Sep
5
2023
This book combines All you need to know about: Muscle & Bone Palpation, Locating Trigger Points, and Stretching.
It shows assesment and treatment techniques, including stretching. Palpation of the bones, joints, ligaments and muscles. The muscle illustrations are great incorporating trigger points and referral points as well!
The book also contains 2 DVDs. The first DVD shows palpation on various muscles by Joe Muscolino.
Now, the second DVD is a special one, it contains presentations by some of the top names in massage therapy education, including Tom Myers, Leon Chaitow, Whitney Lowe, Ruth Werner, Benny Vaughn, Bob King, Gil Hedley, Sandy Fritz, Sandra Anderson, Judith DeLany, George Kousaleos, Diana Thompson, Monica Reno, Fiona Rattay, Susan Salvo, Tracy Walton, Bob McAtee, Mike Dixon, Beverly Giroud, Neal Delaporta.
Each of them has a take on a muscle, how they approach it and showing their favourite techniques. This is the most unique DVD presentation on massage I have ever seen. The author Joe Muscolino is to be congratulated for putting this wonderful book & DVD.
This book is available from: http://www.terrarosa.com.au/dvd/muscolino.htm
Sep
5
2023
THE ULTIMATE THAI MASSAGE VIDEO
with Dr. Anthony James, CMT, ND, MDAM.
BASIC TABLE TECHNIQUES
Learn the therapeutic techniques for providing Thai massage on the massage table. Dr. Anthony James, CMT, ND, MDAM, the top instructor in the United States, walks you step-by-step though a demonstration of a complete basic routine adapted for the table.
Beginning with Puja (affirmation), Dr. James demonstrates techniques in the traditional Five Attitudes/Postures: Supine, Side Lying, Prone, Abdomen and Leg Stretching, and Seated. Includes over 19 basic asanas or therapeutic postures. Techniques include gentle rocking; deep stretching; striking; kneading; pinching and rolling; pulling, rotations, and rhythmic compression with thumbs, palms, elbows, forearms, knees, and feet.
ADVANCED TABLE TECHNIQUES
Learn more advanced therapeutic techniques to provide this beautiful, rhythmic healing modality on a massage table. Dr. Anthony James, CMT, ND, MDAM, the top instructor in the United States, walks you step-by-step through a complete advanced routine on the table, covering over 50 asanas.
Beginning with Puja (affirmation), Dr. James demonstrates techniques in the traditional Five Attitudes/Postures: Supine, Side Lying, Prone, Abdomen and Leg Stretching, and Seated. Techniques include gentle rocking; deep stretching; striking; kneading; pinching and rolling; pulling, rotations, and rhythmic compression with thumbs, palms, elbows, forearms, knees, and feet.
For a solid understanding of Thai massage, Dr. James discusses benefits and contraindications, origins of Thai massage, different styles (the Southern Royal Method, Northern Style, and Buddhai Sawan School), Ayurvedic anatomy (the primary Chakras and Sen lines), client assessment, and room set-up. Throughout, he also addresses balance vs. structural corrections; steps emulating energy flow; 10 key points for balance; working on position, attitude, relationship, and transition; and, breath, emphasis, and pressure. (2 Hrs. 57 Mins.)
Sep
5
2023
Weerapong P, Hume PA, Kolt GS
Many coaches, athletes and sports medicine personnel hold the belief, based on observations and experiences, that massage can provide several benefits to the body such as increased blood flow, reduced muscle tension and neurological excitability, and an increased sense of well-being.
Massage can produce mechanical pressure, which is expected to increase muscle compliance resulting in increased range of joint motion, decreased passive stiffness and decreased active stiffness (biomechanical mechanisms). Mechanical pressure might help to increase blood flow by increasing the arteriolar pressure, as well as increasing muscle temperature from rubbing. Depending on the massage technique, mechanical pressure on the muscle is expected to increase or decrease neural excitability as measured by the Hoffman reflex (neurological mechanisms).
Changes in parasympathetic activity (as measured by heart rate, blood pressure and heart rate variability) and hormonal levels (as measured by cortisol levels) following massage result in a relaxation response (physiological mechanisms). A reduction in anxiety and an improvement in mood state also cause relaxation (psychological mechanisms) after massage.
