The Healing Touch, Pittsburgh

Retta Flagg was introduced to the reparative benefits of massage while recovering from a back injury. Once she was back in tip-top shape, Retta decided to pursue a career in massage therapy, focusing her initial training on styles designed to treat injuries and chronic pain. Only a few years after completing massage school in 1986, she started a 10-year career teaching neuromuscular technique at the very same institution she attended—the Pittsburgh School of Massage Therapy.

Retta now owns and operates The Healing Touch, a place that clients frequent for stress-relieving treatments ranging from Swedish and pregnancy massages to paraffin therapy baths and onsite corporate chair massages. All the wellness center's therapists are graduates of accredited schools, boast more than 600 hours of training, and actively improve their skills through continuing education and thumb-wrestling tournaments.