Stressed? Consider this your official excuse to go get a rubdown. Stress kills and massage may significantly reduce stress. Booya, you’re justified.
I was at the studio earlier today prepping for my work at Fox Sports Live when I received an email from tonight’s producer, Zeus (he’s not Greek, he’s Turkish).
Don’t think we will have space for you today at Fox Sports Live with our Red White and Fight Features. You can focus on your MLB Whiparound [our nightly baseball highlight show] duties. If something changes based on tonight’s games, we will potentially come grab you.
Translation? “You’re not in the lineup tonight, kid, be ready to pinch hit.”
What Zeus didn’t know is that my Whiparound schedule had been altered, and I was on tomorrow rather than today. I had the whole night off. I touched base again with the powers that be and hit the road.
I’ve been going pretty hard since the baseball season began. I’m in studio most weekdays, and I write on the weekends. Not working doesn’t really register with me as a real thing that people do, but I opted to make the healthy decision and decompress.
The idea of grabbing some bodywork has been percolating for some time with me. It’s a necessary part of the supreme health quadrant (oh shit, now I have to come up with three other parts). From USA Today:
A review of studies that measured the stress hormone cortisol in people before and immediately after massage found the therapy lowered levels by up to about 50%. Massage also increased serotonin and dopamine, two neurotransmitters that help reduce depression. That may play into why massage has been shown to help people with anxiety disorders, to increase calm before surgery and to decrease stress and depression in cancer patients; in fact, a recent Turkish study found back massages given during chemotherapy significantly reduced anxiety and fatigue.
Zeus (he’s Turkish, remember?) will be thrilled.
FOX’s studios are in West Los Angeles, close to Century City, so I started by searching Yelp for just the right spot on Pico Boulevard. Four stars, 64 reviews and right on Pico brought me to Happy Relax Foot Massage.
Giggling, I pulled over. This was about to get weird. In the window was the greatest sell ever, $15 for an hour foot massage, $25 for the whole body. But really, it was the hysterically great uses of “happy” and “relax” that sold me.
Let’s get something straight right off the bat. Since all of you dirty minded individuals are snickering, if this was a “special massage” joint where coconut oil flowed, there must have been a code word I didn’t know.
When I opened the door, the whole place was one large room with 12 massage tables all on the same floor. There were folks of both genders getting worked on out in the open by an all Asian staff. This wasn’t your serene day spa experience, it was training room style, similar to what I experienced playing for the Yomiuri Giants in Japan; mostly clothed, no-nonsense tissue work. We were gifted this experience daily before games. It was ritualistic as much as it was therapeutic. Make no mistake; the Japanese players depended on the practice to get them loose before competition and after to reduce soreness. From the New York Times:
Many people — both athletes and health professionals – have long contended it eases inflammation, improves blood flow and reduces muscle tightness.
My personal experience has been rather mixed, particularly as it relates to injuries. Over the course of my career, I was poked and prodded, kneaded and kneed. I toyed with deep tissue, MAT (Muscle Activation Technique), and foo foo Swedish massages all without tangible results related to the reduction of inflammation. The one thing I can say unequivocally, however, is that I felt less stressed post massage, and that in itself is worth the cost of admission. From the Daily Herald:
With stress being implicated in 60 percent to 90 percent of all illnesses, the associated medical costs are staggering. Almost half of the working population suffers from stress. In addition, half of all corporate medical costs are the result of stress, averaging more than $7,000 per employee, annually. Studies have shown that reducing stress can save more than 50 percent of these medical expenditures.
Well, then, get me on the table.
My massage at Happy Relax was good, not phenomenal. Mostly elbows and forearms, it included a stretch and some karate chop style pounding. Don’t trick yourself, though. For $25 plus a $10 tip on my card that I most certainly will write off as a business expense, I felt calmer upon exiting.
You’ll just have to wait for the “special massage” stories. I’m sure they’re just around the bend.
Kap
Julie Dewing says
Thank you G…I needed a sign that it’s time for me to get a massage!!
Gabe Kapler says
Enjoy, Jules.
Brad says
there is a cosmetology school near me that allows students to practice their craft. they charge discounted rates to the public. ive been looking for a reason to give it a shot – thanks brother.
Gabe Kapler says
Love that, Brad. Do your thing.
Carnivore says
Forearm massage at Happy Massage? Is that what you call it?
Gabe Kapler says
Well played.
Brian Dierberger says
We’d be lucky to get 15min for 15$ in Connecticut! BTW-Kap, thoughts on MAT? I was a personal trainer for a long time before making a career change to insurance. (Don’t judge,we’d all love to be personal trainers,towel boys at hawaiian resort or bartenders but it just doesn’t pay the bills when you hit 30) I took MAT courses and know quite a few of the therapists.
Gabe Kapler says
When I was playing, Brian, I didn’t see a whole lot of tangible benefit from MAT. And no judging here, brother. Put healthy food on the table however you can.
