COLUMN ONE - Archrivals in foot massage - So many of the businesses are seeking a toehold in the San Gabriel Valley that the price for a rub has fallen. It's no longer just for the well-heeled.

Inside the dimly lighted business decorated with Chinese bamboo screens, a room full of customers sank into black leather armchairs while uniformed masseuses rubbed their feet with lotion. As a Mandarin-language film beamed from a flat-screen television, the workers carefully pressed their fingertips on pressure points believed to promote better circulation and improve overall health.

There was a poker dealer from a nearby casino who needed the tension lifted from her muscles after a day on her feet, a nail salon worker who visited because he believed the therapy boosted his fertility and an investment analyst who injured himself jogging and wanted the scar tissue rubbed.

"It's cheaper than my insurance co-pay," said Johnson Li, an avid runner who chose not to receive therapy for his ailing feet through his insurance company. "If I'm in the neighborhood, I always stop by."

The Oriental Natural Treatment Center is at the hub of the hotly competitive world of foot massage in the San Gabriel Valley -- home to the nation's largest Chinese American community.

About 20 foot-massage businesses can be found on this small stretch of Valley Boulevard between Del Mar Avenue and San Gabriel Boulevard, and dozens more are popping up in neighboring communities. Square foot by square foot, it is the foot-massage capital of the country.

When the first foot-massage parlors opened, therapists charged $70 an hour. But competition has pushed the average price down to well under $20.

The price war has made foot massages available not just to the well-heeled who can afford the luxury, but to waiters, busboys, store clerks and hair stylists -- the working-class version of the Burke Williams Spa for people who spend their days on their feet.

It's hard to miss the foot-massage wars when driving through such cities as Rowland Heights, Alhambra, Temple City and San Gabriel. Some strip malls house up to three foot-massage business, each offering a variation of the standard foot soak and one-hour massage with banners and neon signs advertising the latest price cut.

"I'm still scratching my head," said San Gabriel City Planner Mark Gallatin. "It's amazing how people can make a living as prices continue to drop. You would think it would be better to open up where there's less competition."