Massage Reference

MASSAGE

"For thousands of years some form of MASSAGE or laying on of hands has been used to heal and soothe the sick. To the ancient Greek and Roman physicians, massage was one of the principal means of healing and relieving pain." "THE BOOK OF MASSAGE" by Lucinda Lidell. Page 10. Published by Simon & Schuster, Inc. ISBN 0-671-54139-0 (A Fireside Book: pbk.)

"MASSAGE may be defined as any systematic form of touch which has been found to give comfort or to promote good health." "THE BOOK OF MASSAGE" Forward by Clare Maxwell-Hudson. Page 7. Published by Simon & Schuster, Inc. ISBN 0-671-54139-0 (A Fireside Book: pbk.)

"Touch is essential for our well-being at all ages, but at no time do we receive less than in later life. Due to the fear of ageing in our society, the touch that has nurtured and comforted us as children begins to diminish in adulthood and by our later years has dwindled for many to the merest trickle of tenderness or affection. We fail to see that older people are just younger ones in older bodies, that we feel the same person at twelve or seventy, even if we are a little stiffer or slower or have lost the colour of our hair. MASSAGE cannot replace a wise and active lifestyle, but used as a supplement to sound nutrition and regular exercise they can greatly enhance the quality of life and combat many of the commonest problems of ageing." "THE BOOK OF MASSAGE" by Lucinda Lidell. Page 158. Published by Simon & Schuster, Inc. ISBN 0-671-54139-0 (A Fireside Book: pbk.)

MASSAGE can benefit such conditions as muscle spasm and pain, spinal curvatures (lordosis, scoliosis), soreness related to injury and stress, headaches, whiplash, temporomandibular joint syndrome (TMJ), and tension - related respiratory disorders such as bronchial asthma or emphysema. Massage can also help reduce swelling, help correct posture, improve body motion, and facilitate the elimination of toxins from the body." "AS PHYSICIAN'S GUIDE TO THERAPEUTIC MASSAGE" by John Yates, Ph.D.

"Can a MASSAGE make you smarter? Next time you're stymied at work, head for the MASSAGE therapist - and expense it. A new study suggests that a MINI-MASSAGE during your lunch break not only decreases tension, but also increases your problem-solving ability." "The study, done by the Touch Research Institute in Miami, found that those who received a 15-minute chair MASSAGE twice a week showed increased alertness and cognitive ability, performing better on math tests and completing problems with increased accuracy and speed. In addition, participants who received mini-massages had a higher decrease in tension than those who practiced traditional realization techniques." "'CAN A MASSAGE MAKE YOU SMARTER?" originally appeared in the May/June 1997 issue of WALKING.Copyright 1997 by Walking Inc. All rights reserved. For further information on Walking, call 1-617-266-3322."

"Pauline King, a mental health clinical nurse specialist at, The James Cancer Hospital and Research Institute in Columbus, Ohio, was awarded an AMTA Foundation research grant in 1994 for her study,"The Efficacy of MASSAGE on Cancer Pain and Anxiety." The broad goal of the study is to determine the effect of a MASSAGE protocol, used in conjunction with prescribed pain medication, on cancer patients' reported perceptions of anxiety and pain." "Cancer patients experience so many invasive procedures and high technological interventions that they can barely comprehend. It is a relief to experience a high-touch intervention such as MASSAGE and that is familiar to all human beings." "Interview with AMTA FOUNDATION GRANTEE - PAULINE KING" Research Report in "MASSAGE THERAPY JOURNAL", Winter 1997, Vol. 36, No. 1. Page 117 & 118