Therefore, these benefits of massage are expected to help athletes by enhancing performance and reducing injury risk. However, limited research has investigated the effects of pre-exercise massage on performance and injury prevention. Massage between events is widely investigated because it is believed that massage might help to enhance recovery and prepare athletes for the next event. Unfortunately, very little scientific data has supported this claim. The majority of research on psychological effects of massage has concluded that massage produces positive effects on recovery (psychological mechanisms).
Post-exercise massage has been shown to reduce the severity of muscle soreness but massage has no effects on muscle functional loss. Notwithstanding the belief that massage has benefits for athletes, the effects of different types of massage (e.g. petrissage, effleurage, friction) or the appropriate timing of massage (pre-exercise vs post-exercise) on performance, recovery from injury, or as an injury prevention method are not clear.
Explanations are lacking, as the mechanisms of each massage technique have not been widely investigated. Therefore, this article discusses the possible mechanisms of massage and provides a discussion of the limited evidence of massage on performance, recovery and muscle injury prevention. The limitations of previous research are described and further research is recommended.
Sports Medicine – 2005;35(3):235-56 – abstract
Sep
5
2023
A second edition of the definitive resource for all those wanting to use massage therapy to treat pain and injury conditions. Available from: http://www.terrarosa.com.au/book/whitney.htm
Whitney Lowe approached orthopedic massage as a broad spectrum of techniques and approaches to treat soft-tissue dysfunction. And this is the main objective of this book to present symptoms of soft-tissue dysfunction and injuries, the cause and the treatment.
Fully updated and revised Orthopedic Massage has been written for those interested in understanding and applying massage as an intervention for soft-tissue disorders. Recent research into the physiological effects of massage has strengthened the justification for its use in the treatment of soft-tissue pain and injury conditions.
Orthopedic soft-tissue problems are common among the general population, whether from sports, occupational activities, or chronic pain. This text presents a comprehensive and in-depth look at the physiological nature of these conditions and the massage treatments most effective for their relief. A particular contribution this text makes is its validation for the role of massage in treating orthopedic conditions.
In the field of orthopedics the successful repair of soft-tissue damage is often a crucial factor in effective rehabilitation. However, most of those who are trained in the use of massage therapy techniques have little opportunity to learn about the orthopedic issues involved. Orthopedic Massage aims to help the clinician understand the relationship between the soft tissues to which they apply their techniques and the overall orthopedic disorder affecting their clients. Although written chiefly for massage practitioners, the lessons it teaches are relevant to any practitioner who is concerned with the treatment of soft-tissue injuries.
Available from: http://www.terrarosa.com.au/book/whitney.htm
Sep
5
2023
QUESTIONS: How much of an effect do five common physiotherapy interventions need to have for patients with low back pain to perceive they are worth their cost, discomfort, risk, and incovenience? Are there any differences between the interventions? Do specific characteristics of people with low back pain predict the smallest important difference?
DESIGN: Cross-sectional, observational study. PARTICIPANTS: 77 patients with non-specific low back pain who had not yet commenced physiotherapy intervention.
OUTCOME MEASURES: The smallest worthwhile effect was measured in terms of global perceived change (0 to 4) and percentage perceived change.
RESULTS: Participants perceived that intervention would have to make them ‘much better’, which corresponded to 1.7 (SD 0.7) on the 4-point scale, or improve their symptoms by 42% (SD 23), to make it worthwhile. There was little distinction made between interventions, regardless of whether smallest worthwhile effects were quantified as global perceived change (p = 0.09) or percentage perceived change (p = 1.00). Severity of symptoms independently (p = 0.01) predicted percentage perceived change explaining 9% of the variance, so that for each increase in severity of symptoms of 1 point out of 10 there was an increase of 4% in the percentage perceived change that participants considered would make intervention worthwhile.
CONCLUSIONS: Typically people with low back pain feel that physiotherapy intervention must reduce their symptoms by 42%, or make them feel ‘much better’ for intervention to be worthwhile.
