Sep
5
2023
The effect of soft tissue release on delayed onset muscle soreness: A pilot study
Dominic Micklewright, Department of Biological Sciences, The University of Essex, Wivenhoe Park, Colchester, Essex CO4 3SQ, UK
Objectives
To examine soft tissue release (STR) as an intervention for delayed onset muscle soreness (DOMS).
Soft tissue release (STR) has been developed (Sanderson, 2002) that involves applying deep pressure to a muscle while simultaneously performing a controlled muscle lengthening by moving the corresponding joint either passively or actively. Unlike many other massage techniques, STR provides a method of manipulating deep tissues throughout the full joint range of motion (Sanderson, 2002). Since the signs and symptoms of exercise induced muscle damage are often more severe towards the limits of joint range of motion, it is conceivable that such signs and symptoms could be targeted more precisely by using STR rather than other types of massage.
Design
A mixed-subjects experimental design was used. Participants performed 4 × 20 eccentric elbow extensions at 80% of 1RM. Participants received either STR (50%) or no treatment (50%). DOMS measurements were taken before the elbow extensions and at 0, 24, and 48 h afterwards.
Setting
The study was conducted at the University of Essex exercise physiology laboratory.
Participants
Twenty male participants, unaccustomed to strength conditioning, completed the study.
Main outcome measures
DOMS was evaluated using relaxed joint angle (RJA), active range of motion (AROM), passive range of motion (PROM), and arm girth measurements. Soreness ratings were measured using a 100 mm visual analogue scale (VAS).
Results
In both conditions there were post-DOMS task increases in VAS ratings (p < 0.0001) and arm girths (p < 0.0001), and decreases in RJA (p < 0.0001), AROM (p < 0.0001), and PROM (p < 0.0001). STR group VAS scores were higher immediately (p < 0.01) and 48 h after treatment (p < 0.005). There were no other between-group differences and none of the measurements returned to baseline levels by 48 h.
Conclusions
STR exacerbates the DOMS sensation yet does not seem to improve the rate of recovery during the first 48 h. What our study adds is that deep aggressive manipulation of damaged muscles, characteristic of STR, does not appear to improve recovery from DOMS. Athletes or rehabilitation practitioners who are looking for a quick fix to DOMS are therefore unlikely to find STR any more useful than more gentle massage techniques. Further research is needed to look more closely at the relationship between manual manipulation of injured tissues and the underlying cellular mechanisms of tissue repair. Without this additional information it is unlikely that the ambiguities surrounding the efficacy of massage and other manual manipulation techniques will be resolved.
Physical Therapy in Sport
Volume 10, Issue 1, February 2009, Pages 19-24
Sep
5
2023
A new DVD on restorative Yoga from real Bodywork is now available.
It features six sequences including a 12 minute meditation, a 15 minute morning session, a 45 minute mid-day sequence, two 55 minute evening routines and one 85 minute sequence for restful sleep. A total of over four hours of yoga practice!
Explore deep relaxation, rejuvenation and healing by experiencing restorative yoga. In this style of yoga, each pose is held for several minutes supported by blankets, allowing the nervous system to completely quiet and return to a state of balance, while gently stretching and opening the body.
Beautifully filmed in Santa Barbara, California in high definition, widescreen with over four hours of footage.
The DVD is available from http://www.terrarosa.com.au/yoga/restorative.htm
Sep
5
2023
Women undertaking a ten week program of 75 minute Restorative Yoga (RY) classes gained positive differences in aspects of mental health such as depression, positive emotions, and spirituality (feeling calm/peaceful) compared to the control group. The study, published February 28 in a special issue of Psycho-Oncology focusing on physical activity, shows the women had a 50% reduction in depression and a 12% increase in feelings of peace and meaning after the yoga sessions.
RY is a gentle type of yoga which is similar to other types of yoga classes, moving the spine in all directions but in a more passive and gentle way. Props such as cushions, bolsters, and blankets provide complete physical support for total relaxation with minimal physical effort, and so people in differing levels of health can practice yoga more easily.
