Massage: Rubbing you the right way

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Their names read like a starting lineup in Major League Baseball rather than the cutting edge in the health and wellness game. But Trager, Reiki, Shiatsu, Bowen, Feldenkrais, Nuad Bo'Ram, Hot Stone, Swedish and Deep Tissue represent a versatile, winning roster in massage and movement therapy.
They are as different in approaches as any group of pitchers or hitters — culturally, creatively and practically. Collectively, their message is the same: Professional therapeutic massage and therapy has changed dramatically from its earlier reputation as parlor trick-or-treat and now positively affects the lives of millions of patrons.
"Body work and touch no longer are considered a spa luxury," said Barbara Sanchez-Reichert, who has operated her Cresskill studio, Alterra Wellness, for 13 years and utilizes many of the modalities. "So many people are in pain, and we know and understand the language of touch. We can self-heal if the body-minded connection is there."
Patti Miles of Ramsey spent 30 years as a flight attendant with long international trips (London, Tokyo, Rome, Paris). She relied on Deep Tissue massages every two weeks for "de-stressing and detoxing," she recalled recently, then added Reiki in recent years for body balancing. "It's truly magical," she said. "I'll walk in with heavy feelings of health and sadness, and Reiki changes the muscle structure. I don't understand it, but I can feel the energy changing."
Finding the formula and therapist that works can be as intricate as solving the nuances of a four-seam fastball. Roberta Gay Lipton, a Demarest resident, tried Deep Tissue and Swedish with only limited success for chronic hip pain until her therapist, Sanchez-Reichert, casually suggested Bowen, a lesser-known, gentle hands-on therapy developed 60 years ago by an Australian, Tom Bowen. To Lipton's surprise, after two sessions with only minimal body contact, her pain subsided.
"My body seems much more resilient," Lipton said.
Not all pains are muscular. Age, stress and body makeup bring their share of complex physical and mental issues. "Each person has to find what's best for their body and condition," says Linda Mitchell, a Montvale therapist and Reiki master for 19 years.
Depending on which type of massage you choose, expect to pay $60 to $75 for a one-hour session and $90 to $100 for 90 minutes. Prices may be higher at boutique spas and wellness clinics. What follows is a scouting report on finding the best therapy, culled from conversations with a number of North Jersey therapists, massage patrons and four decades of personal experience:
DEEP TISSUE: Elisabeth Lindberg, who is celebrating the 30th year of her Massage Therapy Studio in Ramsey, treated Phil Simms, the former Giants quarterback, with two-hour Deep Tissue massages every Tuesday afternoon throughout his pro football career. "When somebody is an athlete, it's almost always Deep Tissue," Lindberg said during a recent phone interview. Deep Tissue means what it says — not necessarily painful but trying to elicit change. As an alternative, you may want to consider Sports Massage, for pre-events to prepare the muscles for competition or post-events to target injuries or soreness. "Somebody not familiar with massage," Lindberg added, "they'll usually come in for Swedish or Deep Tissue."
SWEDISH: You've had a tough day at the office, your body is tense and tired, you just want to unwind. A lighter one-hour or 90-minute Swedish massage will relax and manipulate the muscles and move the lymphatic system. If you are active, athletic and can spare the time and dollars for a two-massage-a-month routine, the Deep Tissue/Swedish double might be a worthwhile combo.
FELDENKRAIS: Developed by an Israeli with a second-degree black belt in judo, Feldenkrais proponents refer to their process as therapy. Awareness, functional integration and reconnecting with natural abilities to move, think and feel — how you organize your body — is the key. Ken Horowitz, a long-distance cyclist from Harrington Park, still recalls his licensed Feldenkrais therapist telling him to stand, look at the wall and pick a spot on the wall. After an hour of work on the table, Horowitz got off the table, looked at the same spot on the wall "and felt elongated — six to eight inches taller." The Feldenkrais Institute is based on West 26th Street in Manhattan.
SHIATSU: Part of Japanese body work (along with acupuncture). Finger and palm pressure is applied along connecting "meridians" to various parts of the body. Some therapists incorporate Shiatsu into other regular routines (while working on rotator cuff problems, for example) because they feel it is an appropriate balancing tool. Useful in treating headaches, fatigue, insomnia, stress, anxiety.
TRAGER: Developed 65 years ago by Dr. Milton Trager. I got my first Trager massage more than 25 years ago. The gentle, non-intrusive movements, shaking the body the way it actually moves, left me relaxed, limber and lighter. Finding a licensed Trager therapist may be problematic, but it is worth sampling if only to broaden your body knowledge.
REIKI: An ancient Japanese method, Reiki is gentle hands-on energy healing. "It helps balance and regulate everything from our basic cellular functions to our complicated nervous system functions," said therapist Linda Mitchell. A 50-year-old Bergen County portfolio manager had tried yoga, meditation, massage, acupuncture. Under stress, he said, his neck and back muscles sometimes got tense; he wanted something to balance energy fields in his body. Mitchell suggested Reiki. Eight years later, the manager says Reiki "seems to have the most profound stress reduction technique in the shortest amount of time. The energy goes to where it's needed."
BOWEN: The first time you try Bowen, the practitioner may only have her thumbs and fingers on precise points on your body for a total of no more than four minutes in an hour-long session. The treatment is gentle and subtle, and some pain could surface after the first session ends. Barbara Sanchez-Reichert's faith in Bowen followed her fall down a flight of stairs that produced whiplash, neck stiffness and nerve pain. "I felt like a bird with a broken wing," she recalled, before several more sessions convinced her of its balancing skills.
THAI: The traditional name for Thai massage is NuadBo'Ram. Its ancient healing formula uses deep static and rhythmic pressures that combine acupressure, stretching and reflexology. "It's yoga with somebody else doing the yoga on you," says Dr. Karl Glassman, a triathlete from Allentown, Pa., who described his mat-on-the-floor session as "one of the best experiences I've ever had."
A number of other techniques have also become increasingly popular in recent years including Hot Stones (for relaxation), Reflexology (for hands and feet), Aroma Therapy (fragrant oils extracted from herbs and flowers) and Manual Lymphatic Drainage (natural drainage of the lymph system, which carries products from tissues back to the heart).
Not everyone may be a candidate for massage, and its benefits may also be limited in certain situations. Persons with a cold, fever, nausea or bleeding wounds, rashes, allergies or severe sunburns should consult a therapist. Caution should also be used for individuals with arteriosclerosis, circulatory problems, low platelet count and diabetes, according to NextAvenue, the PBS wellness website. Women in the first trimester of pregnancy should check with their physician for approval.
New Jersey's decision two years ago to issue state licenses for therapists who have completed accredited massage schooling and require 20 hours of certified education units every two years for license renewal has resulted in an explosion in the number of licensed studios and therapists. The largest national franchise, Massage Envy, with more than 1,000 locations, has 42 in New Jersey and nine in Bergen County.
Sol Glastein, who operates Massage Envy locations in Closter and Waldwick, has 25 to 35 different therapists at his locations, many like Anne Griffin, a 37-year-old former teacher with a master's degree in education, who says, "I enjoy making people feel better."
"The truth is," Glastein says of the growth in massage, "that whatever the number is, we can use more. We're that busy. There is more demand for massage therapists than there is supply."