Manuela Ferreira is a Research Fellow in the University of Sydney’s Faculty of Health Sciences. The study was the first time in back pain that researchers decided to hear patients on what they considered to be the clinical significance of an intervention. Five different approaches were given to patients with lower back pain: usually used in physiotherapy, massage, heat, ultrasound, exercise and manual therapy.
For measuring the benefit, they used two scales, how much improvement in percentage they would expect to see or they would need to see to consider all that worthwhile. The patients told the researchers that they needed to be on average 42% better which is a lot more than what previous research had thought.
Now when you look at trials of physiotherapy-type treatments for low back pain compared to placebo or nothing then some of them just scrape into that 42% reduction in symptoms which people needed to have for treatment to be worth the effort. But when you look at research comparing treatments to each other rather than controls then the between treatment of differences in benefit are far lower than the amount wished for by the people in Manuela Ferreira and her colleagues’ study.
It is telling us researchers that we might be measuring the wrong things or we might not be measuring symptom improvement the way we should, the interventions we are using now maybe need to be changed – this is really the consumer’s opinion. They really want to see more improvement than what they are probably seeing right now.
When you are comparing two interventions and you find something that is statistically significant, the clinical significance of that difference is a lot more important.
We know what kind of benefit patients with back pain need, their expectations or perceptions are under-estimated by clinicians and researchers.
The interview from RAdio national
Dr Manuela Ferreira is a Research Fellow in the University of Sydney’s Faculty of Health Sciences.
Manuela Ferreira: It all started when I was doing my PhD and I had to go through a lot of clinical trials and when you read studies of clinical trials you read the results and it’s easy to see whether or not the difference between two groups or if the results of a paper are statistically significant. But I wanted to know if they were clinically significant.
Norman Swan: In other words it mattered to the researchers but did it matter to the consumer?
Manuela Ferreira: Exactly, it does matter to the consumer. There is actually literature and there are studies trying to estimate what we should call the clinical significance of results in clinical trials but it’s usually decided by researchers and clinicians but never by patients. So we thought we should hear patients.
Norman Swan: It’s a bit radical.
Manuela Ferreira: It was actually the first time in back pain that researchers decided to hear patients on what they considered to be the clinical significance of an intervention. So it was a bit radical but I still think it’s the way to go.
Norman Swan: So the questions you asked were geared towards how much of a benefit do you need to get for this to matter, for this to be worth the effort?
Manuela Ferreira: Exactly, we presented scenarios to patients related to low back pain interventions.
Norman Swan: Imaginary or real ones?
Manuela Ferreira: They were evidence based but we told them the risks, the inconvenience and a little bit of the benefits. I say a little bit because they were supposed to say how much benefit they were expecting and costs involved with the interventions and we asked patients how much improvement of their symptoms they needed to see to consider all that worthwhile.
Norman Swan: So you gave them doing nothing, having physiotherapy, having manipulation, maybe even having surgery or something like that.
Manuela Ferreira: Exactly, five different approaches usually used in physiotherapy, massage, heat, ultrasound, exercise and manual therapy.
Norman Swan: What sort of metric did you give them for measuring the benefit? I mean if you asked me I’m not sure I would know how to measure the benefit?
Manuela Ferreira: Yes, we used two scales, we asked them how much improvement in percentage they would expect to see or they would need to see to consider all that worthwhile.
Norman Swan: Just in their own terms accrued percentage?
Manuela Ferreira: Yes, from zero to 100% and the other one we gave them actually termed a little better, a lot better, much better, 100% better.
Norman Swan: Is this just the pain and movement or both?
Manuela Ferreira: It was symptoms. We are now doing a follow-up study and we are asking similar questions but concerning pain and disability and time to recover.
Norman Swan: So what did they tell you?
Manuela Ferreira: They told me that they needed to be on average 42% better which is a lot more than what previous research had thought.
Norman Swan: Now when you look at trials of physiotherapy-type treatments for low back pain compared to placebo or nothing then some of them just scrape into that 42% reduction in symptoms which people needed to have for treatment to be worth the effort. But when you look at research comparing treatments to each other rather than controls then the between treatment of differences in benefit are far lower than the amount wished for by the people in Manuela Ferreira and her colleagues’ study. So where does all that leave those of us who might have a sore back right now and are wondering what we might do about it?
