Massage therapy may reduce pain and anxiety in patients who are about to undergo or are recovering from surgical procedures.Massage therapy is relatively safe, with infrequent adverse events, and is more efficacious than other active treatments for treating pain and anxiety in surgical populations, according to research published in Pain Medicine.
Courtney Boyd, MA, from the Samueli Institute in Alexandria, Virginia, and colleagues conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis to assess the efficacy of massage therapy in treating pain, function-related, and health-related quality of life outcomes in surgical pain populations. They searched databases for all eligible randomized controlled trials through February 2014. The trials were assessed with use of the SIGN 50 Checklist, and a meta-analysis was applied at the outcome level.


A total of 12 high-quality and 4 low-quality studies were included in the review. Massage techniques—including those referred to as massage therapy, massage, M technique massage, Swedish massage, and effleurage—were compared with a variety of named controls, including relaxation, attention, standard care, routine care, usual care, amniocentesis, rest, normal activity, standard analgesia, no treatment, and vibration therapy, as well as one undescribed control.
Most studies focused on massage's effect on pain, sleep, stress, mood, and health-related quality of life outcomes in patients regarding postoperative pain or in those who were undergoing or recovering from procedures such as amniocentesis, cardiac surgery, hip or knee arthroplasty, craniofacial surgery, cesarean delivery, laparoscopic sterilization, and port placement. Massage sessions varied from one 10-minute session to 12 daily 10-minute sessions for 6 days; 66.8% of participants were male, with a mean age of 49.8 years.
The researchers found that massage therapy was effective for treating pain (standardized mean difference [SMD], −0.79) and anxiety (SMD, −0.57), compared with the active comparators.
“Massage therapy appears to be efficacious for reducing pain and anxiety in patients who are either about to undergo or are recovering from surgical procedures,” stated the researchers. They identified several research gaps for massage therapy, including the need for more stringent reporting requirements and the need for guidelines specific to massage therapy to ensure that dosing, timing, massage pressure, practitioner qualifications, and credentialing are appropriate for surgical patients in hospital settings.
“Once these gaps are addressed, comparative effectiveness research can be proposed, taking into account cost benefit analyses, in order to determine whether massage therapy is an appropriate intervention to offer patients who are either about to undergo or are recovering from surgical procedures in hospital settings. The promising results yielded from this systematic review and meta-analysis warrant the investment of both time and resources into addressing recommendations offered in this report to guide future research and ultimately offer massage therapy as a beneficial tool for surgical patients experiencing pain.”
Reference

1. Boyd C, Crawford C, Paat CF, et al. The impact of massage therapy on function in pain populations: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials: part III, surgical pain populations. Pain Med. 2016;17(9):1757-1772.

Find out the benefits of a sports massage and learn what's really behind this popular recovery method.


By Sara Angle |

You know recovery is a hugely important part of your workout routine. After all, that's when your muscles actually rebuild what's been broken down during exercise. But with so many different recovery tools and methods out there, it can all get a little confusing. (Like, who knew cupping therapy isn't just for Olympic athletes?) Take sports massage—what the heck is it anyway? And how is it different from a deep tissue massage you see on spa menus?
"Sports massage actually draws from several techniques that may already be familiar to you, including Swedish massage, which improves blood circulation and oxygenation, and deep tissue massage, which targets and breaks up muscle knots and areas of tightness," explains Annette Marshall, licensed massage therapist withZeel, an on-demand massage service that can have a massage therapist at your doorstep in as little as an hour.
Before your massage begins, your therapist will ask you a bit about about the types of activities you do, and then will focus specifically on the areas of the body most affected by that exercise. So if you're a runner, you can expect some hamstring love, and if you're big into CrossFit, your therapist may focus more on your back and shoulders. The various techniques can range from stretching and manipulating muscles to getting deeper into muscles with intense pressure.
"Because of the targeted nature of this technique, you will likely not receive a full-body massage, so for for body-wide aches and muscle knots you may prefer a deep tissue massage," advises Marshall. But you get an extra bonus with sports massage because it also incorporates stretching and an active range of motion, so it mimics exercise more closely.


