Pain is something that we all experience, and it is also something that massage therapy has been shown to counter and prevent (click here). In fact, surveys have shown that people choose massage therapy in part because it helps reduce pain and generally increases their wellbeing (click here). The fact that massage therapy is an effective, non-invasive way to deal with pain and stress while improving one’s wellbeing makes the following trends in America, described below, all the more troubling. (more…)
Archive for the ‘Pain Management’ Category
Massage Therapy: A Healthy Alternative
Monday, September 6th, 2010Massage Therapy as a Complementary Treatment for Stroke Patients
Tuesday, August 17th, 2010Last week we finished up a series of articles on medical massage therapy, and I can think of no better transition than to go from medical massage therapy to a medical condition that massage therapy has been demonstrated to help.
Strokes are a leading cause of death and disability in the United States and world, and usually strike suddenly with dramatic consequences. Fortunately, massage therapy has been shown to ease stroke patients’ levels of pain and stress while improving their quality of life. (more…)
Massage Therapy Good for New, Expecting Fathers, Too
Friday, July 9th, 2010This is somewhat of a follow up on last week’s entry about massage therapy and its benefits for pregnant women. As was reported in many news outlets across the country, around 10 percent of men experience serious depression either before or after their partner’s pregnancy. The benefits of massage therapy for women before and after their pregnancy thus seem to naturally extend to men. (more…)
Massage Therapy Beneficial for all Pregnant Women
Friday, July 2nd, 2010We’ve mentioned earlier how massage therapy has benefits for women who are pregnant, and we’ve even written about hospitals in Tennessee that offer massage therapy to women who are delivering or have delivered babies there, noting that massage therapy can ease tension, lower blood pressure, reduce anxiety, and promote quicker healing. But as the Institute of Integrative Healthcare Studies points out in an article published this May, “[w]omen with high-risk pregnancies are often deprived of bodywork, even though they can benefit the most.” (more…)
Massage Therapy Shown to Benefit Children with Sickle Cell Anemia
Wednesday, June 9th, 2010The words massage and therapy seem to go together more and more the more one researches the therapeutic benefits of massage.
The latest medical benefit we’ve found that massage therapy provides is an improvement in the health of children and adolescents with sickle cell anemia (also called sickle cell disease – SCD). (more…)
Massage Therapy’s True Power
Tuesday, May 4th, 2010Often, especially when writing about massage, the human angle of the benefits that massage therapy provides can be lost. This blog is surely guilty of this crime, extolling the proven virtues of massage therapy by noting the publication of studies or work of professional organizations.
But then stories like this one from the Arizona Daily Star come along and remind you exactly what the proven benefits of massage therapy translate to: an improvement of the human condition.
Massage Therapy Dramatically Reduces Post-Surgery Pain
Tuesday, April 20th, 2010We’ve written about massage therapy’s effectiveness in helping reduce post-operative pain in breast cancer patients (click here), however, recent studies have shown that massage therapy’s pain-reducing properties are in no way limited to just breast cancer patients.
The Institute for Integrative Healthcare Studies recently wrote that massage therapy has been shown to provide dramatic results in pain and anxiety reduction for post-operative pain associated with many different surgeries, especially heart surgery. (more…)
Autism, Asthma, Children, and Massage (Part II)
Monday, March 22nd, 2010Last week I wrote specifically about two studies that demonstrated massage therapy’s marked ability to improve the symptoms of autism and asthma. These bring up the perspective of massage therapy as a holistic therapy in the overall conclusions that they make. (more…)
Simple Massage Therapy Techniques Improve Symptoms of Cancer Patients
Friday, March 12th, 2010I wrote recently about the positive effects that massage therapy has for people suffering from breast cancer. Massage therapy has been proven to help women going through cancer treatment, both in improving levels of important compounds in their blood as well as generally improving their mood, well-being, and post-surgical pain.
New research reported by massagemag.com shows that massage therapy can help many other cancer patients as well, no matter what the stage of their cancer. (more…)
Massage Therapy’s Many Benefits for Breast Cancer Patients
Thursday, February 4th, 2010Massage therapy can have tremendous benefits for people generally, for example, in dealing with stress (see last week’s entry). But massage’s therapeutic benefits extend to specific groups of people as well. This week I want to focus on how massage therapy can help improve the symptoms and general condition of women with breast cancer.