Stuart’s newest business, Much Kneaded Massage, opened its doors on March 21, offering a range of massage services to the community.
Owner Cate Frable, LMT, MLD-C, launched the business after moving to the area from Pennsylvania, where she spent seven years working as a massage therapist at a destination resort.
“I just always knew when I went into massage I would want to have my own office, and it just felt like the right timing. I found this space, and when they showed it to me, it was perfect. It just seemed to line up well,” she said.
Though she hasn’t been open long, Frable said she has already received positive support from the community.
“I’m really happy that people seem excited. From what I can tell, there’s one other massage therapist in the county and one who’s retiring. I think massage is for everybody. I fully believe in the equity of massage, and I just really wanted to make something accessible and to help the community,” she said.
Throughout her career, Frable said she has worked with clients from all walks of life, from CEOs to bus drivers.
“I genuinely believe that the power of touch is so important, even for children. I massage my kids, and they love it. Also, the accessibility of it is important in my opinion. I’m not trying to make a killing, I’m just trying to make a living, and I really want to help make a difference,” she said.
Though Frable describes herself as typically shy and anxious, she said she feels calm and focused when working with clients.
“I don’t feel anxious; I’m just in that moment, and my goal is for everyone to come off my table feeling less pain or less stress and anxiety. As goofy as it sounds, I’ve been told, ‘Oh, you have a gift,’ and I kind of want to share that in whatever way I can, and this just seems like the right way to do it,” she said.
Services Offered
In addition to Swedish massage, Frable offers deep tissue, hot stone, prenatal, and reflexology massages. She is also a certified manual lymphatic drainage (MLD) provider.
“I took a 40-hour course for that. It’s a technique, not so much a massage, and it’s a very gentle process. That’s really a service that is underrepresented, and a lot of people could really benefit from it,” she said.
While lymphedema — swelling caused by a lymphatic system blockage — can be genetic or injury-related, Frable said it is often a side effect of cancer and its treatment, particularly for women.
“We know with breast cancer and the axillary area, there’s a lot of lymph nodes. Your whole body has lymph nodes, but they’re most concentrated at the throat, armpit, knees, and groin area,” she said.
After radiation or chemotherapy, lymph nodes can become compromised or damaged, leading to edema in the arms or lower legs, Frable explained.
“Manual lymphatic drainage is a way to help get that fluid retention, the lymph, moving back into the system. It’s a definitely needed service that a lot of people don’t even realize is something that can help,” she said, adding that MLD has also been shown to help with migraines, fibromyalgia, and energy boosts.
With many people working desk jobs that result in shoulder and neck pain, Frable said she frequently treats clients with tension in the shoulders, trapezius muscles, rhomboids, and occipital muscles.
“They call them the ghost headache muscles because they get so tight, and especially looking down texting, a lot of that can cause headaches and migraines, and people don’t even realize. So, massage can definitely help with that,” she said.
Frable added that foot massages are particularly popular, as gravity and strain take a toll on everyone’s feet.
For more information, visit Facebook.com/MuchKneadedMassage.
To schedule an appointment, call (276) 968-0933, email CateFrableLMT@gmail.com, or visit much-kneaded-massage-100558.square.site.
