Massage News Alert - September 2007
Dear Bodyworkers,
Spring is here, and I hope that your business will flourish this season. Warmer weather will get you more customers.
Recently I read a book about Evidence based Medicine, which is medical treatment based on evidence gained from scientific study. Clinical studies usually involved randomised trial (meaning that treatment and non-treatment was applied randomly on a number of patients) to find whether specific treatment has significant effect on the outcome of the patient. There is also a book on Evidence based Therapeutic massage, the book itself does not have much on results of clinical trial. I am not so fully confident that we can have evidence based massage. But anyway, I am now reading a book called "Evidence based Sports Medicine" You can view part of it from Google book here: Evidence Based Sports Medicine
it is a wonderful book containing articles on injuries and advised treatment based on clinical studies. I will share one of it on tennis elbow in this issue, but will share some more of them in next issues to come.
Our website of the month is this fantastic site http://www.kinesophics.com It offers free audio classes on Feldenkrais and movement therapy. If you want to know what is Feldenkrais, and learn some basic movement it is definitely worth a visit. However, you need to register first before getting access to the audio file.
We have reserved a space at the ATMS National Massage Conference at Sydney Olympic Park, 27 and 28 October 2007. So if you are there give us a visit.
We are currently conducting a survey on musculoskeletal injury among bodyworkers in Australia. If you haven't completed your survey yet, please help us. We still haven't got enough people that participated yet. As a reward you will have a chance to win one of the two Massage DVDs (Lymphatic Drainage by Sean Riehl, and Stone massage by Meade Steadman) each worth $70. To get a chance to win a lovely DVD simply follow this link and complete our simple online survey http://www.terrarosa.com.au/poll/index.htm Winners will be drawn in November.
This month, we have a great new DVD sets on Advanced Myofascial Techniques. A great collection for deep tissue massage and structural bodyworks, so many new and effective techniques from Til Luchau.
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
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Happy reading and stay healthy… from us at www.terrarosa.com.au
Inside this issue:
Aromatherapy massage lessens nurse stress
To Gain Muscle And Lose Fat, Drink Milk
Mind body therapies for elderly in pain
Acupressure may calm aggressive behavior
Backache Sufferers Who Fear Pain Change Movements
Lower back pain and sleep disturbance are reduced following massage therapy
Get new vocabulary: Wii Elbow, Blackberry Finger, Wiitis, Nintendinitis
How should you treat Tennis Elbow?
Based on 185 articles published on this topic, Santini et al. tried to find clinical studies that reported effective treatment for tennis elbow. Only 18 articles are based on randomised, controlled trials assesing treatment protocols. The summary of treatment or Tennis Elbow according to the authors are:
SOURCE: Evidence Based Sports Medicine
Aromatherapy massage
lessens nurse stress
Researchers from School of Nursing & Midwifery, Griffith University found that
aromatherapy massages with music greatly reduced the stress levels of emergency
room nurses.
Emergency nurses are subjected to significant stressors during their work and it
is known that workloads and patient demands influence the role stress has on
nurses. The perception that winter months are busier for emergency departments
has long been held and there is some evidence that people with cardiac and
respiratory dysfunction do present more frequently in the winter months. Massage
has been found to decrease staff anxiety.
The study, published in the Journal of Clinical
Nursing, found that 54 percent of the emergency room staff in summer and 65
percent in winter suffered moderate to extreme anxiety. However, this fell to 8
percent, regardless of the season, once staff received 15-minute aromatherapy
massages while listening to music.
The study involved 86 nurses during two 12-week alternative therapy sessions
provided over the course of one year. Sixteen massages were carried out over a
two-day work period each week, with the names of staff working those days put
into an envelope and selected at random.
Analysis identified that aromatherapy massage with music significantly reduced
anxiety for both seasonal periods. Premassage anxiety was significantly higher
in winter than summer. No differences in sick leave and workload were found.
There was no difference in the occupational stress levels of nurses following
the two 12-week periods of massage.
"Introducing stress reduction strategies in the
workplace could be a valuable tool for employers who are keen to tackle anxiety
levels in high pressure roles and increase job satisfaction," study leader,
Marie Cooke, of Griffith University in Brisbane, said in a statement.
