massage therapy

[Guest guest]

Massage, learning to rub people the right way

One of the first things we will look at and give the merits for is

massage, known and applied for thousands of years .In todays society

at least in the UK touch is almost alien through whatever reason be

it Victorian or upbringing .Yet touch can convey so much and the UK

in general has to learn this very important role. For in my

experience touch can be life changing ,yet I still meet nurses who

have never had a massage in their life. Clearly there is much to

change for these people are supposed to be at the very front to

treating the ill but as the previous chapter has explained modern

conventional treatment has almost obliterated one of the prime tools

for healing. Massage should be done to babies, children and adults

and much soothing would take place were this in place without need

for drugs, sedatives alcohol or other stimulants. if only this would

go into every would be mums repertoire of dealing with their

children. The results I am sure would be impressive.

 

Various combinations of oils for massage can be used however I have

only experience with using the oils of peanut /olive and almond and I

am sure there are many others which are of real benefit too. Also

very good results have been obtained using tincture of myrrh.

 

Research in massage therapy has been ongoing for more than 120 years.

Here are some reported benefits of massage:

 

Preliminary results suggested cancer patients had less pain and

anxiety after receiving therapeutic massage at the James Cancer

Hospital and Research Institute in Columbus, Ohio.

 

Women who had experienced the recent death of a child were less

depressed after receiving therapeutic massage, according to

preliminary results of a study at the University of South Carolina.

Medical school students at the University of Medicine and Dentistry

of New Jersey-New Jersey Medical School who were massaged before an

exam showed a significant decrease in anxiety and respiratory rates

as well as a significant increase in white blood cells and natural

killer cell activity, suggesting a benefit to the immune system

 

 

Studies funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) have found

massage beneficial in improving weight gain in HIV-exposed infants

and facilitating recovery in patients who underwent abdominal

surgery. At the University of Miami School of Medicine's Touch

Research Institute, researchers have found that massage is helpful in

decreasing blood pressure in people with hypertension, alleviating

pain in migraine sufferers and improving alertness and performance in

office workers.

 

An increasing number of research studies show massage reduces heart

rate, lowers blood pressure, increases blood circulation and lymph

flow, relaxes muscles, improves range of motion, and increases

endorphins (enhancing medical treatment). Although therapeutic

massage does not increase muscle strength, it can stimulate weak,

inactive muscles and, thus, partially compensate for the lack of

exercise and inactivity resulting from illness or injury. It also can

hasten and lead to a more complete recovery from exercise or injury.

 

Research has verified that:

Office workers massaged regularly were more alert, performed better

and were less stressed than those who weren't massaged.

Massage therapy decreased the effects of anxiety, tension,

depression, pain, and itching in burn patients.

Abdominal surgery patients recovered more quickly after massage.

Premature infants who were massaged gained more weight and fared

better than those who weren't.

Autistic children showed less erratic behaviour after massage therapy.

 

According AMTA, massage helps both physically and mentally.

 

" Often times people are stressed in our culture. Stress-related

disorders make up between 80-and-90 percent of the ailments that

bring people to family-practice physicians. What they require is

someone to listen, someone to touch them, someone to care. That does

not exist in modern medicine.

One of the complaints heard frequently is that physicians don't touch

their patients any more. Touch just isn't there. Years ago massage

was a big part of nursing. There was so much care, so much touch, so

much goodness conveyed through massage. Now nurses for the most part

are as busy as physicians. They're writing charts, dealing with

insurance notes, they're doing procedures and often there is no room

for massage any more.

I believe massage therapy is absolutely key in the healing process

not only in the hospital environment but because it relieves stress,

it is obviously foundational in the healing process any time and

anywhere. "

 

Joan Borysenko - Massage Journal Interview, Fall 1999

Physical Benefits of Therapeutic Massage

Massage also provides another therapeutic component largely absent in

today's world: tactile stimulation, or, more simply, touch. In 1986,

the Touch Research Institute at the University of Miami published

groundbreaking research on the effects of massage on premature

babies. The preterm babies who received massage therapy showed 47%

greater weight gain and six-day shorter hospital stays than the

infants who were not receiving massage. But is this study evidence of

what loving touch can do spiritually, or rather what massage can do

on a physiological level? Regardless, babies are not the only

benefactors

 

Helps relieve stress and aids relaxation

Helps relieve muscle tension and stiffness. Alleviates discomfort

during pregnancy

 

Fosters faster healing of strained muscles and sprained ligaments;

reduces pain and swelling; reduces formation of excessive scar tissue

Reduces muscle spasms. Provides greater joint flexibility and range

of motion

 

Enhances athletic performance; Treats injuries caused during sport or

work

 

Promotes deeper and easier breathing Improves circulation of blood

and movement of lymph fluids

 

Reduces blood pressure Helps relieve tension-related headaches and

effects of eye-strain

 

Enhances the health and nourishment of skin Improves posture

 

Strengthens the immune system Treats musculoskeletal problems

 

Rehabilitation post operative Rehabilitation after injury (Source:

AMTA

 

Mental Benefits of Massage Therapy

Fosters peace of mind Promotes a relaxed state of mental alertness

Helps relieve mental stress. Improves ability to monitor stress

signals and respond appropriately.

Enhances capacity for calm thinking and creativity.

 

Emotional Benefits.

Satisfies needs for caring nurturing touch Fosters a feeling of well-

being

 

Reduces levels of anxiety. Creates body awareness. Increases

awareness of mind-body connection

 

Here is a nice story

 

Hi all, I just wanted to share something with you that some of the

students in

my therapeutic massage class are working on this semester.

 

Part of our curriculum is clinical hands on hours. Most of us are

conducting

an on-campus massage clinic. We have 2 small groups of students who

are working

off-campus at the hospital (chair massages on nurses and hospital

staff only),

and at the adjacent cancer treatment center (hand and foot massages

on patients,

and chair massages for care givers and center staff).

 

As a part of the quantitative study of how well the massage work is

going,

they are tracking the patient vital signs both before and after each

massage.

The results are absolutely amazing so far! They worked with 11

patients this

week, and EVERYONE experienced positive results. From all the stress

of the

treatments blood pressure, heart rate, and respiration levels are

elevated in

cancer patients. After the massages most of the patients had returned

to almost

normal ranges.

 

My fellow students got a chance to witness first hand exactly how

powerful our

gift of touch is, and how much of a difference such a simple gesture

can make in

someone's life - not just by making them aware that someone cares for

them, but

also by improving their health. With this data to track, it also

gives us a

small step toward making the profession of therapeutic massage that

more

legitimate. You wouldn't believe how much more receptive of all of us

students

the staff at both the hospital and the cancer center are. Makes me

kind of

proud to be a part of it all.

 

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