Saturday, December 31, 2011

Massage in the News ...

From Massage Magazine (Sep/Oct 05)

“Deep-tissue massage therapy has been ranked the most-effective means of addressing fibromyalgia and osteoarthritis by readers of Consumer Reports magazine. The poll’s topic was ‘Which alternative treatments work?’ Responses were based on personal experiences of healthcare treatments’ effectiveness. ...

“ ‘Back pain, neck pain, fibromyalgia, and osteoarthritis accounted for about one-fourth of the ailments that survey respondents told us about,’ the article stated. ‘For all four conditions readers told us that “body therapies”—massage, chiropractic, exercise and physical therapy—provided more relief than medications, either conventional or alternative.’ ...”

The article goes on to say that deep-tissue massage and chiropractic were the top choices for addressing back and neck pain— more evidence at how massage can help you lead a healthier, more pain-free life!

Friday, December 30, 2011

How's the Head?

From annoying discomfort to debilitating pain, headaches can be thoroughly disruptive. Fortunately, massage can help bring relief to headache sufferers.

According to the National Headache Foundation, over 45 million Americans suffer from chronic, recurring headaches, costing industry an estimated 50 billion dollars per year due to absenteeism and medical expenses. Over 4 billion dollars is spent annually on over-the-counter remedies, many of which prove ineffective. At best, drugs mask the pain but do little to address the cause of the problem.

There are several types of headaches, including tension, sinus, migraine, and cluster, with tension headaches comprising about 90 percent of the total.

Tension headaches are caused by stress, anxiety, fatigue or anger and are felt in the head and neck region. Both migraine and cluster headaches are believed to be caused by chemical reactions in the brain. Migraines can be triggered by certain foods, hormonal changes, weather and stress. Sinus headaches are usually brought about by an allergic reaction or an infection.

Studies conducted by the Touch Research Institute have shown that both migraine and tension headaches respond well to massage. Benefits from the migraine study included more headache-free days, better sleep, less anxiety, and an increase in serotonin levels. With massage shown to get this kind of results, doesn’t it make sense that regular massage sessions could help to lessen the onset of headaches?

If you are bothered with headaches, please be sure to bring it up at your next session so we can see what can be done to get you some relief.

Thursday, December 29, 2011

Sleep Makes You Smarter

“When you’re working on a knotty problem, it actually does help to sleep on it. A German study found that our brains continue to work on baffling problems while we sleep, allowing us to wake up with new insights. Researchers at the University of Luebeck gave subjects math problems that involved transforming a string of eight numbers into a new string, according to two mathematical rules. A third rule—a shortcut to solving the problem—was hidden in the puzzle. After working on the problem for a while, some subjects slept for eight hours before resuming their efforts, while others stayed awake all night. A third group tackled the problem in the morning and then returned to it after an eight-hour break. The sleepers were almost three times more likely to figure out the shortcut than either of the two groups that hadn’t slept. The results suggest that the brain ‘restructures memories’ during sleep, researcher Jan Born tells Nature, so we wake up with a fresh perspective. The study, he says, underlines the importance of getting a good night’s rest.” —The Week, Vol 4 Iss 143

Myofascial Trigger Points


Massage can help relieve pain

Those annoying knots in muscles and connective tissues are called myofascial trigger points. The 'myo' part of the word means muscle and 'fascial' refers to the elastic, connective tissue that runs throughout the body. Trigger points radiate (or refer) pain from muscle or fascia in a characteristic pattern. For example, trigger points in the shoulders often send pain and tension throughout the shoulders and up into the lower neck. Likewise, trigger points in your buttocks can refer pain down the leg just as in sciatica.

Two doctors, Dr. Janet Travell and Dr. David Simons, revolutionized our understanding of trigger points. They mapped out the entire body and standardized a pain referral pattern for each muscle. Trigger points usually follow these maps. Deep breathing, stretching, applications of heat or cold, and massage can help.

The levator scapula, a problematic muscle

Travell and Simons say that the shoulders are the area most affected by trigger points. The levator scapula muscle connects your shoulder blade to your neck and is responsible for elevating your shoulder blade. It is especially prone to trigger points, and can refer pain to the neck, around the shoulders and down into the mid-back.

Massage techniques to relieve pain

Massage therapists are trained to prevent and reduce these knots and the pain that accompanies them. One of the most effective treatments that therapeutic massage utilizes with trigger points is called 'ischemic compression.' After locating the trigger point, the therapist applies direct pressure, producing some pain, always working within your tolerance level. You may feel discomfort locally or you may feel it radiate and travel away from the area being pressed.

Your therapist may instruct you to breathe deeply, consciously relaxing the area being pressed until the discomfort subsides. Next, the pressure may be slowly increased until the pain returns. This process may be repeated, followed by other massage techniques and hydrotherapy such as moist heat or ice massage. 


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Looking for relieve the stress? Call me, Liz @ Massage with Style.  Train in to know just what to do for those knots, which come from Stress and everyday life!

Impact of Reflexology on the Workplace

The following are a collection of Studies in the use of Reflexolgy and the impact that has been made in the workplace.

Study 1*-

A reflexologist was hired by a Scandinavian airline's cargo department to improve staff morale and reduce sick leave for its 60 employees, resulting in monthly savings of US$3,300. This is what their employees said:

“Our work is done through computers and people spending many hours in a chair doing their work, resulting in aching shoulders and back. Since we employed our reflexologist we have experienced a substantial decrease of people being ill and away from work. It has had a physical and psychological effect. There is a much better atmosphere in the department, because the employees feel there is something being done about their problems. Before staff used to stay at home, now we see them go to work anyway because they know they can get a treatment and feel better.”

Study 2*-

The Odense Postal District employed a reflexologist for 3 years to deal with employee stress. Two hundred and thirty five employees participated resulting in a 25% fall in sick leave, saving £110,000 and 170 employees reported a good impact on their health.

Study 3*-
A reflexologist was employed for 6 months. 52 employees (allwomen) were treated for various ailments.
  • Sick leave fell by 65.9%
  • 97.5% had a positive effect on their primary problem
  • 77.5% had a positive effect on their secondary problem
  • They had a 27.5% reduction in medication
Study 4*-

143 people employed in the council of Aarhus had regular reflexology with the following results:
  • 79% had complete or partial recovery for their primary problem
  • 57% had a positive effect on their secondary problem
  • 30% were more satisfied at work
  • 92% would like to continue with treatments.

Study 5*-

Telecom Taastrup hired a reflexologist 3 days a week for its 800 employees. 156 employees participated in the survey who received 1056 treatments in a year. 60% of problems were for back pain/muscle tension, headache/migraine, stomach/intestinal problems. The others had problems relating to movement. The survey results were as follows:
  • 40% had their sick days reduced
  • 56% indicated that reflexology had helped
  • 29% indicated that reflexology had partially helped
  • 15% did not help
It was concluded that there was a direct economic benefit (due to lower sick days) as well as increased well being and productivity of the employees.

Study 6 -

28 members of staff at Worcester Hospitals received 40 mins of reflexology each week for 6 weeks. Their response to the reflexology was measured in terms of: pain, mobility, lethargy, psychological stress. The key results were:
  • 74% had a significant reduction in pain
  • 62.5% had a significant improvement in mobility
  • 55% had a significant improvement in psychological stress
  • 53% had a significant reduction in lethargy
The study concluded that it was a cost effective treatment for companies concerned about absenteeism and sick leave.