Massage is no longer thought of as a luxury that only the few can afford. Massage is widely viewed as both a preventive and a therapeutic medicine, and considering the wealth of health benefits it offers, it is easy to see why.
Massage may be the oldest and simplest form of medical care. It was one of the principal methods of pain relief performed by Greek and Roman physicians, and was considered an essential practice by Hippocrates, the "Father of Western Medicine". In fact, massage was used in hospitals up until the 1960s and 70s by nurses to help ease patient's pain and help them sleep. Massage is now used in intensive care units, for children, the elderly, babies in incubators, and patients with cancer & AIDS, and to assist in recovery from heart attacks and strokes. Most American hospices have some kind of bodywork therapy available, and it is frequently offered in health centers, drug treatment clinics and pain clinics.
Stress & Illness
Current research indicates that stress is the underlying cause of 90% of illness, accounting for two-thirds of family doctor visits and, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, half the deaths of Americans under the age of 65.
Physically speaking, when a person suffers from prolonged or chronic stress, hormones which influence the immune system are affected. One example is an increase in the production of cortisol, which will suppress the immune response and can slow down wound-healing.
Stress can have a great impact on your body. Most commonly, it can increase susceptibility to stomach problems, such as constipation or diarrhea, and can aggravate and make some disorders such as ulcers, worse. Headaches and migraines are another common complaint from those who suffer from stress. Stress affects the skin and complexion, causing such things as acne breakouts and hives. Research also reveals that people suffering from chronic stress experience more frequent colds and upper respiratory infections.
Stress can also have an impact on the body in more serious and potentially life threatening ways: heart disease, cancer and diabetes are all linked to stress and the over-production of cortisol.
What is stress?
Stress is a reaction that your body has to all the demands made upon it. It begins as a state of mind ( for example if one is worried about something all the time) and turns into a physical response, which serves important survival functions. It triggers the "fight or flight" nervous system response, which serves us very well in times when our survival is threatened. Following these periods of stress, however, it is important that the body's relaxation response be activated so the body's functions can return to normal. In our culture, the stress-response is activated so frequently,( driving in traffic, juggling jobs and family to name a few) that the body never gets a chance to return to normal, producing the chronic stress that can lead to illness. This can become a vicious cycle and can lead to a dwindling spiral of spiritual, emotional and physical health.
How can I prevent stress?
Spiritually speaking...well this might take some soul searching. After all we are each unique. Take time for yourself each day and be your own best friend.
Emotionally speaking....take stock of what you are saying and doing in relation to yourself, friends, colleagues and loved ones. What you say and do in a positive or negative way can cause that reaction in another person as well as yourself. Apply the "Golden Rule". Do unto others as you would like them to do to you.
Physically speaking, proper diet, physical activity, sunlight, good mineralized drinking water, and a restful night's sleep regularly, all aid stress management, as do receiving regular massage .
Massage & Stress Relief
Medical research has shown that massage effectively relieves stress, due to the change in hormone levels it produces. Cortisol is decreased, and Serotonin and Dopamine (your "feel good" hormones) increase, as is explained in the following:
Cortisol Decreases and Serotonin and Dopamine Increase Following Massage Therapy. Int J Neurosci. 2005 Oct;115(10):1397-413. Field T, Hernandez-Reif M, Diego M, Schanberg S, Kuhn C.
Touch Research Institutes, University of Miami School of Medicine, Miami, Florida
In this article the positive effects of massage therapy on biochemistry are reviewed including decreased levels of cortisol and increased levels of serotonin and dopamine. In studies in which cortisol was assayed either in saliva or in urine, significant decreases were noted in cortisol levels after massage therapy. In studies in which the activating neurotransmitters (serotonin and dopamine) were assayed in urine, massage therapy led to an increase in serotonin and dopamine. These studies combined suggest the stress-alleviating effects (decreased cortisol) and the activating effects (increased serotonin and dopamine) of massage therapy on a variety of medical conditions and stressful experiences.
In an interview published in the Massage Journal (Fall 1999), Joan Borysenko explains another take on massage and stress-relief:
"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."
Make regular massage a part of your preventive health maintenance routine!
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