Massage as Effective Medicine

Massage as Effective Medicine

Most people would agree massage is relaxing, feels good, and can alleviate stress, a stiff neck or that nagging low-back pain. What most people don't realize is how massage can be a crucial part of an overall health-and-wellness regimen to help treat everything from neuromuscular disease to chronic insomnia.
Massage saves money

The National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (NCCAM), a division of the U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH) focused on evaluating complementary and alternative medicine (CAM), has been doing studies for years on the efficacy of massage and its value in treating chronic ailments and conditions. It has found massage is, in many cases, more cost-effective than traditional remedies like surgery and medication.

For example, low-back pain, a common ailment, is typically treated by surgery and medication. Aside from the necessary recovery and pain involved with surgery and the possible side effects of medication, traditional medical treatment for lower-back pain is expensive. On average, it costs about $10,000 to treat back pain with surgery and drugs.

And guess what? The NCCAM study found spinal manipulation and massage were more effective in treating low-back pain than surgery and drugs. An effective course of massage therapy for the relief of back pain of 20 to 30 sessions costs a maximum of $3,000, and is significantly less invasive than surgery or other medical intervention.

Ease stress, heal the body

Relaxation is more than just a day at the spa; it's a serious component of preventive medicine. Americans are more stressed out than ever. This stress doesn't just make you irritable; it can also foster more chronic diseases like depression, autoimmune disorders, heart disease and even cancer. Prolonged, harmful periods of stress can cause physical harm, including headaches, muscle pain, nausea, anxiety and a suppressed immune system.

Cortisol, a hormone produced when the body is stressed, can kill cells needed for proper immune function. For example, people under stress are more vulnerable to the virus that causes the common cold. Of course, there are many ways people handle stress, but some of the most common—drinking alcohol, smoking and overeating—cause their own health issues, including obesity, alcoholism and lung disease.

So what is a solution for stress that doesn't cause problematic side effects? The answer: massage. Massage is not only effective at reducing stress, it's also free of side effects when practiced by a licensed practitioner. Let your clients know massage can literally be a lifesaver, a fantastic preventive medicine. Massage, for example, induces a relaxation response, which combats the fight-or-flight response exacerbated by stress, thus reducing blood pressure and risk of heart disease, and bolstering the immune system.

Don't get inflamed

Along with stress, tissue inflammation can contribute to or cause myriad conditions, from arthritis and Parkinson's disease to asthma, heart disease and cancer. This is yet another reason why massage is crucial. Not only can massage reduce stress; it can reduce inflammation and, therefore, pain in the body.

A study published in Science Translational Medicine in February 2012 found massage reduced the production of cytokines, a compound that plays an important role in causing inflammation. Some doctors believe anti-inflammatory drugs like ibuprofen and other NSAIDs may actually slow healing, but massage, which works differently, actually increases the activity of mitochondria and, thus, speeds cell healing as well.

What conditions does massage address?

Aside from low-back pain and stress, here are a few of the conditions massage can help to alleviate, in conjunction with appropriate tradition medical care and in consultation with a physician if necessary:

    Asthma. This is a serious, chronic condition that causes the airways of the lungs to constrict, hampering breathing. severe asthma attacks can cause death. The disorder often starts in childhood. Luckily, massage can help. A study published in the Journal of Pediatrics shows massage on children with asthma reduced levels of cortisol and improved respiratory control and blood oxygenation.
    Fibromyalgia. This is one of the most baffling chronic ailments. It's characterized by pain and sensitivity in the joints and muscles. Other common side effects of fibromyalgia include nausea, depression, fatigue and insomnia. Fibromyalgia patients typically experience flare-ups, periods during which symptoms increase in severity.

Fibromyalgia makes massage a bit complicated. People with fibromyalgia go through periods when their condition is especially active. When the condition is especially intense, it can be painful to have the muscles massaged. However, since every person is different, this state isn't the case for every person afflicted by fibromyalgia, and some fibromyalgia patients are greatly helped by deep-tissue massage during flare-ups.

Because there are few conventional medical treatments for fibromyalgia, CAM treatments are commonly used to manage the condition. According to the NCCAM, about 90 percent of people with fibromyalgia use CAM, with massage being the most popular treatment.