"Employees who receive seated MASSAGE at the workplace praise its ability to decrease stress, improve morals and provide a sense of well-being. Companies both large and small are using it to enhance overall morale as well as productivity. Massage Magazine spoke with 17 companies of various types and sizes to complete this article. Company size ranged from as few as three people to 11,000 employees. The businesses the magazine contacted include a renowned media reserch firm, and athletic shoe manufacturer, two management comsultants, an electronic parts distributor, a computer animation/Internet applications company, a public school, an author/columnist's office, a commercial jet manufacturer, a university performing arts center, a computer wafer manufacturing company, two utility companies, a computer software company, a dentist, an aerospace company, and an executive recruitment company." The Boeing Company in Auburn, Washington was one company in the survey. Bill "Parky" Parkinson Jr. "is the audit and wellness manager for safety, health and environmental affair, in the fabrication division. The whole process [of the company's making chair MASSAGE available at the work site] is one enabling physical, mental and emotional well-being of employees so they can work to the best of their ability. Parkinson said of Boeing, "[Chair MASSAGE] works perfectly. It's a morale booster, it shows the company cares about them and there is low-cost involvement on the part of the company." "CHAIR MASSAGE HITS ITS PROFESSIONAL STRIDE" by Melissa B. Mower, Senior Editor. "MASSAGE MAGAZINE" March/April 1997. Page 38 & 39.

"For many, stress shows itself through muscle tension, tightness in the tissue that may even draw up into painful knots. Your primary stress spot may be your neck, lower back, between your shoulder blades, the palms of your hands, or, if you are like me, the middle of your calf. Wherever you have a muscle, you can store stress. Muscle tension, if unrelieved, can lead to more painful or dangerous conditions such as tension headaches, back problems,or painful cramping. Stress and distress can be "as much a killer as bug poison. They can aggravate such conditions as arthritis, cardiovascular and renal disease, allergy, and so researchers think, even cancer." "YOUR BODY NEVER LIES" by Carmen Renee Berry. Page 154. Published by PageMill Press. ISBN: 1-879-290-03-0

EMOTIONAL, PSYCHOLOGICAL

"In the vicious cycle of bodymind pathology, our body's tight patterns contribute to our locked-in mental processes. We cannot separate mental from physical, fact from fantasy, past from present. Just as the body feels the mind's grief, so the mind is constricted by the body's stubborn memory of what the mind used to feel.One essential way in which this cycle can be interrupted is through "bodywork" --therapies that deeply (and often painfully) MASSAGE, manipulate, loosen, or otherwise change the body's neuromuscular system and its orientation to gravity, its symmetry. Bodywork alters the flow of energy through the body, freeing it of its old "ideas" or patterns, increasing its range of movement. Changing the body in this way can affect the entire bodymind loop." "BODYMIND" by Ken Dychtwald, A Jeremy P. Tarcher/Putnam Book, Page xvi, ISBN: 0-87477-375-X.

"The kind, honoring touch of a body worker can help heal painful memories of the past. A body work session actively engages all parts of ourselves -- our conscious and unconscious minds, our spirits, our memories, our feelings. By involving all of ourselves, the wounds and splits from the past can be healed. The specific area of healing depends, of course, on your particular area of woundedness. For those of us who have been touch deprived, the challenge of body work may be learning to receive nurturing touch. That in itself may be difficult, and yet offer immense healing of past pain. Others may have been phsically, sexually, spiritually, or emotionally abused. Retrieving and resolving these experiences may evoke a myriad of emotions, trigger forgotten memories and provide opportunity for resolution." "YOUR BODY NEVER LIES" by Carmen Renee Berry. Page 184. Published by PageMill Press. ISBN: 1-879-290-03-0

"But the exciting news is that healing touch can mend past wounds. As I allow someone trustworthy to touch the places that have been hurt, new vistas of health, safety, and intimacy are available to me. My life is being transformed through trusting my body to guide me through the healing power of touch. Confidence replaces insecurity, vitality replaces weariness, and intimacy replaces isolation and shame.... The hurt places are soothed by loving, nurturing touch." "The means and the ends of body work is trusting our own bodies, because our bodies never lie." "YOUR BODY NEVER LIES" by Carmen Renee Berry. Page 188 & 193. Published by PageMill Press. ISBN: 1-879-290-03-0