Sports massage can be used before, during, and after strenuous athletic events, like a big race. But even if not training for an endurance event, anyone who is regularly physically active may experience the benefits of sports massage. Proponents of the technique say it can reduce muscle tension and pain, lower blood pressure, increase blood circulation and lymph flow, improve flexibility and range of motion, and improve muscle recovery time.
The scientific research on sports massage is still fairly unclear. One recent study in the Journal of Sports Sciences found that male bodybuilders recovered more quickly when they had a sports massage immediately after a training session, while another recent study from Cardiff Metropolitan University in Wales found that exercisers perceived no difference in muscle soreness when they received a sports massage following a plyometric workout.
Despite the cloudy research, if you enjoy massage and are an avid exerciser, a sports massage should at least feel good. "They're especially great if you're focused on a particular athletic pursuit—perhaps you've started lifting weights or taking CrossFit classes, or you're a serious runner—because your therapist will target a specific muscle group or groups based on your preferred athletic activity," says Marshall.
Your massage therapist can also show you self-maintenance techniques that will help your athletic endurance and performance between sports massages, like foam rolling and self-massage, so you'll be loosey goosey and injury free!

• DENISE STANGA

Massage is an ancient technique that involves manipulating muscles and rubbing or stroking the soft tissues of the body. It is considered one of many types of complementary therapies, which intend to treat the whole person, not just the symptoms of disease.
Massage does not treat the cancer itself and massage cannot spread the cancer. Massage can improve quality of life and well-being, and may help reduce the symptoms associated with the disease and the side effects caused by conventional treatments.
Scientific studies have looked at the effects of various body-based practices on people having cancer treatments such as chemotherapy and surgery. These studies have shown that massage may reduce pain, fatigue, nausea, anxiety and depression.
Massage therapists seeing clients with cancer can attest to its many benefits. It reduces stress and relaxes patients during and after a session. Massage bolsters the immune system and helps remove toxins from the body, increases circulation and restores energy. It reduces pain and minimizes the effects of radiation and chemotherapy treatments and even medication side-effects. It enhances a patient's body awareness and allows them to direct energy toward healing. And, for those with a terminal condition, it can help ease their final days and hours.
Specially trained massage therapists can care for those who are living with or recovering from cancer or other chronic illnesses. In hospice settings, bodyworkers are providing comfort to terminally ill patients and their families. And many physicians, health centers and hospitals across the country have incorporated massage therapists into the healthcare teams.
Some people worry that massage can spread cancer cells throughout the body. Although cancer may spread into the lymphatic system via the lymph nodes, manipulation from massage or other movement does not cause cancer to spread.
According to the American Cancer Society, light, relaxing massage can safely be given to people in all stages of cancer. However, tumor or treatment sites should not be massaged. If a patient is getting radiation therapy, massage should be avoided in the treatment area as well as in any red, raw, tender, or swollen areas to avoid discomfort or pressure on the affected area and underlying organs.
Many individuals who have had massages during cancer treatments have reported a range of positive outcomes in mental clarity, alertness and range of motion.
According to the Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine, a 2009 study of patients undergoing breast cancer treatment reported a decrease in pain and improvements in quality of life, functioning and sleep after having received one 30-minute weekly massage for three consecutive weeks.
Researchers in the same study also determined the treatment helped improve psychological well-being and lessen anxiety. Further, they found massage may boost the number of natural killer cells and lymphocytes, both known to play an important role in immune defense, in women with breast cancer. Some participants in the study also showed an increase in levels of serotonin, a mood-regulating brain chemical.
Regular massage sessions promote over-all health and wellness, minimize symptoms associated with illness and disease and can even help prevent sickness. As with any form of treatment, it is important for people with cancer to consult their physicians before undergoing massage therapy.
​
Denise Stanga, LMT, is a licensed massage therapist with more than 14 years of experience. She specializes in therapeutic and comfort massage for cancer, post-surgical and end-of-life patients. She is a preferred provider of the Society for Oncology Massage. For more information or to schedule an appointment, call 928-421-1091 or visitmoonrisingwellness.net.

By Irene Smith October 12, 2016


In the U.S., patients’ use of hospice care is growing. According to a 2014 report from the U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, the number of people receiving benefits for hospice grew 58 percent from 2000 to 2012; also, Medicare’s expenditures on hospice care increased from $2.9 billion to $15.1 billion, or by 80 percent.
By 2013, the most recent year for which statistics are available, the number of hospice providers in this country had grown to almost 6,000. In 2014, between 1.6 and 1.7 million Americans received hospice care at end of life, according to the Na­tional Hospice and Palliative Care Organization.
Gentle massage therapy is oftentimes offered to hospice patients. Here, hospice massage pioneer Irene Smith discusses therapeutic presence and how that can assist massage therapists when providing healthy touch to hospice patients.
 