"But what is clear from this study, is that providing aromatherapy massage had
an immediate and dramatic effect on staff who traditionally suffer high anxiety
levels because of the nature of their work."
Reference: The effect of aromatherapy massage
with music on the stress and anxiety levels of emergency nurses: comparison
between summer and winter. Marie Cooke, Kerri Holzhauser, Mark Jones, Cathy
Davis, Julie Finucane Journal of Clinical Nursing 16, 1695–1703
http://www.sciencedaily.com
Part of an ongoing study into the impact of drinking milk after heavy weightlifting has found that milk helps exercisers burn more fat.
The study by researchers at McMaster University and just published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, was conducted by the Department of Kinesiology's Exercise Metabolism Research Group, lead by Stuart Phillips.
The researchers took three groups of young men 18 to 30 years of age -- 56 in total -- and put them through a rigorous, five-day-per-week weightlifting program over a 12-week period. Following their workouts, study participants drank either two cups of skim milk, a soy beverage with equivalent amounts of protein and energy, or a carbohydrate beverage with an equivalent amount of energy, which was roughly the same as drinking 600 to 700 milliliters of a typical sports drink.
Upon the study's conclusion, researchers found that the milk drinking group had lost nearly twice as much fat - two pounds - while the carbohydrate beverage group lost one pound of fat. Those drinking soy lost no fat. At the same time, the gain in muscle was much greater among the milk drinkers than either the soy or carbohydrate beverage study participants.
"The loss of fat mass, while expected, was much larger than we thought it would be," says Phillips, associate professor of kinesiology at McMaster. "I think the practical implications of these results are obvious: if you want to gain muscle and lose fat as a result of working out, drink milk."
As reported in the first phase of the study, the milk drinking group came out on top in terms of muscle gain with an estimated 40 per cent or 2.5 pounds more muscle mass than the soy beverage drinkers. In addition, this group gained 63 per cent or 3.3 pounds, more muscle mass than the carbohydrate beverage drinkers.
"I think the evidence is beginning to mount," says Phillips. "Milk may be best known for its calcium content in supporting bone health, but our research, and that of others, continually supports milk's ability to aid in muscle growth and also promote body fat loss. To my mind -- with milk being a source of nine essential nutrients -- it's a no brainer: milk is the ideal post-workout drink for recreational exercisers and athletes alike."
Ongoing work with this project will focus on the components of milk that might be responsible for the effects observed by the McMaster-based researchers. The work was supported by grants from the Canadian Institutes for Health Research and a grant from the US National Dairy Council.
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/08/070808104257.htm
Mind body therapies for elderly in pain
Mind-body therapies, which focus on the interactions between the mind, body and behavior, and the ways in which emotional, mental, social and behavioral factors can affect health, may be of particular benefit to elderly chronic pain sufferers.
A new study published in Pain Medicine provides a structured review of eight mind-body interventions for older people, including progressive muscle relaxation, meditation, hypnosis, tai chi and yoga.
All eight treatments were found to be feasible for older adults, and no adverse events or safety issues were reported. The article finds evidence that, in particular, progressive muscle relaxation may be effective for older people with osteoarthritis pain, while meditation and tai chi appear to improve function and coping with low back pain and osteoarthritis.
Chronic pain is common among older people. Sufferers are often unable to receive adequate treatment because of limited physician training in pain management for the elderly and the increased likelihood of side effects from pain medication.
“The trials we reviewed indicated that mind–body therapies were especially well suited to the older adult with chronic pain,” concludes lead author Natalia E. Morone, M.D., MSc. “This was because of their gentle approach, which made them suitable for even the frail older adult. Additionally, their positive emphasis on self-exploration was a potential remedy for the heavy emotional, psychological and social burden that is a hallmark of chronic pain.” http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/09/070910144556.htm
One of the most common symptoms of Alzheimer's disease and other forms of dementia is agitation. It's expressed in any number of ways; some people with dementia yell at or physically attack other people, while others habitually undress themselves or wander. Agitation not only puts dementia patients at risk of injury, but also makes their overall care even more challenging.
In the new pilot study, Taiwanese researchers looked at whether acupressure could offer a relatively simple way to address the problem.Long used in traditional Chinese medicine, acupressure is based on the same principles as acupuncture, but employs touch rather than needles. According to traditional theory, stimulating particular points on the skin helps balance the flow of energy, or "chi," throughout the body.
