Not only enjoyable, massage is good for health

By Jack Kintner

Editor’s note: Almost all massage therapists interviewed for this story are regular clients themselves of what, in Washington state law, are referred to as licensed massage practitioners (LMP).

It’s one of the few things in life that’s not only good for you but downright enjoyable as well. As opposed to many health care practices, massage not only brings definite and specific benefits to the client but is so enjoyable for most people that they make it part of their monthly or even bi-weekly routine.

“I get a massage once a month from a colleague in this area,” said LMP Scott Schnieder, “and because of that I’ll have half the amount of colds and flu I otherwise will get. That alone is reason enough to make a good massage by a competent, state-licensed therapist part of your regular routine.”

Other health care professionals seem to agree with Schneider, 42, who got his training in Kennewick at the Tri-Cities School of Massage and now is one of 15 staffers at Birch Bay’s Whisper on the Bay spa in the Sandcastle building.

Blaine LMP Trista Rawlings, a 1998 graduate of the Myotherapy College of Utah, said most LMPs work closely with chiropractors, doctors, physical therapists and others as a part of the array of wellness treatments that are available.

“LMPs all can do a wide variety of massage, whether for relaxation, enhanced performance in sports, recovery from trauma or increased circulation and improved performance of the immune system,” she said.
“Other times we’re trying to rid the body of toxins generated by stress or athletic performance. Some chiropractors like having people get a massage before adjustments because they’re much more relaxed, and like other LMPs I have a few pregnant moms who come in for lower back pain. For that you really need someone who is well-trained and licensed.”

Some massage therapists work in spas, concentrating on such relaxation techniques as candles, aromas of various kinds and even hot rocks and mud. But Rawlings said she is careful with what some see as treatment gimmicks..

“For some people, an hour of Yanni piped into the room drives them up the wall instead of helping them relax,” she said, “which is, after all, the idea, to relax your body more than you have been able to do on your own.”

Therapists are trained in helping clients both in choosing a kind of massage that will address their concerns and needs as well as in finding someone that you’ll be comfortable with getting to know your body as well or better than you do.

LMPs in the area include: Rawlings’ Soul Touch Massage at 477 Peace Portal Drive, (332-8000); Esther Moynahan’s Blaine Ladies Day Massage on H Street near city hall, (332-9492); Shannon Freeman’s A Better Way Massage in Ferndale, (366-4216); the Renee Marie salon in Birch Bay, (820-2223), The Spa at Semiahmoo Resort (318-2009), the Silver Reef Casino (543-7169) and Whisper on the Bay spa Birch Bay (371-3660).