Depth of Vulnerability

Dying persons are vulnerable. They have lost physical defenses due to the loss of muscle mass and physical stamina. They have relinquished social defenses in the need to receive intimate care, and many will give up emotional defenses as they let go of their image in the world, their family, their bodily functions and finally the ability to breathe.
This depth of vulnerability requires the practitioner to create a safe environment or container in which the dying person feels that his or her vulnerability is witnessed, validated and honored.
The foundation for this practice of witnessing is therapeutic presence, a term first used by Carl Rogers, Ph.D., an American psychologist who is known as the father of person-centered therapy.
Therapeutic presence is the quality of self, or the way of being that therapists bring to the therapeutic relationship. It is a state of being, rather than a state of doing.
This state of being involves the practitioner’s ability to be personally grounded and available as a nonjudgmental witness for the dying person’s expression of his or her illness.
 

Presence & ProtocolsAmerican psychologist James F.T. Bugental, Ph.D., described three components of therapeutic presence:

1. Being open and present to all parts of the client experience;

1. Being open to all of one’s own experience as one is with the client; and

1. Being able to respond from the immediacy of 1 and 2, noted above, combined.

The practice of therapeutic presence involves the practitioner in the following protocols:

• The practitioner holds the intention of witnessing, validating and honoring the dying person’s experience, rather than trying to fix, change, cure or correct any specific symptom or condition.

• The practitioner is quiet, observes the dying person and takes several breaths. This is a time of introduction on a deeper level than conversation. Each person has the opportunity to sense the rhythm and vibration of the other person’s energy and their energy together. This time of silent interaction provides a space for trust building and gives the relationship a center from which to deepen.

• The practitioner allows the dying person’s symptoms full expression. For example, in the case of Parkinson’s disease, the practitioner would not try or intend to restrict the movement to provide a touch session. The practitioner would observe the patient’s tremors and assess how he or she might interact with touch as a partner in movement.

• The dying person is allowed a greater sense of acceptance, which raises the self-esteem and deepens the trust in the touch relationship. He or she knows that they can bring themselves fully into the relationship without fear of rejection.

 


Cultivated from Within

​No academic discipline has developed a systematic approach for teaching therapeutic presence as a skill or ability. It is cultivated from personal growth outside the training environment.
The Buddhist meditation practice of mindfulness, however, offers a training ground for the development of therapeutic presence through openness and compassion to one’s own thoughts and feelings, and a nonjudgmental witnessing of oneself.
Being at the bedside with a dying person and possibly caregivers and family members—all of whom may be in various states of grief, not knowing what to do—the cultivated skill of therapeutic presence becomes an oasis of wise non-action.


About the AuthorIrene Smith began her journey as a massage therapist in 1974. She founded and directs Everflowing, an educational outreach program dedicated to teaching mindful touching as an integral component to end-of-life care. Smith is a member of the National Association of Massage Therapists, Hospice Volunteer Association and the San Francisco Bay Area End of Life Coalition. She wrote “Advocate for Yourself in the Health Care Environment” for massagemag.com (June 21, 2016).

When you think of massage, odds are you think of an hour of relaxation – a little “me” time. Massage certainly offers a great way to escape from the stresses of our everyday lives, but more and more studies are showing that regular massage gives you so much more: a range of emotional and physical benefits. Here are the top 10 reasons to incorporate more massage in your life.

1. Massage reduces stress – A single massage can lower your heart rate, cortisol and insulin levels, all of which are tied to how stressed you feel.
2. Massage helps you relax – Long after your massage is over, you will still benefit from a host of brain chemistry responses that encourage feelings of relaxation, lowered stress and improved mood.
3. Massage improves posture – Massage helps your body to reinforce healthy and natural movements, which will help correct any posture problems you may have.
4. Massage improves circulation – The pressure from massage moves oxygen-rich blood through the body to damaged, tense muscles so they can heal, while removing lactic acid and other metabolic waste.
5. Massage lowers blood pressure – Studies have shown that massage can lower both diastolic and systolic blood pressure.
6. Massage relaxes muscles – Sitting causes a lot of chronic back pain and massage can help with persistent pain by relaxing those tense muscles.
7. Massage improves flexibility – Sedentary lifestyles and age can make joints less flexible. Massage helps improve fluidity and range of motion in your joints and connective tissues.
8. Massage helps you breathe better – Massage can relax muscles in the upper body, which, if they become too tight, can constrict breathing.
9. Massage relieves headaches – Regular massage reduces your chance of developing a headache in the first place by relaxing muscle spasms and trigger points. Already have a headache? It can decrease the pain.
10. Massage strengthens the immune system – Studies have shown that regular massage can improve your body’s overall immune functioning.

With all of these benefits, it’s no wonder today’s consumer is beginning to see massage as an integral part of their well-being journey. As we all re-examine our wellness choices, massage therapy is shedding the stereotype of being an occasional indulgence. Instead, it’s become a highly integral body maintenance experience that offers any number of health benefits when consistently incorporated with other total body care actions.