Massage Therapy

By KERRIE ANN FREY Professional athletes and their coaches have sworn by massage therapy for years, going so far as to keep massage therapists on the payroll indefinitely. Until recently, there hasn’t been conclusive evidence that massage really does have a positive effect on athletes. However, thanks to new studies and some backing by reputable sources, the benefits of massage are being taken seriously. And those benefits are not just for the pros. They’re extended to anyone who participates in a regular exercise program. According to the American Massage Therapy Association (AMTA), massage acts to improve performance, reduce pain, prevent injury, encourage focus and shorten recovery time. It basically involves two types of responses: a mechanical response as a result [...]

BY MARY PASCALINE ON 09/02/16 AT 1:39 AM At least 40 million Americans suffer from chronic pain. Pain relief pills can help to a certain extent but primary care providers in the U.S. are wary of prescribing large doses of painkillers as it may lead to addiction. A study found that yoga, acupuncture, massage therapy and other complementary healthcare approaches can help in managing serious and chronic pain. Americans spend more than $14 billion on such complementary healthcare approaches to manage such painful conditions. The study published in the journal Mayo Clinic Proceedings focused on five common pain conditions: back pain, osteoarthritis, neck pain, severe headaches and migraine, and fibromyalgia. Researchers from the National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health [...]

EVANSTON, Ill., Aug. 17, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Based on the evidence, massage therapy shows promise for reducing pain intensity/severity, fatigue, and anxiety in cancer populations compared to the active comparators evaluated in a new systematic review.  This is the conclusion of a collaborative meta-analysis of research on massage therapy for pain conducted by Samueli Institute and commissioned by the Massage Therapy Foundation, with support from the American Massage Therapy Association.  This review and analysis is published in the August issue of the journal Pain Medicine. The study concludes that patients should consider massage therapy as a therapeutic option to help manage their cancer pain. Pain is the most common and debilitating symptom among cancer patients. While the exact prevalence of [...]

Enhance Results & Relieve Pain with Kinesiology Taping By Benny Vaughn, L.M.T., B.C.T.M.B., A.T.C., L.A.T., C.S.C.S. August 1, 2016 Sponsored by Performance Health Photo by Dave Shafer In massage therapy, a primary goal is to relieve pain and enhance muscle-tendon, fascia and joint function. The massage therapist accomplishes this mission by touching the skin and controlling these specific factors of massage application: skin surface contact area; amount of pressure applied on the skin; angle that pressure is applied; glide speed across the skin; duration of the touch; and location of the touch. The body’s response to massage therapy is a nervous system event. In the end, all our efforts of massage therapy are designed to elicit relief by introducing touch [...]

FRIDAY, March 14, 2014 (HealthDay News) -- Massage can relieve neck pain if it's done often by a professional therapist and for the correct length of time, according to new research. One-hour sessions two or three times a week appear to be best, said study researcher Karen Sherman, senior scientific investigator at Group Health Research Institute in Seattle. "In the short term, 60 minutes of massage is better than 30, and you want to do multiple treatments a week for the first four weeks," she said. Her study, which tested the effects of a month of massage, is published in the March/April issue of the Annals of Family Medicine. Persistent neck pain is common and stems from numerous causes -- [...]

July 4, 2016 ‐ By Nicole Breeden Back pain is the worst pain, and I know I’m not alone in this sentiment. According to the American Chiropractic Association, as much as 80% of Americans suffer from lower back pain at any given point in their lives. Broken down even further; One-half of all working Americans admit to having back pain symptoms each year and it is one of the most common reasons for missed work. Do you hear that corporate America? The back is a complicated composite of bones, ligaments, muscles and joints. Injuries or strains can stem from attempting the simplest task: bending over wrong, improper posture and bad exercise technique. If you’re anything like me, you continuously stress [...]

Almost everyone knows someone who has a repetitive strain injury (RIS) or pain. RSI comes in the form of aches or shooting pain in the wrist, forearm, and hand. It can also affect the neck, shoulders, and upper or lower back. It can be an occupational hazard for many workers including machine operators, computer keyboard users, musicians, and even massage therapists. But anyone who repeats single movements repetitively can get an RSI. It causes injuries to the muscles, ligaments, nerves, and other soft tissues. The muscle imbalances caused by the repetitive strain can be helped through massage. Soft-tissue injuries benefit greatly from trained massage therapists and bodywork professionals. Massage helps to relax and relieve the pain by relieving muscle tension. [...]

By Cathy Ulrich "Do you get headaches?" I asked Cindy. She had come to see me for massage to address her neck and shoulder pain but hadn't mentioned headaches."Well, yes," she said. "I've always had headaches and, now that you mention it, they seem to be worse when my neck hurts." Cindy went on to say she suffered from them as often as 2-3 times a week and typically treated them with ibuprofen.Like many Americans, Cindy suffers from chronic, frequent headaches. Her neck pain finally prompted her to seek help, but she was so used to the headaches, she thought they were something she simply had to live with. What Cindy didn't understand was that frequent headaches are not normal [...]

By Susan Bernstein Like many people with arthritis, Connie DeIanni has days when her pain is hard to manage. One tactic she uses to fight her pain, as well as the stress that comes along with it, is a soothing massage. “I’ve used massage as a therapy, but more for the sore muscles that are compromised due to flares,” says DeIanni, a Farmington, Utah, bank employee and college student who has rheumatoid arthritis. “There’s a calming effect on the tension and stress of the constant pain that is rewarding.” Massage, whether conducted in a softly lit day spa or a treatment room at a physical therapy clinic, is something many people use to soothe sore joints and muscles, to ease [...]

Lower back pain and neck pain can have many potential causes. Pain in these areas can be anything from an occasional ache to a debilitating and constant discomfort that affects a person’s work and home life. These two areas are prone to tension accumulation due to how a person walks, sits, and even sleeps. Acute lower back pain, described as pain that has lasted less than six weeks in duration, may resolve itself with little or no intervention. However, lower back pain that is sub-acute or chronic, lasting longer than six weeks in duration, is likely to require attention and care. There are several forms of massage that are particularly effective for lower back pain. Anyone considering massage for lower [...]