Massage News

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We have good news for ATMS member. Our range of DVDs and Books have been approved by ATMS for CPE points. You can earn 5 CPE points for each DVD and 5 CPE points for each book from our site. Moreover with Art Riggs DVD set you can earn 35 COE points (5 points per DVD). We are striving for CPE points from other associations, so hope we get there.

We got interesting research report this month: the level of training impacts the effectiveness of massage; more elder Australians are using CAM; finger length was somehow related to risk of knee osteoarthitis, and finally researchers now discard the 100 year-old theory that says actic acid accumulation in the muscle cells produces fatigue. Check them out!

I recently saw an ad at the Gym that Sydney University is recruiting people for clinical trials on stretching. Again? Maybe the trial aims to answer the controversy whether stretching improves the performance or reduce DOMS after sporting activities. We have talked about in in our July 07 Newsletter where plenty of trials have been conducted. Whatever the outcome of the trial, we all know that stretching is essential and use in conjunction with massage produces great results.

We have a range of new books, a great one is The New Edition of Positional Release by Leon Chaitow, Undulation a gentle exercise to relief pain from Anita Boser. Check them out.

This newsletter is our attempt to bring you what's happening in the latest research and news on massage related issues. We sell massage videos and books so the little advert is at the end of this page. Archive of our past news is at: http://www.terrarosa.com.au/news.htm We don't just sell DVDs, we provide you with the latest information.

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Massage administered after activities intended to reduce delayed onset muscle soreness (DOMS) has been reported to enhance or sometimes provide no benefit to recovery of muscle force. However, soreness perception after DOMS induction has more consistently been reported to be improved with massage. Albert Moraska from University of Colorado recently study the effectiveness of massage on muscle recovery as a function of therapist education in participants who completed a 10-km running race. The result is published in the Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise Journal January 2007.

The participants were obtained from finishers of a popular 10-km running race in which over 42,000 participants completed the event. A complimentary post-race massage was available to all race participants in a gymnasium near the finish line. Subjects were recruited immediately after race completion, were blinded as to the educational training of the therapist, and were randomly assigned to a therapist. The institutional review board at the Boulder College of Massage Therapy approved the procedures for this study.

Student therapists with 450, 700, or 950 h (24, 40, and 31 students, respectively) of didactic training in massage therapy administered all massage sessions. Student education included 25, 45, and 75 hours, respectively, of supervised clinical experience with the general public. Before the day of the event, all student therapists received an hour-long training session from a professional sports massage therapist regarding massage techniques and treatment of specific race participant concerns (e.g., muscle cramps). A 12- to 15-min post-event massage was administered to race participants within 15-60 min of event completion. Effleurage, consisting of deep flushing strokes applied to body regions of concern to the race participant, was the primary technique used. However, each therapist was allowed to use the strokes and techniques that they deemed appropriate for each subject and were not bound to a particular protocol. Most treatments were directed to the legs and low-back regions.

Demographic information, race finish time, and perceived exertion during the event (0-10 scale) were recorded for each individual. Study participants rated their muscle soreness on a visual analog scale from 0 to 10. Questionnaires were returned to a study volunteer at pre- and post-massage measurements or via prepaid postal mail for the 24- and 48-h time points. Only subjects who returned questionnaires from each time point were included in the analysis. A total of 895 subjects were recruited into the study; 317 or 35.4% of study participants competed and returned questionnaires for all four time points.

The results showed that race participants who received massage from student therapists with 950 h of didactic training reported significantly greater improvement in muscle soreness across time compared with those who received massage from therapists with 700 or 450 h of education in massage.

The author hypothesized that an experience threshold of 700-950 h of training in massage may be necessary to elicit an effect that can facilitate muscle recovery after a sporting event. However, many of the student therapists with 950 h, but not those with 700 or 450 h of training, had taken a 30-h sports massage course and had an additional 15 h of internship experience with athletic populations. Therefore, specific training in sports massage may also contribute to the observed difference presented in this study.

The author concluded that The Level of therapist training was shown to impact effectiveness of massage as a post-race recovery tool; greater reduction in muscle soreness was achieved by therapists with 950 h of training as opposed to those with 700 or 450 h.

