Welcome to the June 2009 newsletter! Are you ready for summer? Just a quick note to wish you a relaxing summer season! This issue has lots of recent news on massage and some of its many benefits. Please keep in mind how much massage and bodywork can do to keep you feeling your best and to keep your body properly doing its job. If you have specific questions on how massage can help you, please ask at your next massage appointment. See you soon!

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Massage Therapy Research

The therapeutic benefits of massage continue to be researched and studied. Recent research has shown the effectiveness of massage for the following conditions:

• Cancer-related fatigue
• Lowering blood pressure
• Osteoarthritis of the knee
• Easing alcohol withdrawal symptom
• Reducing post-operative pain
• Decreasing pain in cancer patients
• Boosting the body’s immune system functioning
• Reducing headache frequency
• Decreasing the symptoms of carpal tunnel syndrome
• Low back pain  Source: amtamassage.org

Massage — The “Anytime” Vacation

If you’re considering ways to enjoy a little time off while staying closer to home this summer, you’re not alone. A recent Google search for “stay at home vacation ideas” yielded 18.5 million results.

Since the purpose of going on a holiday is to get away from your day-to-day worries and to de-stress, isn’t it nice to know you can get those same benefits any day you want with a relaxing massage?

In some ways, just getting your next massage can be every bit as relaxing and rejuvenating as a vacation trip, since traveling creates its own stresses and responsibilities.

And, when you compare the cost of a massage with the current costs of travel, your massage “mini-vacation” is really quite a bargain!

If you are planning a getaway, remember that a massage before and/or after your trip will help you relax and lessen the rigors of hours spent in a plane, car, tour bus, etc. Another great reason to get a massage before you head out of town is that massage can help boost your immune system. Nobody wants to come down with something far from home. So, whether you’re leaving town or sticking around, give your body and mind a rest with your next massage!

New Research: Massage Improves Elders' Balance, Agility

As the population ages, massage and movement therapies will benefit elderly clients in a variety of ways. Massage has been shown to benefit elderly stroke patients. In other research, movement therapy was shown to benefit balance and gait in older clients.

Just-published research shows that massage and mobilization of the feet and ankles in elderly adults assist them with balance and agility. Source: www.massagemag.com

Regular Massage Yields Better Results

The incredible benefits of massage are doubly powerful if taken in regular "doses." Dr. Maria Hernandez-Reif, from the Touch Research Institute (TRI) at the University of Miami, is known for her massage research, along with colleague Tiffany Field. Together, they and other researchers have done outstanding work proving the value of massage.

While their studies have shown we can benefit from massage even in small doses (15 minutes of chair massage or a half-hour table session), Hernandez-Reif says they know from their research that receiving bodywork 2-3 times a week is highly beneficial. And if we lived in a fantasy world, Hernandez-Reif has the answer. "I feel a daily massage is optimal." Source: holisticsite.blogspot.com

Is Massage Effective For Fibromyalgia Pain?

Massage therapy has become one of the more popular treatments among those with fibromyalgia, and is turning out to be one of the most effective methods for treating fibromyalgia pain and fatigue. A number of studies have been done involving massage therapy and fibromyalgia patients. These studies have concluded that those who participated found the following relief of their fibromyalgia symptoms:

• Blood circulation was improved in the muscles which enabled faster healing
• Improvement in motion range and flexibility
• Reduction in stiffness
• Reduction in pain
• Reduction in stress
• Reduction in depression
• Improvement in sleep

Source: thereviveblog.com – Posted on 4/20/09

The above report is another example of how effective massage can be in relieving painful conditions and in helping the body to function better. Of course, massage can help improve conditions in your body in many situations, so call for your next massage appointment soon!

Sweetened drinks make you fat

All sugars aren’t the same. New research finds that drinks sweetened with high-fructose corn syrup raise cholesterol levels and triglycerides and make people fat. Researchers at the University of California, Davis, put a group of men and women on diets that included one that got 25 percent of its calories from fructose-sweetened drinks. At the end of the 12-week program, the fructose-drinking subjects had gained more visceral fat, and had developed more resistance to insulin (an early sign of diabetes) than a control group whose drinks were sweetened with glucose, a less sweet sugar found in carrots and other vegetables. Dr. Walter Willet of Harvard University tells Time that the study provides “the best evidence yet” not to let kids consume large quantities of sweetened soda, fruit juice, and other beverages. “If children grow up with everything tasting supersweet,” he says, “then it’s hard for them to appreciate the gentle sweetness of a fresh carrot or an apple.” — The Week Vol. 9 Issue 412

There shall be eternal summer in the grateful heart.
— Celia Thaxter

It's a sure sign of summer if the chair gets up when you do.
— Walter Winchell

The content of this letter is not intended to replace professional medical advice.
If you’re ill, please consult a physician.
© 2009 Massage Marketing.   Used with permission; all rights reserved.