Sometimes a massage can be just what the doctor ordered
Jennifer Cochran
August 4, 2008
You spent your vacation biking, running or playing golf and tennis, and now your muscles and joints are killing you. A big project has had you hunched over the computer keyboard for hours on end, leaving you with aching wrists and shoulders. Your beautiful new baby has been nursing non-stop, and you are beginning to think your neck and shoulder will never feel the same again. Changes at work have you so stressed out that you can’t sleep at night. A car accident has left you with chronic back and neck pain.
If any of this sounds familiar, you may be enlisting the advice of any number of professionals from colleagues to doctors and lawyers, but one treatment many people may overlook is massage. Whether it’s Swedish, shiatsu, trigger point, cranio-sacral, Rolfing, reflexology, or some other method, massage therapy can relieve a myriad of symptoms and help prevent a host of health problems as well.
Devotees of massage therapy seek treatment for a variety of reasons. According to Ida Osborne, owner/operator of Athens Medical Massage and an instructor in the massage-therapy program at Hocking College, most patients seek massage treatment for stress and pain relief, while some seek treatment for recent injuries or surgeries, and others due to chronic issues.
“Massage is one of the best ways to relieve stress, and since stress is one of the main causes of most major illnesses, it seems to be a much more practical treatment than traditional drug therapy,” Osborne said. “The same goes for pain relief.”
In addition to stress, other common reasons for patients to pursue massage treatments include low back pain and neck and shoulder problems, according to Mark Cullen, massage therapy program coordinator at Hocking College. “When you factor in the body-mind relationship, you can see how the positive effects of massage are not limited to just the body,” Cullen said. “The ability of massage to help the body (and mind) to handle stress is common knowledge, and if it did nothing more than that, it would still be an invaluable asset to our health. But it does so much more.”
“Life is a constant struggle against the forces of nature that are constantly challenging us on all levels,” said Cullen, who has also studied chiropractic, naprapathy, acupuncture and other healing disciplines. “There’s no way to avoid that struggle. But massage helps us to resist those forces by optimizing the functioning of our musculoskeletal, circulatory and nervous systems. All that and no side effects. Try making a pill like that.”
University Medical Associates physician Dr. Katy Kropf said she sometimes prescribes massage for her patients to help address a number of health concerns. Kropf, who is also an assistant professor of family medicine in the College of Osteopathic Medicine at Ohio University, explained that massage can be useful for addressing conditions such as repetitive movement injuries, arthritis, carpal tunnel, acute illness (colds, coughs, e.g.), migraine prevention, fibromyalgia, and healing after injury.
“People with chronic illnesses such as COPD (which includes emphysema) or asthma have a lot of stress on their respiratory, abdominal and back muscles,” she said. “Massage can help to promote healing of these chronic strains and may ultimately help the underlying problem.” Although Kropf recommends massage for those conditions, she said the main reasons she recommends massage are for stress reduction and physical pain — often due to neck or back tension.
While some patients seek out massage therapy for treatment of acute injuries or pain relief, many value massage for its role in maintaining good overall health.
Mary Coté, who has practiced as a Licensed Massage Therapist (LMT) for 10 years, said most of her clients see massage as preventative care for their mental and physical well-being, so they come for a regular appointment every two to four weeks. “Massage gives you relaxing time for yourself, which is great for your emotional health, stimulates blood and lymph flow, which aid in nourishing and cleansing the body’s tissues, and gives your body a chance to truly, deeply rest,” said Coté.
Athens resident Judy McGinn said he had long enjoyed the benefits of massage but was amazed to see the direct benefits for a medical condition when she began to receive monthly massage treatments for lymphedema over four years ago. Lymph drainage therapy, gentle massage that aids in moving lymphatic fluids in the body, helps treat lymphedema, which commonly results from the surgical removal of lymph nodes, according to Mark Beck’s “Theory & Practice of Therapeutic Massage.”
McGinn said she gets lymph-drainage massage every three to four weeks. “It keeps my lymph system flowing, and prevents a backup of lymph fluids in my right hand and upper arm,” she explained.
McGinn’s lymphedema is a result of lymph-node removal following breast-cancer surgery. Her massage treatments from LMT Pauline Giannaras help to manage the condition. Without the treatments, McGinn could experience severe swelling in her arm and be at risk for infections. “The benefits to my general well-being are just as important to me,” McGinn said. “Tight and sore muscles are worked out, and I just plain feel better overall, after a massage.”
Perhaps better than anyone, massage therapists know the value of receiving regular massage treatments. Osborne, who has practiced as an LMT for the past 21 years, generally gets a massage at least once a week. “I try to get a massage once or twice a week because I need it,” said Osborne. “It keeps me working.” Coté gets at least one massage each month. “I enjoy receiving massage because my sense of touch is nourished and my body and mind refreshed,” she said.
And while Kropf suggests that everyone get massage from professionals and partners or friends, she said she does not get enough herself. “I would like to get on a monthly or bi-weekly schedule for receiving massage,” she said. “I was doing this for a while, and found I felt so much better both physically and spiritually, knowing I was taking care of myself in this way.”
To find a licensed massage therapist, ask a friend for a referral, check the yellow pages or use the massage therapist finder service at www.massage.org.
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