Demonstrating a need for kneading

LaDonia Beggs is an active 70-year-old woman. She is still able to lift the heavier things in her kitchen at home. She has continued working at Pioneer Orchard, the business she owns with her husband. The Jackson resident is still able to get around enough to sell her Mary Kay cosmetics.

One of her secrets? Massage.

"It does so many things for me," she said. "I feel like it relieves stress, relaxes me and helps me to rest better. People may not know this, but it also tones muscles and it helps me with agility and stay limber."

In short, she loves her weekly hourlong massage.

Beggs isn't alone. Many Americans are turning to massage therapy to cope with pain, sleepless nights and as a way to alleviate the aches and stresses that have become a nagging part of every day.

According to the American Massage Therapy Association, about one in five U.S. adults -- 21 percent -- had a massage in the last 12 months, more than twice as many as five years ago.

The number of massage therapists is up, too. In 1996, there were 120,000 massage therapists. Today, the number is inching closer to 300,000. Locally, more places are popping up to get a massage as well, from an increasing number of salons to both of the hospitals' new fitness centers.

The explosion can be partly attributed to the growing number of baby boomers, the association said, but local massage therapists said there is an increasing awareness of the effects of stress and the health benefits of massage.

"A good massage can affect all major body systems," said Sarah Lynch, a licensed massage therapist at Eugene's Salon in Cape Girardeau. "Sure, they're pleasurable, but they're stress reducers as well."

Lynch said massage can encourage blood flow, relax muscles and improve the skeletal and nervous system.

"Anyone can benefit from a massage," she said.

Clinical research has shown that massage therapy can be more effective for chronic back pain than other types of therapies. It can reduce post-traumatic headaches better than cold pack treatments. It also stimulates the brain to produce pain-relieving endorphins and improves confidence by encouraging patients to effectively cope with their pain, the association says.

Also, more people are getting massages since it has overcome the stereotype of being sexual in nature.

"It did used to have a sort of sexual, sensual connotation to it," Lynch said. "But since it became a requirement to get licensed by the state, you don't see that."

Don Miles, a licensed massage therapist from Jackson who works at one of the local fitness centers, said people who get massages just generally feel better.

"It deals with a lot of problems," he said. "It can help with headaches, stress and tension. From people in their 20s to their 70s, it just helps anybody who has any stress at all in their lives."

smoyers@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 137