With acupressure, practitioners use their fingers to stimulate these "acupoints," making it a form of massage, explained study co-author Dr. Li-Chan Lin of National Yang-Ming University in Taipei. Lin's team tested the technique among 31 dementia patients at one nursing home. For four weeks, each patient received a 15-minute acupressure treatment twice a day, five days a week.
As a comparison therapy, the researchers spent another four weeks visiting the patients each day for a 15-minute talk. Twenty of the 31 patients were able to complete the study. Overall, Lin's team found, acupressure eased patients' agitation far better than the talking approach. What's more, the therapy seemed to calm patients' behavior immediately and reduce their episodes of aggression over the four-week treatment period.
This suggests that acupressure could be used to ease patients' symptoms and also to prevent symptoms from occurring in the first place, the researchers note. A recent research review found evidence that various forms of touch therapy, such as gentle massage, can calm dementia patients' anxiety and agitation.
The authors speculated that it's the simple act of human contact that might explain the benefit; for people whose ability to communicate has been taken away by dementia, physical touch may be the easiest or only way for them to connect with other people. With its more than 2000-year history in Chinese medicine, acupressure is a widely accepted form of touch therapy in Taiwan, Lin told Reuters Health. Because of its similarity to massage, the researcher added, acupressure might also be readily accepted as a dementia therapy in Western cultures as well.
Article published in: Journal of Clinical Nursing, February 2007.
http://www.reuters.com/article/healthNews/idUSKIM17120620070131?sp=true
People who fear aggravating a backache will change the way they move to prevent more pain, a new study finds. But doing so may set the stage for further injury, researchers warn.
In a study published in the journal Spine, Ohio University researchers Jim Thomas and Christopher France examined 36 adults who recently had experienced lower back pain. They split them into two groups: one that confessed a high fear of aggravating the backache and another that was less afraid of re-injury. The researchers next asked the participants to perform a series of three reaching tasks designed to simulate everyday activities, such as bending to open a mailbox or leaning to ring a doorbell. Sensors attached to the study subjects recorded their muscle movements.
The study confirmed what researchers have long suspected: People with a high fear of back pain will twist, bend and make other unusual moves to try to avoid more aches. It might be okay to baby sore muscles for a while, but protecting them for too long can cause them to weaken. When those muscles are called into play unexpectedly -- such as lurching forward to grab a bag of falling groceries -- more injury can occur, said Thomas, an associate professor of physical therapy whose study is funded by a four-year, $1.5 million grant from the National Institutes of Health.
"It's like if you run every day, and then a friend invites you to a game of racquetball," Thomas said, noting that the sports use different muscle groups. "The next day you suddenly feel like you've been run over by a bus." The latest findings are part of a larger study that also is tracking 100 subjects in Athens and Columbus, Ohio, for a year after their recovery from a back pain injury. This second piece, which will wrap up in May 2008, aims to confirm whether pain avoiders are indeed more likely to reinjure their backs. About half of the data has been collected to date, in partnership with Ohio State University, Thomas said.
Researchers hope the study findings will help physicians create new treatments for backaches, a common ailment. Eight out of 10 adults will suffer from back pain at some point in their lives. While many of those aches go away on their own, about half of those people will experience a recurrence of pain within the following year. Medical expenses and work absenteeism due to back pain disability are estimated at $20 billion to $40 billion per year in the United States, according to the researchers.
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/08/070806170318.htm
A randomized between-groups design was used to evaluate massage therapy versus relaxation therapy effects on chronic low back pain. The study was conducted by the Touch Reserach Institute headed by Tiffany Field. Thirty adults (mean age of 41 years) with lower back pain with a duration of at least 6 months participated in the study. The groups did not differ on age, socioeconomic status, ethnicity or gender. Sessions were 30 min long twice a week for 5 weeks.
The massage group received two 30-min massage therapy sessions per week over 5 weeks by trained massage therapists. Massage were perfomed on the entire back, thigh, and legs. A relaxation therapy group, which was included to control for potential placebo and increased attention effects, was shown how to use progressive muscle relaxation exercises including tensing and relaxing large muscle groups starting with the feet and progressing to the calves, thighs, hands, arms, back and face. The participants were asked to conduct these 30-min sessions at home twice a week for 5 weeks and to keep a log on the times they spent in relaxation therapy. They were also called weekly to monitor their compliance.
