July 2008

Welcome to this month’s article! Hopefully you’re doing well and enjoying your summer. The warmer weather is a great time to make a point of increasing your water intake, which can improve your overall health. For more information on how water can help you, see the third section below.

The reason for providing these articles for you is to pass along pertinent health information that could help you to improve the quality of your life. For instance, the second section on new research on migraine is yet more proof that massage can help relieve so many different physical complaints. Who knows what other ailments future studies will show that regular massage improves?

If you have any questions about how massage might benefit you, be sure to ask at your next appointment. In the meantime, take good care of yourself!

Take a Little Break This Week

Are you staying busy? Most people will say, “You bet—there’s always something demanding my attention!” Having a busy life can be very rewarding, but it can also be very stressful.

If you feel like you’re always on the run, remember that your health should be your first priority. It’s a lot harder to meet your obligations when you’re feeling rundown and overworked. And what better way to recharge your batteries and to feel your best than taking a little break to get a rejuvenating massage?

With stress being a major contributor to illness and study after study showing that massage greatly reduces stress levels, every massage can help you to keep going strong.

Investing an hour or so of your time just for you is definitely time well spent! Working the tension from your tight neck and shoulders and your sore back can help you to feel so much better, while helping your body to function better.

Massage also helps to improve virtually all your body’s functions, assisting it to do its job more efficiently. So, treat yourself to the best of both worlds—indulgent relaxation that offers you a nice boost to your health!

New Research on Migraine

Massage therapy has been shown to benefit migraine sufferers, and people with a history of headaches are increasingly turning to massage and other complementary therapies (massagemag.com/migraine). New research shows that people with migraine are more prone to skin sensitivity, as you’ll see.

Research conducted at the Touch Research Institutes at the University of Miami School of Medicine in Miami, Florida, showed that massage therapy decreased the occurrence of headaches, sleep disturbances and distress symptoms, and increased serotonin levels in adults with migraine headaches.

The new research, published in the April 22 issue of Neurology, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology, shows that migraine sufferers are likely to experience exacerbated skin sensitivity or pain after simple daily activities such as rubbing one’s head, combing one’s hair and wearing necklaces or earrings, compared to people with other types of headache.

Researchers surveyed 16,573 people with headache about their type of headache, frequency, quality of life, depression and other illnesses that cause pain. The study found that 68 percent of those who reported almost daily headaches (chronic migraine) and 63 percent of those with episodic migraines reported allodynia, the name of this painful skin sensitivity. Forty-two percent of people with probable migraine reported the skin pain compared to 37 percent of those with daily or tension headache.

The study also found this type of skin pain was more common in women with migraine and people with migraine who were obese or had depression. Source: www.massagemag.com

The Best Health Drink?

There are an ever-growing number of “health drinks” available today. Consider some of the benefits of nature’s original health beverage—water.

Pure water offers you so many health benefits. In her book Your Natural Health Makeover, naturopathic physician Dr. Lauri Aesoph gives the following reasons to include adequate pure water in your daily diet:

• Water makes up about 70% of the adult body
• Water helps clear the body of waste material
• Water helps fight constipation and aids digestion
• Water helps lubricate joints
• Water aids cell function and is an important solvent in the body
• Water vapor in the lungs helps control oxygen concentration there
• Water helps control body temperature
• Inadequate water intake may result in fatigue and general body aches

Many people believe they consume plenty of water because they are drinking coffee, tea, or sodas. All of these beverages contain other ingredients that your body processes differently than it does water. Keep in mind that besides mother’s milk, water was our first drink, and man created virtually all the others.

An article in Massage & Bodywork magazine states: “Besides decreasing headaches, heartburn, constipation, fatigue and kidney stones, getting your fair share of water each day may help prevent serious illnesses including heart disease, high blood pressure, cancer and asthma. One study at the University of Loma Linda, California, showed that people who drink five or more glasses of water every day cut their risk of suffering a fatal heart attack in half. Researchers believe because water, unlike other beverages, is absorbed immediately into the blood stream, it thins the blood and reduces clot risk. This also helps moderate blood pressure because it’s easier for the heart to pump thinner rather than thicker blood. Furthermore, researchers at Harvard reported men who drank six cups of water daily reduced bladder cancer risk by 50 percent. Other studies indicate that high water intake also curbs the risk of breast and colon cancers. ... ”

So take one of the easiest steps to supporting your health and make sure you’re drinking plenty of water!

Kind words can be short and easy to speak, but their echoes are truly endless.
— Mother Teresa

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