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Tuesday, November 25, 1986 / University Daily Kansan
Bruce Blanc, owner of Lawrence Massage Therapy, 9271 Massachusetts St., works with patient Georgeone Cooper, Lawrence resident.
Blanc uses the pressure of his thumbs to relax the back muscles.
Local masseur makes use of healing touch
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Blanc became interested in massage when he was in high school in San Francisco, he said, and was told he was good at it.
"I read books and studied techniques." he said.
"Then I had a terrible motorcycle accident. I really hurt my ankle and I massaged it myself to speed the car."
He said his own massage even prevented scars from appearing on the ankle
Now, he is owner of the business, which is professional and accredited. But, he said, the business still has to fight the reputation it suffered during the massage parlor arrests of years ago when massage parlors were used as fronts for prostitution.
"That's the biggest single blow that ever happened to massage therapy." Blanc said.
His business still fights to overcome the sexual stereotype of the massage parlor image, he said.
"We still have people call and ask what all is included with the message," he said. "We simply tell them we don't."
touch for the massage to do them any good.
Another problem Blanc has to deal with is patients who come to him but are too leery of another person's
"Our society is very homophobic," he said.
"Western society is ill as far as touch."
Blanc said that he and his partner, Dayla Feldman, were the only two full-time massage technicians in Lawrence. He said that massages were offered where he but that the technicians massaged only part time.
Feldman said she had massaged for a living for eight years, and Blanc said he had for four years. Feldman used to run a business from her home until 2014 up with Blanc shortly after he moved to Lawrence.
Biane also makes house calls, but they cost $10 more an hour, he said.
"I'm the only one who does it," he said. "It's too dangerous for women."
Blanc said he got all types of people as patients and they ranged in age from their 20s to their 80s. He frequently works on KU students, he said.
"I get more calls around finals time," he said.
I get more calls around finals time.
Blance said that he worked on people who were "stressed out" and that finals produced more of these people.
About half of his customers are regulars, including
those he called "poor, harassed executives."
Unlike chiropractic, which eliminates tension through spinal adjustments, Blanc said massage went to the source of the tension and relieved it. The effect generally lasts longer with massage, he said.
In addition to the massage itself, Blanc said that music during the massage was also important for relaxation.
He said the best genre of music for this was Windham Hill, an easy listening type of instrumental
"It's so mellow, melodic and non-talking." Blanc said. "It really helps."
He said the patient's heart slowed to match the music's slow beat, which aided relaxation.
Besides injuries, his patients' most common problem is that they are not in tune with their own bodies.
"People don't know how to breathe correctly, which increases tension," he said. "Breathing is a process of tension release. They don't utilize their entire breathing capacity."
Blanc also said that he helped his patients relax by talking to them while he worked in an effort to get them to open up.
But, to be successful at this, a high level of trust had to be established between the technician and the patient.
"We try to convey comfort, warmth, and a secure, friendly atmosphere," he said. "Otherwise, it just doesn't come together."
Blane said this also was achieved by allowing the patient to choose what to wear during the massage.
"You don't have to be naked," he said. "We let them do whatever they feel comfortable with. Some are nude, and others are not."
"Each massage is unique to the person. The therapist and the patient are different and you (the therapist) have to get the feel of the person, play them."
People store tension in different places, and it is Blanc's job to rid his patients of their tension.
He said that sometimes the therapist and the patient were too different, and a working relationship could not be reached.
Above. Blanc usually begins rubbing the neck muscles and the back of the head in his therapy. Below, relaxing the whole body is the concept of massage therapy. Left. Blanc said the feet are a very important part of massage therapy to relax.
Photos by Margie Chambers Story by Kirk Kahler
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