my postpartum time. She also cared for my baby soon after birth when my baby had challenges latching during breastfeeding. Her care and close attention to my baby’s needs throughout the treatments made all the difference for our feeding journey. Our appointments during my pregnancy felt incredibly supportive in many ways. She is caring, kind and an incredible massage therapist. She addressed my pain with great skill and knowledge and is just a generally wonderful person to be around. This care continued through the postpartum period and beyond. I still see her as my massage therapist now!

Amy N

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Apple Tree Orchard

The Nest Massage Therapy is part of a collective of practitioners located at Apple Tree Maternity in Nelson BC.

Carlie works alongside Joanie Mercier, a pelvic floor physiotherapist. Her practice is called Wildberry Physiotherapy. You can check out her website here:

Wildberry Physiotherapy

Together, The Nest Massage Therapy & Wildberry Physiotherapy are called AppleTree Maternity, which is the name of our online booking site through JaneApp.

online booking

We are a family friendly clinic. You are always welcome to bring your little one to your appointment if you do not have childcare. Sometimes baby’s nap (sometimes!), sometimes parents sit in a semi-reclined position on the massage table holding or feeding their baby, sometimes baby & mama lay on their sides resting on the table during their massage. We make it work!

The Clinic in Nelson BC

LAND ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

We are located in Apple Tree Maternity Clinic in Nelson, BC On the unceded territory of the Sinixt, Syilx & Ktunaxa.

Photo by Jamie Perchie