Treatment effects were evaluated for reducing pain, depression, anxiety and sleep disturbances, for improving trunk range of motion (ROM) and for reducing job absenteeism and increasing job productivity. On the first and last day of the 5-week study participants completed questionnaires and were assessed for ROM.
After the first session, the massage participants reported less depressed mood, as they did across the study. After the first and last massage therapy session, they were less anxious. Similarly, pain was lessened after the first and last sessions and over the course of the study for the massage therapy group. These findings concur with other massage studies on depressive pain syndromes including fibromyalgia and chronic fatigue syndrome and suggest that massage therapy is more effective than relaxation therapy for reducing pain and anxiety, and for improving mood.
The massage therapy group also experienced an immediate increase in the measures of trunk flexion with and without pain after the first and last sessions as they had in our previous massage therapy study on individuals with lower back pain.
The study concluded that the massage therapy group, as compared to the relaxation group, reported experiencing less pain, depression, anxiety and sleep disturbance. They also showed improved trunk and pain flexion performance.
A limitation of the study was the small sample size and lack of a long-term follow-up assessment. These data, nonetheless, suggest that massage therapy effectively reduces pain, sleep disturbances and the anxiety and depressed mood states associated with lower back pain.
Reference: Tiffany Field, Maria Hernandez-Reif, Miguel Diego and Monica Fraser. Lower back pain and sleep disturbance are reduced following massage therapy. Journal of Bodywork and Movement Therapy 11, 141-145. April 2007. doi:10.1016/j.jbmt.2006.03.001
Get new vocabulary: Wii Elbow, Blackberry Finger, Wiitis, Nintendinitis
Apparently new types of RSI have been identified with the increasing use of modern technology.
For example in the US, the increase use of Blackberry (a handheld device that can be used as mobile phones, email, web) has created the Blackberry Thumb.
And Blackberry Thumb is the Pain of the thumb from excessive use of a blackberry device keyboard. http://www.wordspy.com/words/BlackBerrythumb.asp
Treating Blackberry Thumb is a new and booming part of spa/massage business in the US.
Other injuries include:
Text message injury: A form of repetitive stress injury caused by excessive use of the thumb to type text messages into a mobile phone. Also: TMI.
e-thrombosis: The formation of blood clots caused by sitting at a computer for prolonged periods. http://www.wordspy.com/words/e-thrombosis.asp
Mouse wrist: Pain in the wrist caused by excessive or improper use of a computer mouse. http://www.wordspy.com/words/mousewrist.asp
The use of play console also created new names in injury, such as:
- Wii elbow: The pain experienced from playing any wii game (mostly wii sports) for extended periods of time. This mostly deals with wii games that require lots of arm movement. http://www.wordspy.com/words/Wiielbow.asp
- Nintendo thumb: A repetitive stress injury that causes swelling at the base of the thumb due to overuse of video games.http://www.wordspy.com/words/Nintendothumb.asp
Meanwhile Medical doctors preferred the -itis suffix, creating words such as: Wiitis, Nintendinitis (These words are actually use in medical journals believe it or not http://content.nejm.org/cgi/content/short/356/23/2431)
Well, the good news for us is that we don't have to attend new course to treat those injuries. We already familiar with similar RSI, and maybe it can become a new market.
