NewsletterJune 2018

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What Massage Can Do For YouBeyond Pain Relief, Massage is Valuable for Preventive CareKarrie Osborn

Massage helps you maintain a healthy body.

Massage is notjust a luxury.It's a way of ahealthier,happier life.-Unknown

Office Hours and Contact

CWG & Medical Massage Karla Freitag30397903429am-7pm Monday, Wednesday, Thursday9am-5pm Tuesday, Friday, SaturdayClosed Sundays

In this Issue

What Massage Can Do For YouKeeping Your Back HealthyMassage for Old Injuries

This article first appeared in the Summer 2013 issueofBody Sense.

Whether it is an aching back, recoveryfrom an injury, a case of carpal tunnelsyndrome, or a host of other debilitatingphysiological conditions, there's nodoubt massage and bodywork works torelieve pain. But once your therapist hashelped you tackle your pain, do you quitcalling? When the pain is gone, are yougone, too?

Massage therapy is highly effective forpain relief, but it is an amazingpreventive therapy as well. Massage helpsbuild and maintain a healthy body (andmind), it combats stress, and it works to

keep the immune system strong. Inshort, massage can keep on working foryou, even after the pain is gone.

MASSAGE FOR WELLNESSIf it's been a while since you bookedyour last massage--because your pain isno longer an issue or your injury is fullyrehabbed--you might want to considermassage for preventive care.

Massage can play an important role in agood health-care regimen. Just as youeat healthily, exercise regularly, and takeyour vitamins to ward off illness andmaintain a fit body, you should considermaking frequent massage a part of yourwellness lifestyle.

According to Benny Vaughn, a sportsmassage expert in Fort Worth, Texas,one of the benefits of consistent andregular massage therapy is betterflexibility. "This happens becauseregular and structured touch stimulusenhances the nervous system's sensoryand spatial processing capacity," he says."That is, the person becomes moreaware of her body's movement in spaceand becomes more aware of tightness or

pain long before it reaches a criticalpoint of mechanical dysfunction."

As a preventive measure, frequentmassage puts you more in tune with yourbody. "The consistency of massagetherapy over time creates a cumulativestress-reduction effect," Vaughn says.

Regular massage helps reduce stress and improve your quality of life.

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"The person becomes acutely aware ofstress within her body long before it cancreate stress-driven damage."

And the more massage you receive, themore benefits you reap. "Massagetherapists know that people who getmassage regularly demonstrate greaterimprovement and notice a reduction inpain and muscular tension, as well as animprovement in posture," says AnneWilliams, author ofMassage Mastery: From Student to Professional(Lippincott Williams Wilkins, 2012).

"People regularly make a commitmentto fitness," Williams says. "Peopleregularly make a commitment tochanging their diet. The differencethey'd experience if they regularly madea commitment to massage ismind-blowing."

STRESS IS A KILLERStress is more than just a word we throwaround to describe the nature of ourhectic day. Today, we understand thatstress kills.

According to the Benson-HenryInstitute for Mind Body Medicine,60-90 percent of all US medical visitsare for stress-related disorders. Chronicpain, headaches, heart disease,hypertension, and ulcers can all bewrought from stress. Many would arguethat the best benefit of massage is itsability to reduce the stress in our lives.

From the perspective of daily living,think about the stress you felt at today'smeeting--now it's hiding in your neck.Tomorrow that can turn into stiffnessand eventually begin to affect other partsof your body. If you see your massagetherapist for your regular session thisweek, the chances are good you won'treach the tipping point. Think ofmassage and bodywork as a way torebalance your body.

Noted researcher Tiffany Field and hercolleagues from the Touch ResearchInstitute at the University of MiamiSchool of Medicine report that massagecauses positive biological changes whenit comes to stress. Through the course ofmore than 20 studies, these scientistsfound that massage decreases cortisol (astress-derived hormone that negativelyaffects immune function and kills ourimmune cells) and increases dopamine

and serotonin (the neurotransmittersmost associated with emotionalwell-being).

Add to this the research that showsmassage can lower your heart rate anddecrease your blood pressure, and youhave a mighty effective,nonpharmacological, stress-fightingtool that's about as natural as natural canget.

A ONE-HOUR VACATION AND SOMUCH MOREYou may no longer need to rehab thatknee or work the scar tissue from yoursurgery, but don't forget abouteverything else massage can do for you.Massage is the entire package, helping toheal body, mind, and spirit. Think of itas a one-hour vacation with amazingreturn on investment.