44 women took part in the study, with 22 undertaking the yoga classes and 22 in the waitlist control group. All of the women had breast cancer; 34% were actively undergoing cancer treatment while the majority had already completed treatment. All participants completed a questionnaire at the beginning and end of the ten week program, asking them to evaluate their quality of life through various measures. The results clearly showed that the women who had been given the RY classes experienced a wide range of benefits compared to the control group (who were later all invited to attend identical RY classes).
“Evidence from systematic reviews of randomized trials is quite strong that mind-body therapies improve mood, quality of life, and treatment-related symptoms in people with cancer. Yoga is one mind-body therapy that is widely available and involves relatively reasonable costs,” said lead researcher Suzanne Danhauer, Ph.D., based at Wake Forest University School of Medicine. “Given the high levels of stress and distress that many women with breast cancer experience, the opportunity to experience feeling more peaceful and calm in the midst of breast cancer is a significant benefit.”
The study found that women who started with higher negative emotions and lower emotional well-being derived greater benefit from the gentle yoga intervention compared to the control group. Women in the gentle yoga group also demonstrated a significant within-group improvement in fatigue, while no such change was noted for the control group.
“This was a pilot study to identify the worthiness and feasibility of conducting a larger randomized control trial on restorative yoga and women with breast cancer,” added Danhauer. “Our results are very promising and will allow us to embark on a much larger scale study.”
Wiley-Blackwell (2009, March 2). Yoga Provides Emotional Benefits To Women With Breast Cancer. ScienceDaily. Retrieved March 3, 2009, from http://www.sciencedaily.com /releases/2009/02/090224230707.htm
Sep
5
2023
Simeon Niel-Asher, The Concise Book of Trigger Points, second ed., Lotus Publishing, Chichester, England, ISBN: 978-1-905367-12-2, 224 pages.
Anita Mehrez and Peter A. Mackereth
The Christie NHS Trust Foundation Trust, UK
As massage therapists, who also offer acupuncture, this book appeals on a number of accounts. First, the author has put together a very accessible book set out in 9 chapters; the first three setting out clearly the theory and physiology of trigger points (TPs). The six that then follow are organised around distinct muscle groups. Each 2 page spread features clear detailed colour illustrations by Amada Williams, depicting each major skeletal muscle, the zone of pain distribution and exercises to strengthen, including selfstretches. Second, the author skilfully explains each muscle’s origin, insertion, function and action, with an exploration of the physiological implications of TPs in each muscle, advice for the patient and treatment techniques.
Third, in ‘Putting it all together’ (Chapter 10) the author presents 4 new ‘Laws’ to determine the ‘how’ ‘why’ and ‘where’ of TP formation and advice on developing an effective TP therapy protocol. Finally a ‘manual and selfhelp’ section describes steps and sequences in tackling some of the most common painful conditions.
Overall, this is an excellent text that would be useful to students of massage/bodywork, physiotherapy, acupuncture, osteopathy as well as an excellent resource and reference for teachers. We both recommend this book highly…it certainly pressed some points for us.
the book is available from www.terrarosa.com.au
Complementary Therapies in Clinical Practice
Volume 15, Issue 1, February 2009, Page 48
Sep
5
2023
Is it possible to share a pain that you observe in another but have never actually experienced yourself? A new study uses a sophisticated brain-imaging technique to try and answer this question. The research, published by Cell Press in the January 29th issue of the journal Neuron, provides insight into brain mechanisms involved in empathy.
Brain-imaging studies have shown similar patterns of brain activity when subjects feel their own emotions or observe the same emotions in others. It has been suggested that a person who has never experienced a specific feeling would have a difficult time directly empathizing with a person through a “mirror matching” mechanism that requires previous experience and would instead have to rely on a higher inferential processes called “perspective taking.”
“Patients with congenital insensitivity to pain (CIP) offer a unique opportunity to test this model of empathy by exploring how the lack of self-pain representation might influence the perception of others’ pain,” explains lead author Dr. Nicolas Danziger from the Department of Clinical Neurophysiology and Pain Center at the Pitie-Salpetriere in Paris, France.
Dr. Danziger and colleagues had previously shown that CIP patients underestimated the pain of others when emotional cues were lacking and, in contrast with control subjects, the ability to fully acknowledge others’ pain depended on a capacity for empathy. In this study, the researchers used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to compare brain activation patterns in CIP patients and controls who were asked to imagine the feelings of a person in a photo that showed body parts in painful situations or facial expressions of pain.
