For doctorphobic men, massage may be a cure.

For whatever reason, most men avoid going to the doctor. Maybe it's pride, stubbornness, fear, or stoicism. Regardless, the phenomenon is as puzzling as it is silly. One area of health care that men are opening up to, however, is massage. Whether it's therapy to deal with an injured muscle or a relaxation session to relieve stress, it seems that more and more men are embracing hands-on treatment.

When Sherri Abu-Ulba started working at Spa Utopia more than six years ago, only a handful of men came in for services. Now, the spa's marketing director says, males account for about a third of the spa's clientele.

She says many men are introduced to spa massage when they accompany their partner for a couple's treatment. "Once they actually experience a massage, they realize, 'Wow, I really like this.' And then they will do it more often. They're steadily getting more and more comfortable with it."

Abu-Ulba says massage is particularly popular among men who golf, many of whom opt for the spa's sports massage. It includes deep-tissue work (to target areas of muscular stiffness or tension) as well as hydrotherapy and the use of stretches and rehabilitative techniques. The spa (www.spautopia.ca) has both registered and nonregistered therapists.

Damon Marchand, president of the Massage Therapists' Association of B.C. ( www.massagetherapy.bc.ca ), says he too has seen an increase in the number of men seeking treatment over the 10 years he's been working in the field.

"A main reason is the increased awareness and growth of the profession of massage therapy," Marchand says. "Men typically tough it out and don't go for help until they really have to: they can't go to work or they can't play golf or the sports they like, or a physical problem interferes with their quality of life and anti-inflammatories or traditional medicines aren't getting the job done that well.

"Once they get massage therapy, they get treatment for their muscles, plus they get stretches and exercises to do, and they see how effective it is. We give them tools to recover and to stay active."

Marchand explains that a lot of men's injuries are seasonal: after sitting on the couch all winter, many are eager to play baseball or soccer once the warmer weather hits, even though they haven't taken the time to train their muscles. And it's not just sports that can cause injury. So can jobs that require manual labour as well as those that involve sitting at a desk all day long, which can take a toll on the back and neck.

According to the American Massage Therapy Association, massage in-creases relaxation and awareness of the mind-body connection, relieves muscle tension, fosters faster healing of strained muscles and sprained ligaments, improves joint flexibility, boosts the immune system, enhances the capacity for calm thinking, and decreases stress, anxiety, and blood pressure.

The way New York massage therapist Thomas Claire sees things, there has been a shift in thinking when it comes to men receiving therapeutic and preventive treatments. "Men are not as used to nurturing themselves”¦as women are," Claire, the author of Body Work: What Type of Massage to Get–And How to Make the Most of it, says in an article in Body Sense magazine. He says more men are relaxing when it comes to the idea of going for massages, "perhaps”¦because of a greater societal acceptance of the fact that it's OK for a man to take care of himself".