Massage therapy for stressed out jumbos

The elephant is an integral part of a lot of Indian festivities. And with such a hectic schedule, how does this animal cope with the stress? Massage therapist, Elke Riesterer says, "Elephants in India live in circumstances which are very, very unnatural. We want to look a little bit deeper into this problem." Riesterer is a US-based massage therapist and has volunteered to destress elephants in Kerala. According to her, elephants in captivity are far more stressed out than their counterparts who live in the wild. Elke has worked with elephants in Africa and in the US and she's in Kochi now to provide these animals with some much needed jumbo care. "You can see an animal is stressed when you look into their eyes. You can also see it in their body language, in the restlessness of their body," says she.

Elke started her research on massage therapy on elephants when she was in India in 2004. She now hopes to carry out an intensive study on the therapy and see how these animals respond to treatment. Wildlife Trust of India Program Officer, Jose Louis says, "After 15 days in Kerala, Elke will go to Assam and Jaipur. We hope she can reduce the stress levels of the captive elephants." Adds an elephant owner, Shenoy, "This is a good aim and it is getting good results. The elephants are responding well to the treatment I think." And with all the pampering, elephants certainly don't seem to be complaining.

http://www.ibnlive.com/news/massage-therapy-for-stressed-out-jumbos-in-kerala/58267-3.html

Complementary and Alternative Medicine Use by Older Australians

Complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) use by Australians is substantial and increasing, but little is known about its use by the elderly. A new study headed by Anthony Zhang from RMIT present the findings for the elderly cohort in our recently conducted national survey on CAM use by adult Australians.

In May and June 2005, computer-assisted telephone interviews, using random-digit telephone dialing, were employed to gather data on CAM use in the last 12 months. Of 1067 adult participants interviewed, 178 were 65 or older. More than half of these had used at least one of 17 common forms of CAM and 60% of the CAM users had consulted CAM practitioners.

Clinical nutrition, chiropractic, massage therapy, meditation, and herbal medicine were the most common forms of CAM used by the elderly. A higher proportion of the elderly had always used both CAM and conventional medical treatments (38%) than had those aged 18–34 (16%) and 35–64 (27%).

Elderly CAM users (60%) were more likely than younger users to discuss their use with their doctors. Of those who did not do so, 24% were not asked by their doctors and 16% considered that their doctor would disapprove.

The authors concluded that a substantial proportion of older Australians use CAM. The elderly are also more likely than younger adults to discuss their use of CAM with their doctors, but doctors need to play a more active role in initiating such communication.

Many patients still experience pain following major surgery despite the availability of pain-relieving medications, according to background information in the article. Pain may be under-treated because patients fear becoming dependent on medications, are concerned about side effects, believe that they should endure pain without complaining or worry about bothering nurses. Physicians and nurses may administer ineffective doses of pain relievers because of personal biases, cultural attitudes or a lack of knowledge.

Allison R. Mitchinson, M.P.H., N.C.T.M.B., of the Department of Veterans Affairs, VA Ann Arbor Healthcare System, Ann Arbor, Mich., and colleagues conducted a randomized controlled trial involving 605 veterans (average age 64) undergoing major surgery (chest or abdominal operations) between 2003 and 2005. Patients were randomly assigned to one of three groups for the five days following surgery: 203 received routine care; 200 received a daily 20-minute back massage; and 202 received 20 minutes of individual attention each day from a massage therapist, but no massage.

"The purpose of this group was to assess the effect of emotional support independent of massage," the authors write. Patients were asked daily to rate the intensity and unpleasantness of their pain, plus their level of anxiety, on scales of one to 10.

"Compared with the control group, patients in the massage group experienced short-term (preintervention vs. postintervention) decreases in pain intensity, pain unpleasantness and anxiety," the authors write. "In addition, patients in the massage group experienced a faster rate of decrease in pain intensity and unpleasantness during the first four postoperative days compared with the control group." There were no differences in long-term anxiety, length of hospital stay or the amount of pain-relieving medications used among the three groups.

"The effectiveness of massage in reducing both the intensity and unpleasantness of pain suggests that it may act through more than one mechanism," the authors write. "Massage may ameliorate suffering by helping to relieve the anxiety that so effectively synergizes with pain to create distress." It could also generate mood-boosting endorphins or create a competing sensation that blocks pain, they note.

"Historically, massage was a common experience for postsurgical patients," the authors write. "As health care systems have become more complex and administrative demands on nursing time have increased, the tradition of nurse-administered massage has been largely lost. With the recent emphasis on assessing pain as the fifth vital sign tempered by renewed concerns for patient safety, it is time to reintegrate the use of effective and less dangerous approaches to relieve patient distress."