CIP patients showed decreased fMRI activation of visual regions, a result indicative of their reduced emotional arousal to the view of others’ pain. On the other hand, in the CIP patients but not the controls, the capacity for empathy strongly predicted activation of key midline brain structures involved in processes linked to inferring the emotional states of others.
These results suggest that in the absence of functional resonance mechanisms shaped by personal pain experiences, CIP patients might rely crucially on their empathetic abilities to imagine the pain of others, with activation of midline brain structures being the neural signature of this cognitive-emotional process.
“Our findings underline the major role of midline structures in emotional perspective taking and in the ability to understand someone else’s feelings despite the lack of any previous personal experience of it—an empathetic challenge frequently raised during human social interactions,” concludes Dr. Danziger.
Sep
5
2023
Bone involvement, a hallmark of advanced cancer, results in intolerable pain, substantial morbidity, and impaired quality of life in 34%–45% of cancer patients. Despite the publication of 15 studies on massage therapy (MT) in cancer patients, little is known about the longitudinal effects of MT and safety in cancer patients with bone metastasis.
The purpose of this study was to describe the feasibility of MT and to examine the effects of MT on present pain intensity (PPI), anxiety, and physiological relaxation over a 16- to 18-hour period in 30 Taiwanese cancer patients with bone metastases.
A quasi-experimental, one-group, pretest-posttest design with repeated measures was used to examine the time effects of MT using single-item scales for pain (PPI-visual analog scale [VAS]) and anxiety (anxiety-VAS), the modified Short-Form McGill Pain Questionnaire (MSF-MPQ), heart rate (HR), and mean arterial pressure (MAP).
MT was shown to have effective immediate [t(29)
=16.5, P=0.000; t(29)=8.9, P=0.000], short-term (20–30 minutes) [t(29)=9.3, P=0.000; t(29)=10.1, P=0.000], intermediate (1–2.5 hours) [t(29)=7.9, P=0.000; t(29)=8.9, P=0.000], and long-term benefits (16–18 hours) [t(29)=4.0, P=0.000; t(29)=5.7, P=0.000] on PPI and anxiety. The most significant impact occurred 15 [F=11.5(1,29), P<0.002] or 20 [F=20.4(1,29), P<0.000] minutes after the intervention.
There were no significant time effects in decreasing or increasing HR and MAP. No patient reported any adverse effects as a result of MT. Clinically, the time effects of MT can assist health care providers in implementing MT along with pharmacological treatment, thereby enhancing cancer pain management. Randomized clinical trials are needed to validate the effectiveness of MT in this cancer population.
Effects of a Full-Body Massage on Pain Intensity, Anxiety, and Physiological Relaxation in Taiwanese Patients withMetastatic Bone Pain: A Pilot Study
http://www.jpsmjournal.com/article/S0885-3924(08)00561-7/fulltext
Sep
5
2023
For chronic headaches the best treatment may be one of the oldest: acupuncture.
In 1998, the National Institutes of Health accepted acupuncture as a useful alternative treatment for headaches, but warned that there were not enough clinical trials to draw firm conclusions about its efficacy. Now a systematic review of studies through 2007 concludes that acupuncture provides greater relief than either medication or a placebo.
The report, which appears in the December issue of Anesthesia and Analgesia, reviewed 25 randomized controlled trials in adults that lasted more than four weeks. In seven trials comparing acupuncture with medication, researchers found that 62 percent of 479 patients had significant response to acupuncture, and only 45 percent to medicine.
Fourteen of the studies, with a total of 961 patients, compared acupuncture with a placebo, a treatment in which patients were led to believe they were getting acupuncture. Of these, 53 percent found some pain relief with acupuncture, compared with 45 percent who felt better with the placebo. In four studies comparing acupuncture with massage, the massage worked better than acupuncture, but those studies were too small to draw statistically significant conclusions.
“People who get acupuncture prefer it to medication, because of the potential side effects of drugs,” said Dr. Tong J. Gan, a co-author of the review and a professor of anesthesiology at Duke. “This is an alternative treatment that is starting to move into the mainstream.”