Stay strong,
Kap
Ro♜ (@Raynaadi) says
I get a massage every three weeks to help manage my MS symptoms. In his own words, my massage therapist “doesn’t do fluff and buff”. he knows where my problem areas are and his hands find other problems I didn’t know I had. I’ve always looked at these sessions, and budgeted for them, as a way to decrease my pain, and now I can add that they probably help with my stress, too. thanks for the info!
Gabe Kapler says
Great, Ro. Thanks for chiming in on the conversation.
Kellye says
A good friend of my started experiencing pretty debilitating migraine headaches about a year ago. About once a week, she had the whole shebang—auras, vomiting, sensitivity to light. Her whole life started to revolve around her 2 days or so per week when she couldn’t leave the house. She went to her doctor who told her she wanted to put her on beta blockers. My friend was confused because her blood pressure already runs on the low side and didn’t think a prescription for beta blockers was the best decision. Her doctor explained that the pills would make her migraines stop. My friend suggested that maybe it was a better idea to figure out why she was having the migraines and then treat the root cause as opposed to just starting a medication to stop the migraines without knowing their cause. The doctor said she wasn’t really interested in doing that, so my friend left.
She took it upon herself to start going for massages. At first she went twice a week, then once a week, and now down to once a month. After the first few visits, her migraines stopped. She figured out that in her case the migraines were caused by stress and she can control it through massage. She hasn’t had a migraine in over 6 months. Thanks for your post validating her own experience!
Gabe Kapler says
Your reply has strong positive energy, Kellye. Thanks for bringing it.
kbeyazdancer says
I used to go to a Cosmetology school for students to practice on me when I lived in New York City and they were amazing. Many times, my head hit the table and I didn’t remember anything until they woke me up and said “thank you”.
I especially enjoyed massages for my hands (as a Biochemist, I use my hands all day long for dissections and PCRs) and my legs (as a dancer, these are one of my most prized possessions).
You’ve inspired me to get one now. Thanks love. As always, you give me something to think about.
Gabe Kapler says
Most days, someone comments and makes my day. Today, you win the ribbon. Grateful.
Kbeyazdancer says
Thank you love! I really enjoy your blog. It’s well written, inspiring, and I get a good giggle sometimes too.
Now I’m smiling
Drew Crawford says
KAP- The outrageous hourly cost of getting a message (at least consistently) is tough for middle class Americans. You’d think employers would push Insurance companies to include benefits for discount massage rates. I hope more research comes out about about stress prevention/therapy in terms of the benefits massage therapy produces!
Ro♜ (@Raynaadi) says
Massage can be covered by insurance if your insurance covers it and if referred to a massage therapist who contracts with said insurance. It is possible to get it covered. A lot of physical therapy clinics also offer it and PT is usually covered by insurance.
I’m disabled and my therapist isn’t covered so I have to budget it in. The health benefits make it worth cutting other things out.
Auntie Jan says
Family folklore…One Saturday morning in the early 2000s, one of the elder ladies in my family was enjoying her weekly trip to the salon in Brookline to have her hair and nails done. She noticed the handsome young man (she was much more descriptive) sitting next to her having a manicure of his own. She thought she knew his mother so naturally, she started chatting him up. Turns out she didn’t know his Mom but after a bit of badgering he introduced himself as Gabe Kapler. Being a 75 year old Bostonian, she knew exactly who he was.
She excitedly shared her “brush with greatness” with the rest the family. We’ll never know for sure if this actually happened but the ladies in my family have all chosen to believe it’s true. No one in my family has a mani or pedi now without someone commenting “Did Gabe go?”, “What color did Gabe get?” or “Tell Gabe I said hi”. Her story has become a great source of laughter and joy in my family. When my young nephew asked “Who’s Gabe again?” and we all responded “Gabe Kapler!”, he said ” Oh, yeah. He gets his nails done with Eileen Kaminsky!”.
They’ll all be very happy to know that you, like we, also enjoy a good massage…although I think I’ll leave out the part about the “special massage”!! Thanks for adding another story to make my family smile!!
Jill D. says
As it happens, I’m headed out for a massage right now. I always get the 15-minute foot add-on; my husband tries to work on my feet but never hits just the right spots so it is definitely worth it.
Massage gift certificates are the go-to gift in my family when stumped for ideas. For those concerned about cost, Groupon and its ilk are great sources for discount massages and a great way to try different types and practitioners.
Tabitha Bemis says
Massage therapy is not covered by my insurance, and it is the one course of treatment that works without causing damage to my system. I have titanium rods at L4-S1 with nerve damage at the sciatic nerve root. One of my rods is broken around L5 (woman ran a stop sign and hit my vehicle hard enough to snap the rod. DONT TEXT AND DRIVE FOLKS!) I now have a neural stimulator implanted in my back that connects to my spinal cord to block some of the nerve pain. I have severe neuropathy, sciatica and muscle spasms, all of which I am medicated for, to be able to function on a daily basis. My massage therapist specializes in injuries and a few other things. When it’s in the budget I go every 2 weeks and the results are incomparable. I have tried almost every pain management treatment out there and none of them gives me the same level of relief. Insurance will pay 10s of thousands of dollars to microwave my nerves but won’t cover a $60 a week massage.