Sergey Raiter, Owner, Orthosports
Sergey Raiter’s pursuit of towards better health began over 12 years ago with a pivotal moment—an unexpected shoulder injury. While working at a Thai spa, his boss encouraged him to expand his skills by learning advanced Thai massage techniques. During one of these sessions, a method called “angel wings” was applied, and Sergey felt a sudden, intense pain in his left shoulder. From that point on, the pain lingered, making it difficult for him to continue his work as a massage therapist.
Determined to overcome this setback, Sergey turned to his massage therapy instructors, who recommended attending a 5-day intensive seminar with the renowned James Waslasky. The seminar, held within two weeks, included a focus on shoulder treatments, which piqued Sergey’s interest. On the second day of the seminar, when Waslasky asked if anyone was experiencing shoulder pain, Sergey immediately stepped forward. After a focused 40-minute session, his shoulder pain vanished. Though it took a year of rehabilitation to fully recover, Sergey was able to return to his career, pain-free. This life-changing experience inspired him to become Waslasky’s teaching assistant, completing another 5-day course to qualify for the role.
Sergey firmly believes that success in any profession requires learning from those who are masters in their field. For manual therapy, he sees two essential paths to improvement: attending seminars and receiving treatments from skilled therapists. He understands the importance of connecting with the brightest minds in his field and actively seeks opportunities to do so. To this day, Sergey regularly seeks treatments from other skilled therapists, embodying his commitment to ongoing self-improvement in order to provide the best possible care for his clients.
Sergey’s professional journey has been a remarkable one. He began by integrating techniques from Waslasky, who was inducted into the Massage Hall of Fame in the USA. Seeking further growth, he studied the Cyriax method under Dr. Salami, a distinguished orthopedic surgeon and massage practitioner in Calgary. Inspired by Dr. Salami’s successful practice, Sergey expanded his expertise, eventually studying Manual Osteopathy at NMOC, becoming a designated Manual Osteopath.
Sergey’s perspective on therapy evolved further after a client introduced him to Neurokinetic Therapy (NKT). Initially skeptical, Sergey attended a seminar and coincidentally sprained his knee—a perfect opportunity to test the method. To his surprise, releasing a single trigger point improved his knee’s condition by 20 percent. Within two weeks, his knee fully healed, allowing him to resume running without issue. This experience ignited Sergey’s passion for NKT, and he went on to become a certified Level 3 practitioner.
NKT is built on two key principles: first, that dysfunctional movement patterns stored in the brain cause pain, and second, that certain muscles compensate for others. Sergey, founder of Orthosports, views NKT as a blueprint for the body, making the treatment process as logical as solving a Rubik’s Cube. He acknowledges that while it may not be possible to help everyone, with the right approach, the techniques used at Orthosports can make a profound and positive impact for many.
Founded in 2017, Orthosports started small, with Sergey subleasing a treatment room in a yoga studio. In just five years, the clinic’s revenue grew seven-fold, allowing Sergey to expand into a larger clinic space. Today, Orthosports employs three additional therapists and continues to thrive, despite the challenges of the ongoing recession. With resilience and constant evolution, Orthosports remains poised for continued growth.
