As classes wind to a close and students are forced to reckon with a massive pile of papers, projects, and assignments, stress has overtaken the campus. However, Tufts has been making increased efforts this semester to provide students with relief, expanding the role of Health Services' campus massage therapist and creating an Experimental College class on massage techniques.
Massage therapist Larry Warnock is available at Health Services every Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday by appointment. His Ex-College course "Bodyworks: Physiology and Stress" has been immensely popular, and will be given an encore next semester. The 22 students currently enrolled in it will be providing free massages to students in the large conference room of the Campus Center from 8-11 p.m. on Tuesday and Wednesday during reading period.
Warnock's duties as campus masseuse have also increased this year, and he now has his own office where he provides massages by appointment on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays. He first came to Tufts two years ago to offer massages during reading period, and the positive response from students caused Health Services to employ him on a more regular basis. Health Services Director Michelle Bowdler had been hoping to provide holistic health services for Tufts students, and the overwhelming response to Warnock's massage therapy showed that this was good way to accomplish this goal.
"The longer I've been here, the busier I am. It seems like the more students who know what I do, the more of them come to see me," Warnock said.
Warnock's clientele includes students, faculty, and staff, and he charges $20 per half hour for students and $30 for faculty. Students who were referred to him by physicians are usually covered by insurance, as 80 percent of diseases are said to be stress-related. Many campus athletes also seek his services to help improve their performance.
"Touch is a really interesting phenomenon," Warnock said, "It helps people focus and think better."
Student interest in learning massage techniques has been sparked by Warnock's presence on campus, which was why he decided to offer a course on this subject. Calling it a "real awareness course," Warnock said that "Bodyworks" teaches basic anatomy and instructs students on how to find and feel all major muscles, how to see if they are tense, and how to utilize proper stretching and massage techniques.
"We learned a lot of practical applications in this course," said junior Amy Gelender, a student in the class. "My Tuesdays are pretty stressful, and so it's kind of nice to get a massage at the end of the day."
Although he is paid to teach the course, Warnock is an outside contractor, and therefore receives no funding from the University for his massage services. His experience in the field of massage therapy is extensive, as he has worked with athletes ranging from members of the Bruins to high school teams. In 1996, he served as the head of the sports massage team at the Atlanta Olympic Games.
Warnock feels that he has found his niche at Tufts and described his experience here as "the best thing that has ever happened to me."
"I love talking to students and helping them with their problems," he said. "When they're on the table they just talk about everything to me. I enjoy that. I've done that for years."
Massage has become an increasingly popular form of medical treatment, especially over the past couple of years, and the benefits of the therapy are numerous. Research indicates that even a basic 15-minute chair massage two times a week results in decreased stress and a significant increase in productivity. It reduces the heart rate and blood pressure, increases blood circulation and lymph flow, relaxes muscles, improves range of motion, and increases serotonin, which influences blood flow and endorphins, which, in turn, affect pain perception.