Source: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/16/health/research/16regi.html
Acupuncture for the Management of Chronic Headache: A Systematic Review (Anesthesia and Analgesia) http://www.anesthesia-analgesia.org/cgi/content/abstract/107/6/2038
Sep
5
2023
With the Philadelphia skyline as a backdrop, Jennifer Schelter (center) leads some 600 breast cancer survivors and their families through yoga exercises on the steps of the Philadelphia Art Museum in downtown Philadelphia May 20, 2007. They participate in the the mass yoga class annually to raise funds and awareness of breast cancer issues.
Sep
5
2023
Research on massage therapy for maternal pain and anxiety in labour is currently limited to four small trials. Each used different massage techniques, at different frequencies and durations, and relaxation techniques were included in three trials. Given the need to investigate massage interventions that complement maternal neurophysiological adaptations to labour and birth pain(s), we designed a pilot randomised controlled trial (RCT) to test the effects of a massage programme practised during physiological changes in pain threshold, from late pregnancy to birth, on women’s reported pain, measured by a visual analogue scale (VAS) at 90 min following birth. To control for the potential bias of the possible effects of support offered within preparation for the intervention group, the study included 3 arms – intervention (massage programme with relaxation techniques), placebo (music with relaxation techniques) and control (usual care). The placebo offered a non-pharmacological coping strategy, to ensure that use of massage was the only difference between intervention and placebo groups. There was a trend towards slightly lower mean pain scores in the intervention group but these differences were not statistically significant. No differences were found in use of pharmacological analgesia, need for augmentation or mode of delivery. There was a trend towards more positive views of labour preparedness and sense of control in the intervention and placebo groups, compared with the control group.
These findings suggest that regular massage with relaxation techniques from late pregnancy to birth is an acceptable coping strategy that merits a large trial with sufficient power to detect differences in reported pain as a primary outcome measure.
Sep
5
2023
Osteopathic manipulative treatment and its relationship to autonomic nervous system activity as demonstrated by heart rate variability: a repeated measures study.
Author(s): Henley, Charles E; Ivins, Douglas; Mills, Miriam; Wen, Frances K; Benjamin, Bruce A
Source: Osteopath Med Prim Care Volume: 2 Pages: 7 Published: 2008
BACKGROUND: The relationship between osteopathic manipulative treatment (OMT) and the autonomic nervous system has long been acknowledged, but is poorly understood. In an effort to define this relationship, cervical myofascial release was used as the OMT technique with heart rate variability (HRV) as a surrogate for autonomic activity. This study quantifies that relationship and demonstrates a cause and effect.
METHODS: Seventeen healthy subjects, nine males and eight females aged 19-50 years from the faculty, staff, and students at Oklahoma State University Center for Health Sciences College of Osteopathic Medicine, acted as their own controls and received interventions, administered in separate sessions at least 24 hours apart, of cervical myofascial OMT, touch-only sham OMT, and no-touch control while at a 50-degree head-up tilt. Each group was dichotomized into extremes of autonomic activity using a tilt table. Comparisons were made between measurements taken at tilt and those taken at pre- and post-intervention in the horizontal.The variance of the spectral components of HRV, expressed as frequencies, measured the response to change in position of the subjects. Normalized low frequency (LF) and high frequency (HF) values, including LF/HF ratio, were calculated and used to determine the effect of position change on HRV.
RESULTS: Predominantly parasympathetic responses were observed with subjects in the horizontal position, while a 50-degree tilt provided a significantly different measure of maximum sympathetic tone (p < 0.001). Heart rate changed in all subjects with change in position; respirations remained constant. When OMT was performed in a sympathetic environment (tilt), a vagal response was produced that was strong enough to overcome the sympathetic tone. There was no HRV difference between sham and control in either the horizontal or tilt positions.
CONCLUSION: The vagal response produced by the myofascial release procedure in the maximally stimulated sympathetic environment could only have come from the application of the OMT. This demonstrates the association between OMT and the autonomic nervous system. The lack of significance between control and sham in all positions indicates that HRV may be a useful method of developing sham controls in future studies of OMT.