Manuela Ferreira: This survey is just telling us how much they need to see to consider.
Norman Swan: This is placing the bar?
Manuela Ferreira: Exactly, so it’s something that is telling us researchers that we might be measuring the wrong things or we might not be measuring symptom improvement the way we should, the interventions we are using now maybe need to be changed – this is really the consumer’s opinion. They really want to see more improvement than what they are probably seeing right now.
Norman Swan: And we’ve just heard Rob Herbert’s, who is one of your colleagues, trial results using Health Report listeners on stretching where the effect was really tiny of stretching on preventing injury and soreness that when you’re comparing things if the margin is going to be that small it’s not worth it – people are going to say it’s not worth it.
Manuela Ferreira: Exactly, that’s the whole point. When you are comparing two interventions and you find something that is statistically significant, the clinical significance of that difference is a lot more important.
Norman Swan: Did the measure change if it was a cheap intervention for low back pain with no risk? In other words like stretching for example, while if it takes up 10 minutes of my day and I’m happy to do it, why shouldn’t I do it versus something that might actually cost you a fair bit of money and have risk attached to it? Did that change the percentage, I’d accept less benefit for that intervention?
Manuela Ferreira: There’s no difference, we compared five approaches, five interventions and there was no difference in the estimate among the five approaches. The study that we are conducting now we are comparing anti-flammatory pills and physiotherapy so these are very different interventions and they involve different costs and inconvenience and maybe risks, so we might be able to answer that question when we have the results of that one.
Norman Swan: So the bottom line then is that this could help people make decisions about their health care?
Manuela Ferreira: Exactly.
Norman Swan: Because you kind of know what benefit you’re going to get and whether it’s worth it.
Manuela Ferreira: Exactly, and we know what kind of benefit patients with back pain need, their expectations or perceptions are under-estimated by clinicians and researchers.
Norman Swan: So they’ve got to feel much better?
Manuela Ferreira: Yes they need to feel much better.
Norman Swan: Manuela Ferreira is a Research Fellow in the University of Sydney’s Faculty of Health Sciences.
Блок 50:
Статья с ID: 52
Заголовок статьи: Plant Foods For Preserving Muscle Mass
Контент:
Fruits and vegetables contain essential vitamins, minerals and fiber that are key to good health. Now, a newly released study by Agricultural Research Service (ARS)-funded scientists suggests plant foods also may help preserve muscle mass in older men and women.
The study was led by physician and nutrition specialist Bess Dawson-Hughes at the Jean Mayer USDA Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging at Tufts University in Boston, Mass.
The typical American diet is rich in protein, cereal grains and other acid-producing foods. In general, such diets generate tiny amounts of acid each day. With aging, a mild but slowly increasing metabolic “acidosis” develops, according to the researchers.
Acidosis appears to trigger a muscle-wasting response. So the researchers looked at links between measures of lean body mass and diets relatively high in potassium-rich, alkaline-residue producing fruits and vegetables. Such diets could help neutralize acidosis. Foods can be considered alkaline or acidic based on the residues they produce in the body, rather than whether they are alkaline or acidic themselves. For example, acidic grapefruits are metabolized to alkaline residues.
The researchers conducted a cross-sectional analysis on a subset of nearly 400 male and female volunteers aged 65 or older who had completed a three-year osteoporosis intervention trial. The volunteers’ physical activity, height and weight, and percentage of lean body mass were measured at the start of the study and at three years. Their urinary potassium was measured at the start of the study, and their dietary data was collected at 18 months.
Based on regression models, volunteers whose diets were rich in potassium could expect to have 3.6 more pounds of lean tissue mass than volunteers with half the higher potassium intake. That almost offsets the 4.4 pounds of lean tissue that is typically lost in a decade in healthy men and women aged 65 and above, according to authors.
Sarcopenia, or loss of muscle mass, can lead to falls due to weakened leg muscles. The authors encourage future studies that look into the effects of increasing overall intake of foods that metabolize to alkaline residues on muscle mass and functionality.
The study was published in the March issue of the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.
US Department of Agriculture (2008, May 31). Plant Foods For Preserving Muscle Mass.
