May 2008

Welcome to this month’s article! When you think of massage, you probably think about relaxation and reducing stress levels. Another key benefit massage offers you is pain reduction. Whether you experience some form of acute pain—say from overworking your muscles doing yardwork, or you suffer from a chronic pain condition like migraine headaches or fibromyalgia—massage can help you find relief.

If you’re younger and relatively pain-free, do all you can now to support your health. For instance, regular massage can keep all your body’s systems performing better, helping you to maintain a healthier condition as you grow older.

As you age, the likelihood of developing a chronic pain condition increases. As the years of wear-and-tear take their toll, you may find those occasional aches and pains becoming frequent visitors. To learn more about how massage helps, read the accompanying article.

Let massage help you to maintain a better level of health and bring you relief when pain gets the upper hand. See you at your next appointment!

Want Relief from Chronic Pain? Get a Massage!

Pain is your body’s way of alerting you to a threat to your health, and so serves an important function to your survival. Being in pain is never pleasant, but a chronic pain condition can dominate your life.

Any type of recurring pain calls for special attention. What causes these conditions, and what are effective ways to bring you relief and limit the negative effects on your health?

According to Kim Miller-Mirolli, a chiropractor and licensed massage therapist and specialist in chronic pain, the roots of these persistent pains are one or more of the following:

• Childhood traumatic events
• Spinal cord injuries
• Muscle strain
• Nutritional deficiencies
• Hormonal or physical changes
• Repetitive stress

Dr. Miller-Mirolli reports that chronic-pain clients experience higher-than-normal pain levels due to a chemical imbalance located in the central nervous system, which results in a higher quantity of a group of neurons called substance P. The sole function of these neurons is to send pain messages from the spinal cord to the brain. According to research, chronic pain sufferers have an abnormally high quantity of these pain neurons.

When the brain receives this onslaught of pain messages, it in turn causes an abnormal level of muscle tension brought about by tight muscle tissue. In other words, when your brain gets these pain reports, it reacts by tightening muscles. This sustained muscle tension is what causes a chronic-pain sufferer to hurt.

In a healthy body, muscles contract for movement, then return to a relaxed position. In the chronic-pain case, the muscle remains tense, and this excess tension causes improper functioning of the musculoskeletal system and the central nervous system.

This chronic muscle tension can contribute to high blood pressure; unrelenting pain; muscle dysfunction; and constricted blood and lymph flow. When blood and lymph flow is restricted, waste products build up in your body’s tissues.

In an article in the February 2008 Massage Magazine, Dr. Miller-Mirolli states: “Why does deep-pressure massage work in giving chronic-pain clients relief? When deep pressure is applied to chronic muscle tissue and then released, the effect on circulation is like crimping and releasing a hose. The pressure releases the blood and lymph flow to make its way into this ... tissue, providing it with the nourishment (specifically oxygen) it needs.

“Deep-pressure massage feels good to chronic-pain clients because it releases endorphins, which are natural painkillers for the body. With the release of these endorphins, the client experiences a euphoric break from his pain for a period of time. Notable relief is experienced after a session, and so a maintenance program of at least once a week is recommended.”

The Power of Touch for Pain Relief: Basic Facts

A growing body of research shows that massage therapy is effective for relieving and managing chronic and acute pain, a significant health problem. According to the National Institute for Health, more than one-third of us will suffer from chronic pain at some point in our lives, and approximately 14 percent of all employees take time off from work due to pain. Increasingly, massage therapists are being incorporated into pain management programs of hospitals and health care organizations. The Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations has suggested massage therapy as one means to manage pain without use of pharmaceuticals.

Of those hospitals that use complementary and alternative medicine therapies (CAM), nearly 82 percent included massage therapy among their health care offerings—with more than 70 percent utilizing massage therapy for pain management and relief. In a recent consumer survey commissioned by AMTA, 91 percent of respondents agreed that massage can be effective in reducing pain, and nearly half of those polled (47 percent) have had a massage specifically for the purpose of relieving pain.

Consider recent clinical research on the efficacy of massage for pain relief:

• Massage therapy is more effective for chronic back pain than other complementary therapies.
• Massage therapy promotes relaxation & alleviates the perception of pain & anxiety in cancer patients.
• Massage therapy reduces post-traumatic headaches better than cold pack treatments.
• A pilot study conducted at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles found that massage reduces pain and muscle spasms in patients who have undergone heart bypass surgery.
• Massage stimulates the brain to produce endorphins.

How does massage relieve pain?

• A simple and direct strategy: working from the external, outer mechanisms of pain to the primary, root cause.
• Focuses on the entire body system and its relationship to soft tissue—not solely on the site of pain.
(Information provided by American Massage Therapy Assn. online at www.amtamassage.org)

You are today where your thoughts have brought you;
you will be tomorrow where your thoughts take you.
— James Lane Allen