Rosemarie Kranics is not a fan of the words “alternative health care.”
“Oh please, don't call it that,” Kranics said during an interview at Infinite Healing in Niagara Falls. “I prefer to call it ‘individual health care.'”
Kranics, a certified practitioner in Holistic Medicine, a registered member of the International Organization of Nutritional Consultants and a Registered Nutritional and Orthomolecular Practitioner, is a partner in Infinite Healing with Dr. Anthony Giallonardo, a chiropractor who offers a wealth of health care knowledge beyond adjusting spines.
Together, they are working to build one of Niagara's fastest-growing practices in the health and wellness field – one of the fastest-growing areas of specialized treatment in the country.
There is not a lot of reliable data on the number of Canadians turning to natural and holistic healers as either a replacement or a complement to traditional medicine. The most recent data available cites research conducted in the last decade of the 20th century. But Kranics, Giallonardo and others working in the field say it's an area of medicine that is growing daily, as Canadians seek to find new ways to prevent and cure illnesses and to find better balance in their lives.
Most importantly, says Kranics, choosing to introduce an individualized health care program to your life doesn't mean making an either-or choice.
“Believe me, there are plenty of patients for all of us,” she says, referring to the often-contentious relationship between the medical community and those who practice alternative forms of medicine. “It really doesn't have to be us versus them.”
Giallonardo agrees.
 “Chiropractics, orthomolecular treatment, nutrition and homeopathy are together under one umbrella here so patients can see both and seek treatment,” he says. “What we really strive to be is a complete wellness centre.”
At Infinite Healing, the practitioners use approximately 12 different tests to assess a person. They also refer patients to medical doctors whenever they think it's warranted.
Most people don't know they're ill until symptoms begin to show. Kranicks and Giallonardo say the goal is to catch problems before they start, which eases the burden on the medical profession.
“A lot of people come in here and say ‘I don't feel good, but I don't know why,'” Giallonardo says.
Using state-of-the-art medical equipment, staff at Infinite Healing scan the body to look for blockages and other signs of trouble. A blockage in the heart, for example, may mean more than the potential for a cardiac event. “It can affect everything, including fertility, if the body is not operating optimally,” says Kranics.
After the initial diagnosis, clients are given a full range of therapies to help reverse the damage done by environmental toxins, a sedentary lifestyle, poor nutrition and stress.
“We can test for the external factors affecting their health and find specific homeopathies that will work for them at the cellular level. We would love to work with people to prevent illness – to let them know the direction they're headed so they can reverse it,” Kranics says.
Giallonardo continues that line of thought:
“It's about getting to things at the ground level and preventing them, before the medical profession could even pick them up,” he says.
“A lot of ‘silent killers' were never picked up on traditional medical tests,” adds Kranics. “People were given a clean bill of health and then a diagnosis of stage four cancer.”
The staff at ICC Healthnet, which has offices in Niagara Falls and St. Catharines, aren't looking to prevent cancer and other chronic illnesses. ICC is a rehabilitation clinic, which offers a full range of services, from traditional physiotherapy and chiropractic treatments, to acupuncture, psychology and ergonomics, says office administrator Nicole Konkle.
“We will go to your office and assess the way office stations are set up,” she says, noting that will help prevent repetitive strain injuries, such as carpal tunnel syndrome. “We also do a lot here with motor vehicle accidents and health maintenance.”
Brianne Beaudry, a physiotherapy assistant, says one of the most popular pieces of equipment used at ICC Healthnet is the Hypervibe machine. Similar to a treadmill, patients stand on the machine and are gently – or not-so-gently – rocked from side to side to stimulate muscles. On its gentle cycle, the machine offers the benefit of a 40-minute walk in a 10-minute treatment. On its highest setting, it's like a full-blown workout.
“This can be used for everything from injury repair to someone who has had muscle loss,” Beaudry says. “It's also used by high-performance athletes to increase their level of fitness. “We use it here for a lot of shoulder and lower back injuries. It also prevents bone density loss and increases circulation, which promotes healing.”
Solange Croaker is familiar with machines similar to Hypervibe. In fact, the retired physiotherapist-turned certified reflexology practitioner has one in her home. Now based out of the top floor of Nino D'Ambra Hair and Aesthetics in Fort Erie, Croaker provides healing with hands-on and hands-off treatments such as reflexology, ear candling, body wraps and ionic detoxification.
Croaker first entered the field of medicine when she started nursing school in Quebec at age 18. She later turned to physiotherapy, and worked in that field in Ontario and British Columbia for many years before her retirement six years ago. That's when she turned to reflexology, an ancient form of healing.
Like Kranics and Giallonardo, Croaker believes every body tells a story. By touch, she can spot weaknesses and help identify potential and existing health problems in her clients.
“You wear glasses,” she tells me as I lay on the table (I do). “And your neck is a bit sore. Oh, and you have something wrong with your lower back. I can work on that for you,” she says as she works her way across my heel, which represents the sciatic nerve where I have damage from a fall down stairs nearly a decade ago.
Think of reflexology as foot massage with a twist. Not only do you get the relaxing benefits of having your tootsies treated by being slathered in warm, aromatic cream, you also get stimulation in areas of weakness – in my case, my eyes, neck and lower back – without ever once having those areas touched.
Croaker also offers detoxification services such as ear candling, which removes parasites and candida from the body, and ionic foot cleansing, which removes a long list of environmental toxins from the body through the soles of the feet.
“I can tell by the colour of the water how many treatments a person will need,” says Croaker. “Usually, it's about six. Sometimes, it's only three. Everybody is different.”
While their methods may vary, each of these practitioners of “alternative” therapies in Niagara agree: The benefits of better knowledge of the body outweigh the risks of ignoring the warning signs and choosing to incorporate better nutrition and exercise into your lifestyle will only make you stronger and healthier.
“We create much of our own illnesses,” says Kranics. “When the body is working properly, it makes my job (helping people maintain good health) so much easier.”

Infinite Healing:
7000 McLeod Road, Niagara Falls • 905-357-5755 • www.infinitehealing.ca

ICC Healthnet
Head office is located in Concord, Ontario
Local offices are in St. Catharines and Niagara Falls.
St. Catharines:
180 Vine Street South, Suite 306 • 905-684-4654
Niagara Falls:
4025 Dorchester Road, Unit 15 • 905-353-0035 • www.icchealth.net

Solange Croaker
231 Garrison Road, Fort Erie • 905-871-0557