http://www.reuters.com/article/healthNews/idUSN1213333820070112?sp=true
Deep Tissue Massage. A Visual Guide to Techniques (Revised Second Edition) by Art Riggs
Deep Tissue Massage presents a wealth of information in a way the therapist can immediately utilize. This new edition has been thoroughly revised and includes a preface to the new edition, a foreword by Tom Myers, an index, a Suggested Reading list, and extended sections on integrating deep tissue massage into bodywork practice and the psychology of treating injuries. http://www.terrarosa.com.au/dvd/dtm3.htm
The New Rules of Posture, How to Sit, Stand, and Move in the Modern World by Mary Bond
Mary Bond approaches postural changes from the inside out. She explains that healthy posture comes from a new sense we can learn to feel, not by training our muscles into an ideal shape. Drawing from 35 years of helping people improve their bodies, she shows how habitual movement patterns and emotional factors lead to unhealthy posture. She contends that posture is the physical action we take to orient ourselves in relation to situations, emotions, and people; in order to improve our posture, we need to examine both our physical postural traits and the self-expression that underlies the way we sit, stand, and move. The way we walk, she says, is our body’s signature. http://www.terrarosa.com.au/dvd/dtm3.htm
Traditional Chinese Medicine Cupping Therapy
This new edition explores and describes techniques of cupping in the context of TCM theory. It provides a clear and detailed set of practical guidelines to applying this technique for various common conditions, and looks closely at issues of safety, expectation and theoretical principles of action. This new edition includes new scientific research on cupping therapy and the effect on the immune system as well as new material on muscular pain, stress management and cupping therapy and sports medicine. Includes a DVD-ROM that complements the text with video clips showing the eleven methods of cupping therapy. http://www.terrarosa.com.au/dvd/cupping.htm
How Life Moves, Explorations in Meaning and Body Awareness by Caryn McHose and Kevin Frank, Foreword by Hubert Godard
This comprehensive movement program uses the story of biological evolution as a tool to increase strength, flexibility, and body awareness. Readers learn to "unlearn" inherited bodily habits by embodying the many forms that life has expressed on Earth--from the single cell to the human being--and shifting their perception. Through this evolutionary movement, the body's native intelligence is revived and new movements can be learned, enabling the body to overcome chronic musculoskeletal complaints such as lower back, shoulder, and neck pain, and to meet whatever challenges it is faced with. http://www.terrarosa.com.au/dvd/dtm3.htm#life_moves
Advanced Myofascial techniques with Til Luchau
These instructional DVDs clearly present practicing manual therapists with unique, interesting, and fresh approaches that will increase effectiveness and inspire innovation. Join Certified Advanced Rolfers and Rolf Institute® Faculty members Til Luchau and Larry Koliha. Filmed at actual Rolf Institute®-sponsored trainings in the popular "Advanced Myofascial Techniques" series. Check it out.
http://www.terrarosa.com.au/til/amt.htm
Frozen Shoulder Syndrome
Frozen Shoulder Syndrome or Adhesive Capsulitis, is still a mysterious orthopedic condition in as far as causative factors and prognosis. This condition is painful and difficult to heal, however, massage can be a major part of the solution. This DVD gives you the tools to assess and treat this condition. This DVD was written, instructed and directed by Elaine Calenda, AOS, NCTMB, a massage therapy educator for over 28 years. She has successfully applied the techniques demonstrated on this DVD seminar on real clients experiencing real shoulder issues. http://www.terrarosa.com.au/dvd/frozen.htm
Introduction to Ortho-Bionomy
Ortho-Bionomy is a non-invasive, body therapy which is highly effective in treating chronic stress, injuries, pain and problems associated with postural and structural imbalances. Similar to Positional Release, practitioner uses gentle, comfortable movements and positions to facilitate change in stress and pain patterns and to re-educate the body’s ability to function more efficiently. This 2 hrs DVD present the theory and demonstration of Ortho-Bionomy by Bruce Stark. Highlights · Release positions for all major joints in the body · Cervical, thoracic and lumbar spine and pelvis imbalances · Shoulder and arm pain and restrictions · Knee pain and dysfunction and ankle and feet imbalances. http://www.terrarosa.com.au/dvd/position.htm#ortho
Structural Biomechanics
This is a Five Audio CDs Correspondence Course with Jan Sultan, Rolf® Institute Advanced Faculty. Includes web access to illustrated outlines and detailed handouts. Topics covered include: Basic structural considerations, Sequences of intervention, Interrelationships of surrounding structures, Practical approaches for common complaints. http://www.terrarosa.com.au/til/audio.htm
Pattern Recognition
Five Audio CDs (approximately 5 hours) Correspondence Course with Jan Sultan, Rolf® Institute Advanced Faculty. Includes free web access to client photos. Using photographs of clients, Jan describes criteria for body reading, and provides a protocol for making observations and treatment decisions. Also dialog as each case is reviewed. Jan presents practical approaches that can be used immediately with clients and patients. http://www.terrarosa.com.au/til/audio.htm
Only available at: http://www.terrarosa.com.au/special.htm
Celebrating the release of Art Riggs' new edition of the Deep Tissue and Myofascial Release, we offer a special price.