    Migraine. Migraines are caused by swollen blood vessels in the temples and base of the neck. These engorged blood vessels cause headaches, dizziness, sensitivity to light and sound, and nausea. This condition is distressingly common. According to a study by the American Massage Therapy Association in 2006, up to 45 million Americans suffer from migraines.

One of the best ways to increase blood circulation is, of course, massage.

Even better, there is a type of massage specifically designed to relieve headaches and migraines: craniosacral massage. Craniosacral massage is focused around the movement of the craniosacral fluid that cradles the brain and skull. A 2008 pilot study indicated massage was effective at relieving tension headaches, particularly craniosacral therapy.

    Osteoarthritis. This is a fairly common joint condition caused by the breakdown of cartilage. It can be caused by aging or injury. Symptoms typically appear after the age of 50. Some symptoms of osteoarthritis include pain and stiffness in the joints.

While common remedies for osteoarthritis include steroid injections, surgery and medication, a NIH study showed treatment of osteoarthritis of the knee with acupuncture was effective at alleviating pain and improving joint function. A study by the Yale Prevention Research Center also showed Swedish massage eased pain and improved mobility in patients with osteoarthritis of the knee.

    IBS and Crohn's disease. IBS (irritable bowel syndrome) and its more serious cousin, Crohn's disease, are disorders characterized by inflammation of the gastrointestinal tract, particularly the intestines. IBS and Crohn's disease can lead to bloating, cramps and loss of appetite. Many people with Crohn's disease have said massage is helpful with alleviating their condition. This claim is borne out by recent studies that emphasize how massage is able to reduce inflammation and stress in the body, both of which exacerbate conditions like IBS and Crohn's disease.

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http://www.massagemag.com/News/massage-news.php?id=13594&catid=335&title=massage-as-effective-medicine-making-the-case-to-clients

Massage therapy, healing touch are good medicine for the treatment and prevention of chronic disease

 Massage therapy, healing touch are good medicine for the treatment and prevention of chronic disease.

As more and more people are discovering, massage therapy and healing touch therapies are proving to be extremely good medicine for treating those with chronic diseases such as cancer, osteoporosis, depression, and even circulatory disorders. There are several good reasons for this, such as the fact that massage therapy helps move lymph fluid around the body and oxygenate organs and tissues. Plus, there's probably something healthy going on in the fact that human touch is taking place. However, there is a widespread belief, especially among the leaders in Western medicine, that massage therapy can't possibly be considered a medical treatment. Most insurance companies still refuse to pay for massage therapies, and few doctors prescribe it, although the number of doctors recommending it has been increasing over the last few years.

I believe that massage therapy is shunned by the medical community primarily because it is considered an unsophisticated treatment -- you don't need a medical degree to give someone an effective massage. There's not a lot of equipment involved in massage therapy, it doesn't have a lot of cool technology, and it doesn't require years of training. And thus, it is looked upon as something that is below Western medicine, both by doctors and by many patients.

But all of this is a distortion -- something doesn't have to be complicated or cool to be effective as a healing treatment. Massage therapy gets to the fundamentals -- that is, the power of human touch, and the spiritual healing potential of one person's hands touching another person's body along with positive healing intent. These are timeless principles of healing that don't require technology to be effective.

Given that massage therapy and therapeutic touch are so effective in helping patients heal themselves, I find it astounding to observe the lack of physical contact between doctors and their patients in clinics and hospitals across the country. Doctors almost seem scared to touch their patients, and in fact, many doctors don't want to be touched, either. This lack of touch keeps everything at a "safe distance" - it makes their interactions non-personal and sterile. It also allows the doctor to keep patients at a distance, where they can perceive them as patients with patient IDs rather than human beings with souls and spirits and emotions. It is this distance -- this chasm between doctors and patients -- that contributes to the lack of effectiveness in modern medicine.

True healers are willing to get involved with their patients in terms of understanding them, seeing the world from their perspective, and even touching them in a healing way with positive intent. That's why our modern physicians are outstanding technicians, but terrible healers. Personally, I would much rather see a massage therapist than a physician, unless I were suffering from sort of radical, acute injury such as an accident in which case, of course, Western doctors and surgeons are the very best in the world. But when it comes to treating chronic disease and maintaining a high degree of health on a regular basis, massage therapy and healing touch offer an outstanding system of healing that I highly recommend.

http://www.naturalnews.com/001531_massage_therapy_therapeutic_touch.html#ixzz2K7M4hbKf