Sha Zen Massage

by PATTI KELLY Last Updated: Jan 22, 2014 Overview The face is full of nerves and pleasure points, so it makes sense that a facial massage is a desirable form of pampering. Give yourself a facial massage or visit a professional. Whether you are looking for a quick midday pick-me-up or a soothing escape, the luxury of massage is easily justified by some of its more practical benefits. Get in a Better Mood Facial massage decreases anxiety and can improve a negative mood, according to a study conducted by the User Science Institute. Psychological tests administered after 45 minutes of facial massage showed significant improvements in both mood and anxiety levels, according to the 2008 study. A relaxing facial massage [...]

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 [...]

BY JUSTIN MITCHELL The most shocking part of Michael Phelps’ performances at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio De Janiero had nothing to do with his swimming. It had nothing to do with his technique or hair color (looking at you, Ryan Lochte). More than anything, people were freaking out over the giant purple marks on the swimmer’s back and shoulders. “What in the world is all over Michael Phelps?” said everyone on Facebook and Twitter. Not to worry, the internet came in for the save. Media outlets were quick to explain large circular bruises are a skin souvenir from cupping, an ancient Chinese therapy that uses heated glass or plastic cups placed on the skin to draw out toxins [...]

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 -- [...]

Here are the differences between attendees of the DNC and RNC, according to their Yelp searches Brittany Kriegstein With all of the hype and media coverage surrounding both the Democratic and Republican national conventions, many Americans who could not attend may be wondering about the chanting, flag-waving, and occasionally booing crowds they saw on TV. Who are those people? What makes the population at the DNC so different from that of the RNC? Yelp compiled some interesting data about what the people at each convention were looking up on its search engine. Yelp's data scientist analyzed the relative increase in number of searches for each Yelp business category in Cleveland during the RNC and in Philadelphia during the DNC, as [...]

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 [...]

The use of suction is commonplace throughout the history of the Olympic Games for maintenance, pre and post event injuries, detoxification and recovery. Besides Cupping for injuries and recovery, Olympic Trainers use suction to draw toxins from the swimmers that have been absorbed from the pools that they are in for many hours every day. Dead cellular debris, poisons, stagnation and excess fluids drawn to the surface sometimes leave deposits under the skin, which, short of cutting the skin and pulling it out, is the best place for the lymphatic system to drain it away. Cumulative Cupping treatments increase muscle endurance, circulation, lung capacity, lymphatic drainage and health maintenance during strenuous activities. Many professional athletes incorporate it into their training to [...]