Photos by Riverwood Photography. Wendy Docherty, Executive Vice President; Francis Docherty, President; Dolores Docherty, Administrative Assistant; Chelsy Blackmore, Customer Service; Laurie LePan, Manager of Business Development and Sales and Anton Steyn, General Manager.
Thermotex Therapy Systems Helping People and Animals Live Pain-Free by Rennay Craats
P
ain happens for many reasons, but the team at Thermotex Therapy Systems knows that pain doesn’t need to sideline sufferers. What began as a therapeutic product for horses has changed the lives of people with pain from ailments ranging from arthritis, sprains and tendonitis to menstrual cramps, fibromyalgia and sports injuries. Thermotex was started in the 1980s as an infrared treatment to improve racehorses’ performance, and the incredible success founder Dr. Joseph Bender had with the animals spurred him to research applying the same technique to people. In 1996, Francis Docherty purchased the company and the Docherty family has been expanding on Dr. Bender’s offerings ever since. “It’s pretty exciting and really rewarding to do what we do for 25 years. We get phone calls, letters and Thermotex Therapy Systems
emails saying we’ve changed clients’ lives now that their pain is under control or gone,” says Wendy Docherty, executive vice president of Thermotex and Francis’ daughter. The Docherty family started with a line of four personal products – the Gold, the Platinum, a knee pad and an elbow pad. The Platinum, measuring 17 inches by 15 inches, is the company’s top seller for its versatility in treating pain throughout the body, whether it’s applied flat on the back, wrapped around an arm or leg, draped over a shoulder or across the neck. The infrared heating pads target pain and inflammation where it originates, which is something a traditional heating pad can’t do. Unlike standard heating pads that offer high heat that only reaches a few millimetres into the body, the patented Thermotex products penetrate at least six