Acupuncture Shows Promise In Improving Rates Of Pregnancy Following IVF

A review of seven clinical trials of acupuncture given with embryo transfer in women undergoing in vitro fertilization (IVF) suggests that acupuncture may improve rates of pregnancy. An estimated 10 to 15 percent of couples experience reproductive difficulty and seek specialist fertility treatments, such as IVF.

VF, which involves retrieving a woman's egg, fertilizing it in the laboratory, and then transferring the embryo back into the woman's womb is an expensive, lengthy, and stressful process. Identifying a complementary approach that can improve success would be welcome to patients and providers.

According to Eric Manheimer of the University of Maryland School of Medicine's Center for Integrative Medicine and colleagues who conducted the systematic review, acupuncture has been used in China for centuries to regulate the female reproductive system.

With this in mind, the reviewers analyzed results from seven clinical trials of acupuncture in women who underwent IVF to see if rates of pregnancy were improved with acupuncture. The studies encompassed data on over 1366 women and compared acupuncture, given within one day of embryo transfer, with sham acupuncture, or no additional treatment.

The reviewers found that acupuncture given as a complement to IVF increased the odds of achieving pregnancy. According to the researchers, the results indicate that 10 women undergoing IVF would need to be treated with acupuncture to bring about one additional pregnancy. The results, considered preliminary, point to a potential complementary treatment that may improve the success of IVF and the need to conduct additional clinical trials to confirm these findings.

Journal reference: Manheimer E, Zhang G, Udoff L, et al. Effect of acupuncture on rates of pregnancy and live birth among women undergoing in vitro fertilization: systematic review and meta-analysis. British Medical Journal. Published online February 2008.

Finger Length Ratio Linked to Osteoarthritis Risk

People whose index finger is shorter than their ring finger are at higher risk of osteoarthritis, a new University of Nottingham study has found.

A study of more than 2,000 people suggests that people whose index finger is shorter than their ring finger are up to twice as likely to suffer from the condition, which is the most common form of arthritis.

Index to ring finger length ratio (referred to as 2D:4D) is a trait known for its differences between the sexes. Men typically have shorter second than fourth digits; in women, these fingers tend to be about equal in length. Smaller 2D:4D ratios have intriguing hormonal connections, including higher prenatal testosterone levels, lower oestrogen concentrations, and higher sperm counts. Reduction in this ratio has also been linked to athletic and sexual prowess.

Whether this trait affects the risk of osteoarthritis (OA), the most common form of arthritis that may associate with both physical activity and oestrogen deficiency, has not been examined — until now.

Researchers at The University of Nottingham conducted a case-control study to assess the relationship between the 2D: 4D ratio and the risk of knee and hip OA. Their findings suggest that having a relatively long ring finger to index finger ratio raises the risk for developing OA of the knee, independent of other risk factors and particularly among women.

For the study, 2,049 case subjects were recruited from hospital orthopaedic surgery lists and a rheumatology clinic in Nottingham. All had clinically significant symptomatic OA of the knees or hips, requiring consideration of joint replacement surgery. Recruited from hospital lists of patients who had undergone intravenous urography (IVU) within the past five years, 1,123 individuals with no radiographic evidence of hip or knee OA, no present hip or knee symptoms, and no history of joint disease or joint surgery served as a control group.

The study population was comprised of both men and women, with an average age of approximately 67 years for cases and 63 years for controls.

Radiographs of both knees and the pelvis were obtained for all participants. Every participant also underwent separate radiographs of the right and left hands. Researchers then assessed the 2D:4D length ratio from radiographs using three methods: a direct visual comparison of the two finger ends, the measured ratio from the base to the tip of the upper finger joints, and the measured ratio of the metacarpal bone lengths.

Hands radiographs were classified visually as either type 1, index finger longer than the ring finger; type 2, index finger equal to the ring finger; or type 3, index finger shorter than the ring finger. Not surprisingly, men were 2.5 times more likely than women to have the type 3 pattern.

Using blind comparisons of hand radiographs with both knee and hip radiographs from random case and control samples combined with statistical analysis and odds ratios, researchers assessed the relationship between 2D:4D length ratio and OA. Compared with the other finger types, the type 3 finger was associated with an increased risk of OA involving any part of the knee or the hip, and including the presence of arthritic finger nodes. Of particular note, the risk of knee OA in participants with the type 3 finger pattern was nearly double that of the risk for participants without this pattern. Women with this finger pattern had a greater risk of knee OA than men.