"Decreased depression for sexual abuse survivors. Research results suggested that for women who had been sexully abused, massage therapy decreased depression, anxiety and cortisol (a stress-related hormone)levels. Twenty women who had reported experiences of sexual abuse were recurited for relaxation therapy or massage therapy. For one month those in the massage group were massaged for 30 minutes twice a week. Divided into two phases, the first involved women lying on their backs to receive strokes to their faces, legs and arms. In the second phase, the women lay on their stomachs for a five-minute massage to their backs, shoulders and legs." "TABLE TALK/UP FRONT" Touch Reserch Institute completes four massage studies. "MASSAGE MAGAZINE" July/August 1997, Issue 68. Page26.

MASSAGE re: Pregnancy and Infants

"For both physical and emotional well-being, touch is vital to babies. Stroking and stretching the body are commonly believed to help babies grow stronger. (This may well be true, for pediatric research has shown that premature babies progress far more rapidly when regularly massaged.)" "THE BOOK OF MASSAGE" by Lucinda Lidell. Page 154. Published by Simon & Schuster, Inc. ISBN 0-671-54139-0 (A Fireside Book: pbk.)

"MASSAGE is a wonderful way of preparing a woman for childbirth, and of helping her to feel more at home with her changing body. It will not only combat tension and fatigue in pregnancy, but will also soothe and reassure a woman in labour." "THE BOOK OF MASSAGE" by Lucinda Lidell. Page 153. Published by Simon & Schuster, Inc. ISBN 0-671-54139-0 (A Fireside Book: pbk.)

"The use of therapy throughout pregnancy is increasing - and as a natural progression of this therapeutic relationship, clients are requesting that their MASSAGE therapists be present during the labor and delivery process. The MASSAGE therapist can play a therapeutic role in providing comfort, reducing pain and physical discomfort, and in being present in a professional, supportive and nurturing role. By providing MASSAGE, therapists have the opportunity to enhance the well-being of the woman giving birth." "MASSAGE THERAPIST AS LABOR SUPPORT PROVIDER" by Cindy McNeely, R.M.T. "MASSAGE MAGAZINE" July/August 1997, Issue 68. Page 48

"Tiffany Field is the director of the Touch Research Institute, where since 1991 ongoing studies have been documenting the effectiveness of MASSAGE. The institute is located at the University of Miami's School of Medicine. On April 23, Field distributed handouts on TRI's MASSAGE studies, as well as a press release about how MASSAGE helped depressed teen mothers from passing on the depression to their infants." "TABLE TALK/UP FRONT News & Reports", "MASSAGE MAGAZINE" July/August 1997 Issue 68. Page 17.

"The dynamic of parent-infant interaction in the most important foundation upon which a child learns about the self, and about trust and respect. It is this first relationship that influences the way relationships are perceived. Infant MASSAGE is a natural way that parents can learn about parenting, and that infants can learn about being loved and honored. Infant massage is a vital, dynamic interaction that forms the foundation of relationship building that will last a lifetime. Nurturing touch between a parent/caregiver and an infant enriches physiological, social-emotional, and mind/body/spirit connections for the infant being MASSAGED, as well as for the parent. Being touched and caressed, being massaged, is food for the infant, food necessary as minerals, vitamins and proteins." "TOUCH COMMUNICATION: The Power of Infant Massage" by Elaine Fogel Schneider, Ph.D., C.I.M.I "MASSAGE MAGAZINE", July/August 1997 Issue 68. Page 40.

"Abuse is too forceful of a touch. Neglect is no touch at all. Sexual abuse is touch with the wrong intention. What we need is healthy, nurturing touch - and this is why baby MASSAGE is crucial." --from the Perinatal Bonding Project's funding proposal,"THE PERINATAL BONDING: Infant Massage to Reduce Child Abuse" by Karen Menehan, Managing Editor. "MASSAGE MAGAZINE" July/August 1997 Issue 68. Page 44.

