European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - February 10, 1989, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Getting rubbed the right Way whenever the knead arises by Catherine Dressler associated press a after hours hunched Over steering wheel breathing bus fumes and fighting traffic chauffeur Michael Manganaro needs to be kneaded. For him it s a company perk the kind of service offered state department bureaucrats professional hockey players and a growing number of other americans. Manganaro and about 200 other employees of . Heinz co. Can kick off their shoes and sink into a padded chair for a 15-minute Rubdown once a week in a quiet conference room at the company s Headquarters in downtown Pittsburgh. Driving in the City really can tense you up Manganaro 41, says As he gets out of the chair. This really relaxes you. It really makes you feel  the Rubdown Are offered As part of a new stress reduction program in which the company pays half of the $12.50 fee for 15 minutes. It s one example of How Massage is going mainstream in the United states. Thousands of americans Are getting rubbed the right Way at work health clubs hotels malls airports Street fairs and at Home. Massage is no longer perceived As illicit or a toy for the Idle Rich. It s for everybody says Gene Arbetter spokesman for the american Massage therapy association. It s for the average worker. It s for the weekend athlete not just an  the Massage association estimates about 10 percent of americans have tried professional Massage at least once. Those kneaded regularly often work in High pressure jobs that put kinks in their shoulders and backs. The body has a Good self regulating mechanism but we 20th-Century Man throw an awful lot of obstacles into that balance Arbetter says. Cradling the phone Between the ear and the shoulder sitting in poor chairs carrying a purse or gym bag on Only one shoulder falling asleep in front of the television can do things to the circulation and the muscle Heinz employee Priscilla Grden gets a Massage from therapist Sabina Vidunas. Structure that Are just not  founded in 1943, the association s membership has jumped 500 percent to about 7,500 members in the past five years. Most states Don t License Massage therapists so the association has developed a program of certification that requires members to spend at least six months at an approved school including 500 hours of classroom time Arbetter said. The Cost of a Massage varies from $20 to $80 per hour depending on the location and the therapist s training he says. Massage does t cure or treat but what it does try to do is get some Type of balance in the body by loosening tight Muscles and allowing tensions on the opposite sides of the body to be More equal Arbetter says. Sabina Vidunas gives the massages at Heinz. Like most of today s practitioners she has distanced herself from the image of the Sleazy Massage parlor and refers to herself As a Massage therapist not a masseuse. She studied Massage for a year at the swedish Institute in new York City after working As a registered nurse for five years. The Heinz employees remain clothed As Vidunas kneads the upper body including Scalp and hands in a sort of min Massage that uses no Oil. Everyone is affected by a busier lifestyle Vidunas says. It s just taking 15 minutes out of your Day to totally  Priscilla Grden a Secretary at the company s Heinz Usa division has scheduled at least one Massage a month with Vidunas since april. It s just a great great feeling she says. It just takes away All your  Massage is making headway in other corporate quarters. Therapist Jan bobbins says she takes it to the people with her company corporate stress busters a sort of Massage delivery service in san Francisco s financial District a hotbed of  when tense Urban professionals Beckon Robbins shows up at their office with the equipment a Stool a Cushion and a pair of hands. You just whip out the chair and people sit Down close the phones hit the lights close the doors and get 15 minutes of peace and quiet Robbins says. Robbins says most other clients work for Small companies but some Large corporations have shown interest in her service because of the growing Cost of stress induced illness. People Are suffering from everything from headaches to heart disease and the traditional ways of dealing with these problems Aren t working Robbins says. The claims for mental and emotional stress Are  even in the offices of the state department in Washington d.c., Massage is a hit. Employees pay for the services of Bahaa Karra whose company Washington health systems comes to the office basement twice a week to offer massages ranging from 15 minutes for $11 to an hour for $44. I m booked full for two or three weeks in Advance Karra says. It is not easy to get an hour Massage in the state  Nancy Gelman says she gives 15 minute massages in her portable chair at Jeffrey s hair Salon in Pittsburgh often to clients Between their manicure and their  Carol Cadman a Massage therapist for 12 years in Petaluma calif., teaches the technique to nurses at the University of California at san Francisco. The nurses do the real hands on nurturing and Healing work with people says Cadman who believes the medical Field fails to recognize the value of Massage. The new Jersey devils of the National hockey league have their own Massage therapist who travels with the team. It facilitates injury rehabilitation and some of the players feel it s also preventative at times says team spokesman Dave freed. It helps to keep them Loose and  practitioners also Are making their Way into the malls. Bob Watt opened Massage works about three years ago in a Plaza in Plantation fla., near fort Lauderdale. Watt says business is so Good he Hopes to hire two additional therapists full time and expand his office to include the empty store next door. We get All kinds of people from 12 years old to 92," he says. Quite a majority of them Are your average businessman Down the Street the Printer the Salesman the car dealer  at the Phoenix and Dallas fort Worth airports frazzled fliers can drop into the air Vita health club for a Massage. It makes a Layover a lot easier says therapist Linda Wilson. It s a Relief to come to a place and be Able to relax for a Little  the stars and stripes Page 13