Whether it be maintaining joint

flexibility, managing blood pressure, orenhancing immunity, massage works.From repair to relief and from recoveryto relaxation, massage is a magnificentpiece of natural medicine you shouldalways have as part of your health-careroutine.

Karrie Osborn is senior editor for Body Sense.Contact her at karrie@abmp.com.

Massage is a great way to beat back pain.

Keeping Your Back HealthyTips to Avoid Lasting Pain

Massage for Old InjuriesAncient Injuries Don't Have to Make You Feel OldArt Riggs

Chances are good that, at some point inyour life, you will have back pain. Infact, 70-85 percent of Americans willexperience back pain at some point intheir lives. But even with those odds,there are still several ways to minimizeyour risk and give yourself the bestchance to live pain-free.

Several factors can cause back pain,including stress, poor posture, badergonomics, lack of exercise, arthritis,osteoporosis, a sedentary lifestyle,overexertion, pregnancy, kidney stones,fibromyalgia, excess weight, and more.

With all of these potential causeslurking, it's important to look atbehaviors that can help you prevent andavoid back pain before it starts. Here area few simple healthy back tips from theNational Institute of NeurologicalDisorders and Stroke:

--Stretch and warm tissues beforeexercise or other strenuous activities.--Practice good posture. Avoid

slouching when sitting or standing.--When standing, keep your weightbalanced on both feet.--Follow good ergonomics in theworkplace. When sitting for longperiods of time, rest your feet on a footsupport. Make sure your chair and worksurfaces are at the proper height. Get upand move around in between longsitting stints.--Avoid high-heeled shoes.--Watch your weight. Excess weight,especially around the waist, can putundue stress on lower back muscles.--Exercise. Core strengthening moves,especially, will also benefit your back.--Don't lift items that are heavier thanyou can handle. Remember to lift withyour knees, not your back. Pull in yourstomach muscles, keep your head downand in line with your straight back, anddo not twist when lifting.--Get a massage. Using therapeuticbodywork can melt pain-inducing stressaway from your back and the rest of yourbody.

Injuries such as chronic back pain, trickknees, and sticky shoulders are notnecessarily something you just have tolive with. Massage techniques might holdthe key to unlocking this old pain.

Will Massage Help?The benefits of massage will depend onthe extent of the injury, how long ago itoccurred, and on the skill of thetherapist. Chronic and old injuriesoften require deeper and more precisetreatments with less emphasis on generalrelaxation and working on the wholebody. Massage works best for soft tissueinjuries to muscles and tendons and ismost effective in releasing adhesions andlengthening muscles that have shorteneddue to compensatory reactions to theinjury. Tight and fibrous muscles notonly hurt at the muscle or its tendon,but can also interfere with proper joint

movement and cause pain far away fromthe original injury.

Therapists who perform such work oftenhave specialized names for theirwork--such as orthopedic massage,neuromuscular therapy, myofascialrelease, medical massage, etc.,--butmany massage therapists utilize aneclectic approach combining the best ofthe specialties.

It Works!A recent Consumer Reports article ranthe results of a survey of thousands of itsreaders and reported that massage wasequal to chiropractic care in many areas,including back and neck pain. Massagealso ranked significantly higher thansome other forms of treatment, such asphysical therapy or drugs.

If that nagging injury persists, considerbooking a massage. Be sure to discussthe injury with your practitioner: Howdid you receive the injury? Have youreinjured it? And what exactly are yoursymptoms? Often, the bodycompensates in one area to protectanother that has been traumatized, andthis can create new problems.

Discuss the issues with your massagetherapist. (Sometimes just talking aboutold injuries can play a significant role inthe healing process.) Together, the twoof you can work to determine atreatment plan.

When all elsefails, get amassage.-Unknown

We are a team of highly-skilled practitioners dedicated tohelping our clients achieve wellness naturally and live theirlives more fully. CWG offers services from several licensedmassage therapists, experienced in multiple modalities oftherapeutic, medical massage. In addition, we work closelywith other wellness providers including acupuncture,personal training. NAET testing and counseling, making us acomplete physical and mental wellness center!

CWG & Medical Massage

5912 S. Cody Street, Suite 215Littleton, Co 80123