LOMI KANAKA LELE

DEEP TISSUE (MASSAGE)

"For these tension - related conditions, Robert D. Milne, M.D., of Las Vegas, Nevada, and expert on headache relief, finds that MASSAGE can break up muscular waste deposits and stimulate circulation. He adds that accumulated metabolic wastes often form "trigger points" within muscles. These are specific areas that are painful to the touch. By applying deep pressure to these points, the tension or spasm can often be eliminated." "HOW MASSAGE RELEASES TENSION AND PROMOTES RELAXATION," "ALTERNATIVE MEDICINE, The Definitive Guide" compiled by The Burton Goldberge Group. Page 99. Future Medicine Publishing, Inc. ISBN: 0-9636334-3-0.

MYOFASCIAL (MASSAGE)

"Gertrude Beard, R.N.,R.P.T., former Associate Professor of Physical Therapy at Northwestern University Medical School,summarizes the findings of numerous research studies on the therapeutic effects of MASSAGE. Studies indicate that MASSAGE:

• Has a sedative effect upon the nervous system and promotes voluntary muscle relaxation.
• Is effective in promoting recovery from fatigue produces by excessive exercise.
• Can help break up scar tissue and lessen fibrosis and adhesions which develop as a result of injury and immobilization.
• Can relieve certain types of pain.
• Provides effective treatment of chronic inflammatory conditions by increasing lymphatic circulation.
• Helps reduce swelling from fractures.
• Affects circulation through the capillaries, veins, and arteries, and increases blood flow through the muscles.
• Can loosen mucus and promote drainage of sinus fluids from the lungs by using percussive and vibratory techniques.
• Can increase peristaltic action (muscular contractions that move waste through the system) in the intestines to promote fecal elimination."

CRANIOSACRAL Therapy

"We found that CranioSacral Therapy may shorten and ease the discomfort of obstetrical labor for both mother and child."...."CranioSacral Therapy has proven to be very helpful and efficacious for mothers during pregnancy, delivery and postpartum (after delivery). The treated mother's incidence of back problems and postpartum blues seems much less than those who do not receive CranioSacral Therapy." "YOUR INNER PHYSICIAN and YOU" by Dr. John E. Upledger D.O., O.M.M. Page 34 & 35. Published by North Atlantic Books and The Upledger Institute. 1-800-233-5880 ex.9423. ISBN: 1-55643-148-1.

"Another area of health care difficulty to which CranioSacral Therapy can and does offer valuable contribution is chronic pain. Chronic pain comes in all shapes and sizes. It is an area that powerfully brings to light the concept of the CranioSacral System as the "core" of the person. .....Correction of CranioSacral System malfunction is often the finishing touch that restores this patient to a normal, pain-free life." "YOUR INNER PHYSICIAN and YOU" by Dr. John E. Upledger D.O., O.M.M. Page 49. Published by North Atlantic Books and The Upledger Institute. 1-800-233-5880 ex. 9423. ISBN: 1-55643-148-1.

Esalen MASSAGE

"'Together we tune in and go on a journey. A breath, a dance moving and spiraling, energy softly flowing in, radiating at depth; a breath, stretching out, extending and lifting to receive the next wave; a breath, spiraling open, pulsing and glowing from within,' describes practitioner Pamela Espinoza." "No quick fix..... This contact precludes the notion that the practitioner is going to fix the client. Instead, the practitioner enables the client to tune into his or her own database of sensation, emotion and mobility. The practitioner is both facilitator and witness to this process; he or she is neither the agent of change nor the healer. Some might call him an educator... The practitioner delineates the problem, the client clears it up." "ESALEN MASSAGE: Bodywork with a Place in History" by Brita Ostrom, "MASSAGE MAGAZINE" March/April 1997 Issue 66. Page 25.
 

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© 1997 Marilyn T. Chantrill
Excerpts used by permission.