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The importance of touch
From eons: Hugs and massages may be key to your health and well-being by Sharon Gray, Eons contributor When The Beatles sang “I Want to Hold Your Hand,” little did they know that they were really appealing for a medical boost. Forty or so years later, science has shown that physical contact improves people’s health…
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Massage: It’s Real Medicine
From CNN: By Kristyn Kusek Lewis Having your honey rub your back is sweet, but it’s tough to compete with the hands of a pro. A good massage therapist can make you feel like a new person. And now research suggests massage can ease insomnia, boost immunity, prevent PMS, and more. Maybe that’s why hospitals…
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How the power of touch reduces pain and even fights disease
From The Independent: By Roger Dobson When Jim Coan scanned the brains of married women in pain, he spotted changes that may help to shed light on an age-old mystery. As soon as the women touched the hands of their husbands, there was an instant drop in activity in the areas of the brains involved…
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Caress Me Down: Massage therapy calms stressed-out SU students
From The Daily Orange (college publisher) By Erin Hendricks Courtney Jones could use a massage. “I was just sick all last week,” said Jones, a sophomore public relations major. “I’ve personally never been this stressed in my life. Things run through my head at night and I can’t sleep.” Just ten minutes later, after waiting…
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Massage helps Anorexia symptoms
From Eating Disorders: Massage alleviates anxiety, depression, eating disorder symptoms, poor body image and biochemical abnormalities for women diagnosed with anorexia nervosa, according to a recent research study by thy Touch Research Institute Nineteen women undergoing inpatient or outpatient treatment for anorexia nervosa were randomly assigned by researchers to either a massage-therapy group or a…
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Fascial Plasticity: A New Neurobiological Explanation
by Robert Schleip, in Journal of Bodywork and Movement Therapies (2003), online at www.somatics.de [excerpt]: In myofascial manipulation an immediate tissue release is often felt under the working hand. This amazing feature has traditionally been attributed to mechanical properties of the connective tissue. Yet studies have shown that either much stronger forces or longer durations…
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Massage Therapy for Autistic Children
The Touch Research Institute’s Results From Massage & Bodywork magazine By Shirley Vanderbilt Autism is on the rise, and with it comes more heartache for parents and higher costs for the school system. Statistics from a 1999 state report from California showed a nearly 300 percent increase in cases reported from 1987 to 1998.1 Researchers…
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Esalen Bares Its Soul
From SF Gate The Big Sur oasis of enlightenment turns 40 with a major face lift and a rejuvenated mission By Don Lattin, Chronicle Religion Writer In the beginning, there was the water. It was hot, with a faintly foul smell, but a silky, sensuous feel. It came bubbling out of the ground on a…
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Massage Alleviates Fibromyalgia
From Massage Magazine: Massage Improves Sleep, Decreases Pain and Substance P in Fibromyalgia Patients After receiving massage twice weekly for five weeks, fibromyalgia patients experienced improved mood and sleep, and their levels of substance P, a neurotransmitter in the pain fiber system, decreased, along with the number of tender spots throughout their bodies, according to…
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New Study Links Massage Therapy With the Immune System
From Fox Chase Cancer Center: PHILADELPHIA (November 9, 1998) — A new study released this month adds to the body of evidence that massage therapy bolsters immune function in people who are healthy as well as those who are fighting disease. The finding was announced November 1, 1998 at the annual meeting of the American…
