Floating on Air

Massage has become this woman's passport to pain-free travel

HOURS IN UNCOMFORTABLE plane seats. Driving unfamiliar cars. Sleeping in hotel beds. That's the life of Jillian Vail of Ocoee, Fla. Yes, she enjoys selling all-natural French pastries, but covering 30 states and being on the road for 45 to 48 weeks a year took their toll on her shoulders and back.

She tried different medications-painkillers, anti-inflammatories, even medications for arthritis-plus heat and ice at home and chiropractic care, too.

"It ran the gamut," the 44-year-old says. " The only thing that really helped was taking it easy, but in today's world, that's just not possible anymore."

That's when she discovered there was another option: deep-tissue massage.

"I was in Texas, and my back was killing me. I just wanted to get a massage," she says. "It was about 6 p.m., and I called a bunch of spas, but they were all closed."

When she went to the local grocery store to pick up dinner, she saw a Massage Envy in the same shopping center. Jillian walked in and discovered how much better massage made her feel, and when she learned that Massage Envy had locations throughout the country-in many of the areas she travels to for work-she and her husband signed up.

With regular deep-tissue massages and trigger-point massages, Jillian has seen the tension and pain in her shoulders and back dissipate.

"I'm not on painkillers or anti-inflammatories anymore," she says. And even though her life is hard to schedule, she remains committed to regular massages.

"Massage relaxes me mentally and physically," Jillian says. "It's something I couldn't live without. We've cut back in various ways, but this is one thing we won't cut back on."

-By Stephanie R. Conner