 
In a recession who can afford to pamper themselves with a massage? The answer, say licensed massage therapists is that in tough times, the benefits of massage are more evident and even more necessary. And these days a quarter of the population agrees and even hospitals are providing access to the therapy.
“Stress relief, pain relief, increasing blood circulation and improving the immune system,” said Lynn Carroll Gilbert, a licensed massage therapist practicing her art and science in New Paltz for the last 22 years, delineating the value of massage therapy.
She practices Deep Tissue Swedish Massage that oxygenates the blood, and stimulates the lymphatic system, improving circulation in ways that help fight off illness, while helping a person relax and focus. “People feel more in tune after a massage, it helps them concentrate. It puts more spring in their step.”
According to the American Massage Therapy Association, there are about 250,000 licensed massage therapists nationally, participating in an industry that they estimate created at least $5 billion in business in 2005, charging an average of $61 per hour. The AMTA says studies show that in 2007, almost a quarter of all Americans had a massage at some time in the previous year. Â
Dale Grust is president of the AMTA chapter for New York State. A practitioner of massage therapy for 18 years and owner of the Center for Therapeutic Massage in New Paltz, she specializes in medical massage and pain relief.
The value of massage is simple. “It makes you feel better in your body,” Grust said. “Your aches and pains disappear. It can even help people sleep better.”
But she said that growing evidence has led to wider acceptance of the medical value of consistent massage therapy. “If you get one massage, there is an immediate effect, what I call the vacation response,” said Grust, likening the physiological reaction to what one feels after being on vacation. Â
“But the other aspect of the massage is what it does for your immune system,” said Grust.
“When you get massage on a regular basis it boosts your immune system. People who get
massages regularly don”™t get sick as often and bounce back more quickly.”
According to the AMTA, the number of hospitals offering massage therapy services rose by nearly one-third between 2004 and 2006. The main reason provided for the service is pain relief , including reducing the frequency of headaches and the severity of osteoarthritis and even carpal tunnel. Massage has also been shown to reduce blood pressure.
But for busy business owners the benefits of massage are also worth touting, said Grust, although they are not as quantifiable as pain relief. “It”™s a fairly affordable way to de-stress,” Grust said. “It is a time business owners can have to themselves, where they can let their mind relax for an hour and be pampered, a time when your feeling good is the focus and you do not have to run around answering questions and phones.” Â
Gilbert agrees that professionals in the workplace need massage as much as hospitalized persons and said that some of her clients tell her they would be taking medication to provide the benefits provided by her massages. “I have clients who are lawyers, or professors at the college and they are willing to make cuts in other places in order to afford me,” Gilbert said. “I know they may have taken a hit, (financially) but these are people who a have accepted they are going to spend this money because massage is really valuable.”
