Massage, learning to rub people the right way
One of the first things we will look at and give the merits for is
massage, known and applied for thousands of years .In todays society
at least in the UK touch is almost alien through whatever reason be it
Victorian or upbringing .Yet touch can convey so much and the UK in
general has to learn this very important role. For in my experience
touch can be life changing ,yet I still meet nurses who have never had
a massage in their life. Clearly there is much to change for these
people are supposed to be at the very front to treating the ill but as
the previous chapter has explained modern conventional treatment has
almost obliterated one of the prime tools for healing. Massage should
be done to babies, children and adults and much soothing would take
place were this in place without need for drugs, sedatives alcohol or
other stimulants. if only this would go into every would be mums
repertoire of dealing with their children. The results I am sure
would be impressive.

Various combinations of oils for massage can be used however I have
only experience with using the oils of peanut /olive and almond and I
am sure there are many others which are of real benefit too. Also very
good results have been obtained using tincture of myrrh.

Research in massage therapy has been ongoing for more than 120 years.
Here are some reported benefits of massage:

Preliminary results suggested cancer patients had less pain and
anxiety after receiving therapeutic massage at the James Cancer
Hospital and Research Institute in Columbus, Ohio.

Women who had experienced the recent death of a child were less
depressed after receiving therapeutic massage, according to
preliminary results of a study at the University of South Carolina.
Medical school students at the University of Medicine and Dentistry of
New Jersey-New Jersey Medical School who were massaged before an exam
showed a significant decrease in anxiety and respiratory rates as well
as a significant increase in white blood cells and natural killer cell
activity, suggesting a benefit to the immune system


Studies funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) have found
massage beneficial in improving weight gain in HIV-exposed infants and
facilitating recovery in patients who underwent abdominal surgery. At
the University of Miami School of Medicine's Touch Research Institute,
researchers have found that massage is helpful in decreasing blood
pressure in people with hypertension, alleviating pain in migraine
sufferers and improving alertness and performance in office workers.

An increasing number of research studies show massage reduces heart
rate, lowers blood pressure, increases blood circulation and lymph
flow, relaxes muscles, improves range of motion, and increases
endorphins (enhancing medical treatment). Although therapeutic massage
does not increase muscle strength, it can stimulate weak, inactive
muscles and, thus, partially compensate for the lack of exercise and
inactivity resulting from illness or injury. It also can hasten and
lead to a more complete recovery from exercise or injury.

Research has verified that:
Office workers massaged regularly were more alert, performed better
and were less stressed than those who weren't massaged.
Massage therapy decreased the effects of anxiety, tension, depression,
pain, and itching in burn patients.
Abdominal surgery patients recovered more quickly after massage.
Premature infants who were massaged gained more weight and fared
better than those who weren't.
Autistic children showed less erratic behaviour after massage therapy.

According AMTA, massage helps both physically and mentally.

"Often times people are stressed in our culture. Stress-related
disorders make up between 80-and-90 percent of the ailments that bring
people to family-practice physicians. What they require is someone to
listen, someone to touch them, someone to care. That does not exist in
modern medicine.
One of the complaints heard frequently is that physicians don't touch
their patients any more. Touch just isn't there. Years ago massage was
a big part of nursing. There was so much care, so much touch, so much
goodness conveyed through massage. Now nurses for the most part are as
busy as physicians. They're writing charts, dealing with insurance
notes, they're doing procedures and often there is no room for massage
any more.
I believe massage therapy is absolutely key in the healing process not
only in the hospital environment but because it relieves stress, it is
obviously foundational in the healing process any time and anywhere."

Joan Borysenko - Massage Journal Interview, Fall 1999
Physical Benefits of Therapeutic Massage
Massage also provides another therapeutic component largely absent in
today's world: tactile stimulation, or, more simply, touch. In 1986,
the Touch Research Institute at the University of Miami published
groundbreaking research on the effects of massage on premature babies.
The preterm babies who received massage therapy showed 47% greater
weight gain and six-day shorter hospital stays than the infants who
were not receiving massage. But is this study evidence of what loving
touch can do spiritually, or rather what massage can do on a
physiological level? Regardless, babies are not the only benefactors

Helps relieve stress and aids relaxation
Helps relieve muscle tension and stiffness. Alleviates discomfort
during pregnancy

Fosters faster healing of strained muscles and sprained ligaments;
reduces pain and swelling; reduces formation of excessive scar tissue
Reduces muscle spasms. Provides greater joint flexibility and range of
motion

Enhances athletic performance; Treats injuries caused during sport or work

Promotes deeper and easier breathing Improves circulation of blood and
movement of lymph fluids

Reduces blood pressure Helps relieve tension-related headaches and
effects of eye-strain

Enhances the health and nourishment of skin Improves posture

Strengthens the immune system Treats musculoskeletal problems

Rehabilitation post operative Rehabilitation after injury (Source: AMTA

Mental Benefits of Massage Therapy
Fosters peace of mind Promotes a relaxed state of mental alertness
Helps relieve mental stress. Improves ability to monitor stress
signals and respond appropriately.
Enhances capacity for calm thinking and creativity.

Emotional Benefits.
Satisfies needs for caring nurturing touch Fosters a feeling of well-being

Reduces levels of anxiety. Creates body awareness. Increases awareness
of mind-body connection

Here is a nice story

Hi all, I just wanted to share something with you that some of the
students in
my therapeutic massage class are working on this semester.

Part of our curriculum is clinical hands on hours. Most of us are
conducting
an on-campus massage clinic. We have 2 small groups of students who
are working
off-campus at the hospital (chair massages on nurses and hospital
staff only),
and at the adjacent cancer treatment center (hand and foot massages on
patients,
and chair massages for care givers and center staff).

As a part of the quantitative study of how well the massage work is going,
they are tracking the patient vital signs both before and after each
massage.
The results are absolutely amazing so far! They worked with 11
patients this
week, and EVERYONE experienced positive results. From all the stress
of the
treatments blood pressure, heart rate, and respiration levels are
elevated in
cancer patients. After the massages most of the patients had returned
to almost
normal ranges.

My fellow students got a chance to witness first hand exactly how
powerful our
gift of touch is, and how much of a difference such a simple gesture
can make in
someone's life - not just by making them aware that someone cares for
them, but
also by improving their health. With this data to track, it also gives
us a
small step toward making the profession of therapeutic massage that more
legitimate. You wouldn't believe how much more receptive of all of us
students
the staff at both the hospital and the cancer center are. Makes me kind of
proud to be a part of it all.

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