Among participants of both sexes, researchers also found an interesting trend: the smaller the 2D:4D upper finger joint ratio, the greater the risk of OA of the tibiofemoral knee joint. Finally, after adjusting for established OA risk factors — age, sex, body mass index, joint injury, and lack of physical activity — the strong association of smaller 2D:4D length ratio with the risk for knee OA was deemed independent.

Professor Michael Doherty, lead researcher, said: “The 2D:4D length ratio appears to be a new risk factor for the development of OA. Specifically, women with the 'male' pattern of 2D:4D length ratio — that is, ring finger relatively longer than the index finger — are more likely to develop knee OA.”

As the first study to examine the relationship between 2D:4D length ratio and OA, it also raises questions.

“The underlying mechanism of the risk is unclear,” Professor Doherty stressed, “and merits further exploration.”

Journal article: "Index to Ring Finger Length Ratio and the Risk of Osteoarthritis," W. Zhang, J. Robertson, S. Doherty, J.J. Liu, R.A. Maciewicz, K.R. Muir, and M. Doherty, Arthritis & Rheumatism, January 2008; 58:1.

Researchers Show Leaky Muscle Cells Lead To Fatigue

What do marathoners and heart failure patients have in common? More than you think according to new findings by physiologists at Columbia University Medical Center.

The new study shows that the fatigue that marathoners and other extreme athletes feel at the end of a race is caused by a tiny leak inside their muscles that probably also saps the energy from patients with heart failure.

The leak which allows calcium to continuously leak inside muscle cells weakens the force produced by the muscle and also turns on a protein-digesting enzyme that damages the muscle fibers. The new study found the leak was present in the muscle of mice after an intense three-week daily swimming regimen and in human athletes after three days of daily intense cycling. The same leak was previously discovered by Marks and colleagues in the muscles of animals with heart failure.

The new study also found that an experimental drug developed by the researchers alleviated muscle fatigue in mice after exercise, suggesting that the drug also may provide relief from the severe exhaustion that prevents patients with chronic heart failure from getting out of bed or fixing dinner.

"The study does not mean exercise is bad for you," says the study's senior author, Andrew Marks, M.D., chair of the Department of Physiology and Cellular Biophysics, and director of the Clyde and Helen Wu Center for Molecular Cardiology at Columbia University Medical Center. "We only saw the leak in animals and human athletes that exercised three hours a day at very high intensities for several days or weeks in a row until they were exhausted." He notes that athletes' muscles also will return to normal after several days of rest and any muscle damage will be repaired after several days or weeks depending on the degree of exercise.

However, the arm, leg and breathing muscles of patients with heart failure never have a chance to recover. "People with chronic heart failure are subject to this same kind of muscle leak and damage constantly even without doing any exercise," Marks says. "One of these patients' most debilitating symptoms is muscle weakness and fatigue, which can be so bad they can't get out of bed, brush their teeth, or feed themselves."

This fatigue experienced by heart failure patients does not stem from a reduction in the amount of blood and oxygen supplied to the muscles by the heart, as one might expect. Instead, Marks' previous research in muscles of mice with heart failure suggested that fatigue in patients stems from the calcium leak, which reduced the ability of a single muscle to contract repeatedly before losing force.

"We then had a hunch that the process that produces fatigue in heart failure patients also may be responsible for the fatigue felt by athletes after a marathon or extreme training," says the study's first author, Andrew Bellinger, Ph.D., who is currently finishing his M.D. at Columbia University's College of Physicians & Surgeons. "Our new paper shows that fatigue in both patients and athletes probably stems from the same leak."

Study Also Provides Explanation for Muscle Fatigue Besides Lactic Acid. The calcium leak also provides a new explanation for the muscle soreness and fatigue that marathoners and other athletes can experience for weeks after crossing the finish line.

Physiologists have recently largely discarded the 100 year-old theory that lactic acid accumulation in the muscle cells produces fatigue and limits athletic performance. New theories have been exploring the role of calcium in this process. The involvement of defects in calcium handling in limiting muscle performance and producing exercise fatigue makes sense because the flow of calcium in and out of the muscle cell controls muscle contraction.

The discovery of the calcium leak in fatigued animals and athletes is the first time anyone has pinpointed a precise mechanism for the involvement of a defect in calcium handling in limiting exercise capacity.

Complementary and Alternative Medicine Use by Older Australians

Acupuncture Shows Promise In Improving Rates Of Pregnancy Following IVF

Finger Length Ratio Linked to Osteoarthritis Risk

Researchers Show Leaky Muscle Cells Lead To Fatigue

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