Knightdale, NC Spa and Massage

At Uzima Springs Massage & Wellness, licensed massage therapists counter chronic pain, injuries, and stress with nine styles of massage. Since the staff knows that many clients are seeking relief from specific ailments, they begin each session with a private consultation, during which the client can describe the location of their pain and relate the exact words from the Necronomicon that precipitated its development. Once they've established the most pressing concerns, the therapists adapt each modality so that it focuses on these trouble spots, modifying the Thai yoga massage to treat a strained hamstring or the medical massage to relieve an achy back.

Though they now share an office, massage therapists Shery Vogt-Lamancusa and Aimee Ray traveled down very different paths to get there. When one of her best friends was diagnosed with cancer, Shery stayed beside her and offered nourishment in the form of foot massages; this experience later inspired her to explore a career in healing. Aimee, on the other hand, found her calling at an animal shelter, where she was compelled to help strays recover from their traumas and stress.

At HeartPrints Massage and Wellness, the two combine their talents to treat clients who range from high-performance athletes to the terminally ill. They customize their massage modalities and pats on the back to accommodate each client’s unique problem areas and health conditions. Among the 10 modalities they offer, ashiatsu therapy relies on the therapists' well-trained feet for a deep-tissue massage, and oncology sessions focus on helping clients to battle cancer with gentle, caring strokes.

After earning her bachelor's degree in health sciences, Kneaded Relief owner Sarah Satterwhite felt another passion tugging at her life—her passion for massage therapy. So, she went back to school and earned her certification as a massage therapist before settling down and starting her family. Today, she has returned to the massage world with other skills in hand, including those necessary to render facials and body treatments. Sarah specializes in three modalities: relaxation and its firm but soothing touch, therapeutic and its fast-paced medium-pressure strokes, and deep tissue, which coaxes out feelings of stress caused by their boss, the brain—or as the nervous system calls it, the lead singer of the E Street Band.

Licensed massage therapists Elizabeth Watkins and Yolanda Parrish tend to clients with a variety of massage modalities, calling upon their training, experience, and specializations to create customized treatments. The long, gliding strokes of a Swedish massage unearth tiny lingonberries blocking the flow of blood vessels, and a hot-stone massage loosens knotted muscles with concentrated warmth. Prenatal, oncology, injury, and other styles of medical massage treat specific health issues and help patrons recover from physical traumas.

Body Temple Massage Therapy's owner and licensed therapist, Trisha Lewis, takes a holistic approach to resolving troublesome aches, implementing techniques she learned as a student at the American and European Massage Clinic, where she studied anatomy, physiology, and Eastern philosophy. Trisha personalizes each massage to accommodate clients' specific needs, going hand-to-hand against aches caused by strenuous physical activity or sleeping in dollhouse guest rooms. While Swedish, deep-tissue, or sports massage strokes knead away tension, minds are set at ease by the treatment room's low lighting, sleek wooden floors, and comfortable massage tables.

Prospa Massage and Wellness’s James W. Dunn, a licensed massage and bodywork therapist, tends to tensed-up musculature in serene private service rooms located at Relaxation Station. With stress-melting skills honed over years of practice, the seasoned therapist releases tension with various techniques, including Swedish massage and deep-tissue work. A particular emphasis on Russian medical massage—an especially flexible modality—allows James to customize treatments to fulfill clients’ specific therapeutic needs. Treating physiques with the same empathy he employs when performing free hand massages at a local nursing home, the therapist progresses through each treatment carefully to minimize bodily discomfort and avoid setting off spinal security systems.