Tru Massage Therapy, Sioux Falls

Danielle Rivera, owner of Tru Massage Therapy, did not set out to become a massage therapist. "I like helping people," she says, and she did so for many years as a CNA in nursing homes. When she began to transition to a medical-assistant program, Rivera discovered her passion for massage. She got her massage license in 2008 and never looked back. Now, Rivera and a team of therapists provide 10 massage modalities and myriad spa services. In addition to botanical body wraps and waxing services, Rivera's talent for clinical massage has improved her patients' lives and her ability to open industrial-size jars of pickles. "I had a client that could only lift his arm 90 degrees, and after working on him. . . he could go up to 160 degrees." She has also provided relief for migraine sufferers. Clients who "were taking prescription pain meds. . . were able to cut down their prescriptions significantly" or repurpose them altogether into beaded necklaces.