Sep
5
2023
Massage after exercise, despite conventional wisdom, doesn’t improve circulation to the muscles or removal of lactic acid, researchers in Canada said.
“This dispels a common belief in the general public about the way in which massage is beneficial,” Michael Tschakovsky, a professor at Queen’s University in Kingston, said in a statement.
The belief that massage aids in the removal of lactic acid from muscle tissue is so pervasive it is even listed on the Canadian Sports Massage Therapists website as one of the benefits of massage, despite there being absolutely no scientific research to back this up.
“It also dispels that belief among people in the physical therapy profession. All the physical therapy professionals that I have talked to, when asked what massage does, answer that it improves muscle blood flow and helps get rid of lactic acid. Ours is the first study to challenge this and rigorously test its validity.”
Kinesiology master’s degree candidate Vicky Wiltshire and Tschakovsky show that massage actually impairs blood flow to the muscle after exercise and that it therefore also impairs the removal of lactic acid from muscle after exercise.
The study is to be presented at the annual American College of Sports Medicine conference May 27-30 in Seattle.
So massage isn’t helpful?
“What we’re saying with this research …it’s not that massage isn’t good,” Tschakovsky told me. “It’s just that the common perception that it increases blood flow and helps in the removal of lactic acid isn’t correct.”
A lot of runners I know – including me – were convinced the theory was correct. My routine was to book a massage a few days before a marathon – made me feel like a racehorse raring to go – and a few days after, which I thought helped those still sore muscles feel better so I could get back out there and start getting ready for my next race sooner.
Tschakovsky says he’s done the same thing – gone for a massage after soccer tournaments.
“Certainly it makes me feel better and it makes me feel as if my muscles are going to work better. It’s just that it’s not because of these claimed reasons.”
Tschakovsky says if massage does improve performance and help you recover more quickly, science has yet to prove how it works. On the other hand, science has not proven that massage hinders performance and recovery.
The bottom line?
“It feels good, that’s the truth of it. A lot of performance is psychological-based so if you feel better, if you feel you’re in a better situation to do something, it probably has the ability to affect performance.”
Sep
5
2023
Disability and related factors in patients with chronic cervical myofascial pain
Duyur Çakit, B., Genç, H., Altunta?, V., Erdem, H.R. 2009 Clinical Rheumatology, pp. 1-8
The aim of this study is to detect whether cervical myofascial pain leads to disability and to determine factors associated with disability in patients with chronic cervical myofascial pain.
One hundred-three female patients with chronic cervical myofascial pain and 30 age-matched healthy females participated. Main outcome measurements are visual analog scale, Neck Pain and Disability scale, Beck Depression Inventory and pain pressure threshold measurements from the most usual trigger-point locations of trapezius, levator scapula, multifidus, and splenius capitis muscles. The Neck Pain and Disability scale and Beck Depression Inventory scores of the patient group were higher than controls.
In the patient group, the total Neck Pain and Disability scale scores were significantly correlated with the pain pressure threshold values of the trapezius and levator scapula muscles and Beck Depression Inventory scores.
Regression analyses showed that increased disease duration (R2 = 0.37), decreased pain pressure threshold values of trapezius muscle (R2 = 0.04), unilateral disease (R2 = 0.02) and increased Beck Depression Inventory scores (R2 = 0.02) were associated with higher disability.
Cervical myofascial pain is a reason for disability in chronic neck pain population. Disease duration was found as the strongest predictor of disability.
Sep
5
2023
BACKGROUND: Pain is a global public health problem affecting the lives of large numbers of patients and their families. Touch therapies (Healing Touch (HT), Therapeutic Touch (TT) and Reiki) have been found to relieve pain, but some reviews have suggested there is insufficient evidence to support their use.
OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the effectiveness of touch therapies (including HT, TT, and Reiki) on relieving both acute and chronic pain; to determine any adverse effect of touch therapies.
SEARCH STRATEGY: Various electronic databases, including The Cochrane Library, MEDLINE, EMBASE, CINAHL, AMED and others from their inception to June 2008 were searched. Reference lists and bibliographies of relevant articles and organizations were checked. Experts in touch therapies were contacted. SELECTION CRITERIA: Randomized Controlled Trials (RCTs) or Controlled Clinical Trials (CCTs) evaluating the effect of touch on any type of pain were included. Similarly, only studies using a sham placebo or a ‘no treatment’ control was included.
DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS: Data was extracted and quality assessment was conducted by two independent review authors. The mean pain intensity for completing all treatment sessions was extracted. Pain intensity from different pain measurement scales were standardized into a single scale. Comparisons between the effects of treatment groups and that of control groups were made.
MAIN RESULTS: Twenty four studies involving 1153 participants met the inclusion criteria. There were five, sixteen and three studies on HT, TT and Reiki respectively. Participants exposed to touch had on average of 0.83 units (on a 0 to ten scale) lower pain intensity than unexposed participants (95% Confidence Interval: -1.16 to -0.50). Results of trials conducted by more experienced practitioners appeared to yield greater effects in pain reduction. It is also apparent that these trials yielding greater effects were from the Reiki studies. Whether more experienced practitioners or certain types of touch therapy brought better pain reduction should be further investigated. Two of the five studies evaluating analgesic usage supported the claim that touch therapies minimized analgesic usage. The placebo effect was also explored. No statistically significant (P = 0.29) placebo effect was identified.
AUTHORS’ CONCLUSIONS: Touch therapies may have a modest effect in pain relief. More studies on HT and Reiki in relieving pain are needed. More studies including children are also required to evaluate the effect of touch on children.
Cochrane database of systematic reviews (Online) (4), pp. CD006535
Sep
5
2023
Massage therapy for cancer palliation and supportive care: a systematic review of randomised clinical trials
E. Ernst. Support Care Cancer (2009) 17:333–337
DOI 10.1007/s00520-008-0569-z
Massage is a popular adjunct to cancer palliation. This systematic review is aimed at critically evaluating all available randomised clinical trials of massage in cancer palliation.
Six databases were searched to identify all trials of classical massage for cancer patients. Studies of other types of massage, e.g. reflexology, aromatherapy, were excluded. Fourteen trials met all inclusion criteria.
Collectively, they suggest that massage can alleviate a wide range of symptoms: pain, nausea, anxiety, depression, anger, stress and fatigue. However, the methodological quality of the included studies was poor, a fact that prevents definitive conclusions.
The evidence is, therefore, encouraging but not compelling. The subject seems to warrant further investigations which avoid the limitations of previous studies.
Sep
5
2023
Massage Therapy Can Decrease Pain
GLENVIEW, IL, Aug. 15, 2008—For those who experience lingering pain following exercise, a relaxing deep massage can help relieve musculoskeletal pain associated with exercise-induced pain, according to research reported in The Journal of Pain.
Researchers at the University of Iowa performed a double-blinded, randomized controlled trial to study the effects of massage on pressure-pain thresholds and perceived pain using delayed muscle soreness following exercise as the pain measurement. Trial participants were divided into three groups: no-treatment (control), superficial touch and deep tissue massage. Pain was assessed before treatment, after exercise and before and after treatment.
Massage has been used for rehabilitation and relaxation for thousands of years with no adverse effects. Unfortunately, few well-controlled trials of massage exist either in clinical or experimentally induced pain populations. The purpose for the study, therefore, was to determine the effects of massage using an endogenous muscle-pain model in otherwise healthy individuals.
The authors found that subjects given deep-tissue massage were able to increase their pain thresholds and decrease stretch pain compared with the no-treatment group. When combining the deep-tissue massage and light-touch groups, they found that stretch-pain reductions remained significantly better than in the control group although the light-touch treatment was not significantly better than no treatment.
The authors concluded that their study demonstrates that soft-tissue massage can reduce hyperalgesia and pain using a delayed onset muscle soreness model. The findings support use of massage to reduce stretch-pain perception and hyperalgesia.
Source: Massage Reduces Pain Perception and Hyperalgesia in Experimental Muscle Pain: A randomized, Controlled Trial; Laura A. Frey Law, Stephanie Evans, Jill Knudson, Steven Nus, Kerri Scholl and Kathleen Sluka; University of Iowa, Program in Physical Therapy and Rehabilitation Science.
