The study, to be published in the journal Social Psychological and Personality Science,  revealed that home-baked cookies made by a loving relative really do taste better and that a good bedside manner can ease the pain of a patient. While it would appear that the pain of a slap or the joy of a caress would relate directly to the physical experience of touch, it would appear that how they are percieved is influenced by the context in which they appear. Says Kurt Gray, lead researcher, ‘The results confirm that good intentions—even misguided ones—can sooth pain, increase pleasure, and

make things taste better. More broadly, these studies suggest that basic physical experience depends upon how we perceive the minds of others.’

The conclusions of the study were drawn from three seperate experiments: examining pain, pleasure and the taste of a sweet treat. The study featuring pain found that bedside manner really does matter, with those from whom blood was drawn experiencing more pain than those being administered by a sweetly tempered nurse.

Meanwhile, those receiving help from family and friends felt more comforted if they believed the assistance was provided with generosity and compassion. And those eating sweet treats enjoyed them more when they thought that the cook had prepared it with love.

“It’s no surprise that food companies always pair their products with kindly old grandfathers and smiling mothers – thinking this make-believe benevolence likely increases our enjoyment.

“To the extent that we view others as benevolent instead of malicious, the harms they inflict upon us should hurt less, and the good things they do for us should cause more pleasure.”

This has clear applications in the field of massage therapy, demonstrating that therapists should cultivate a warm, responsive persona in order to give their clients the best treatment possible.

One oil that researchers have been particularly interested in is Lavender. This powerful, yet soothing oil has long been known to producing calming, relaxing  affects, and has been shown in previous studies to help alleviate the symptoms of insomnia, anxiety, depression, and other sleep disruption. One study, completed in 2005, demonstarted the effectiveness of lavender on patients with mild insomnia, while another, published in 2006, showed the effects of lavender on stressed college students.

New research conducted by the  Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Isfahan, Iran, has revealed the effectiveness of the essential oil on patients in Coronary Care Units. As could be expected, patients in these units report poor sleep quality as a matter of course, so the oil’s effectiveness was impressive indeed. The trial included 64 male and female patients suffering from unstable angina and myocardial infarction, revealing large differences in the average sleep quality scores between the group who received aromatherapy and those who opted for sleeping pills. On average, the group who received lavender oil therapy reported a postitive change in quality of sleep.

You can use lavender yourself: our resident aromatherapist, Susan Munro, recommends adding a couple of drops to a cotton ball and tucking into into your pillowcase before bed. Another option is having a lavender bath: add 5 – 10 drops of pure essential oil (diluted with 10 – 20 mL of carrier oil, such as sweet almond) to warm bath water for a wonderfully relaxing prelude to bedtime. Even a sprig of fresh or dried lavender tucked into the pillow can help you get a restful night’s sleep. Susan is also able to make you up your very own sleepytime blend that can be applied to the wrists and temples before bed. Harness the power of aromatherapy for a wonderful night’s sleep today.

The randomised controlled, paralell-group trial was conducted by Daniel C. Cherkin, PhD, of the Group Health Research Institute, in Seattle, Washington, and colleagues, at a local health care unit. The study focused on 401 people, each assigned either relaxation massage, structural massage, or usual medical treatment.

Cherkin’s team of researchers discovered, “Massage therapy improved function and decreased pain more than usual care in patients with uncomplicated chronic lower back pain [LBP] after 10 weeks.”

“We found that patients receiving massage were twice as likely as those receiving usual care to report significant improvements in both their pain and function,” Dr. Cherkin said in a press release. “After 10 weeks, about two-thirds of those receiving massage improved substantially, versus only about one-third in the usual care group.”

Interestingly enough, the study found that, ”No clinically meaningful difference between relaxation and structural massage was observed in terms of relieving disability or symptoms.”

The test subjects were mostly women with nonspecific chronic low back pain who were enrolled in a single healthcare system that provides treatment to a mostly white and employed population, suggesting more studies need to be done on the wider community in order to generalise the findings across socio-economic, gendered and ethnic borders. Results, however, are encouraging, helping to confirm what we see every day: massage therapy eases pain, promotes a relaxed, alert state of mind and a healthy body. Book a treatment with Wee Sally today to balance mind and body.

According to researchers KA Dawson and others, the runners recieving massage didn’t experience any change in, ‘muscle strength, pain perception, daily functioning or running confidence’, but 100% of the massage group completed the race versus only 58.3% of those who did not recieve treatment.

The researchers note that the running behaviour of the groups was very similar, with similar training programmes created. While each group ran with a considerable amount of pain, massage appears to have increased the tolerance of the runners to it. This study is the newest addition to the large amount of research that has been done in recent years on the relationship our pain threshold has to receiving regular massage.

A selection of lung capability and capacity tests were performed, including spirometry, which involves measuring the volume of air that can be taken in or out of the lungs. This test revealed significantly improved lung function in the group of children relieving massage, from the commencement of the test to its conclusion.

While further testing is needed to provide more concrete research findings, this is an exciting step towards proving massage therapy has benefits for people who suffer from respiratory complaints that affect their lung capacity and breathing mechanism. A news item which contains more information about the study appears on Natural Selection’s website.

Lymph fluid is filtered by over 100 nodes filled with white blood cells which serve to destroy harmful bacteria, toxins, and other foreign bodies in the lymph. In this way the lymph system is an integral part of the immune system.

Sometimes, however, the circulation of lymph fluid is disrupted: this can be a result of genetics, inactivity, poor diet, stress, inappropriate posture, illness or injury. Manual Lymph Drainage Massage is especially useful in the treatment of fluid retention (oedema), especially prevalent in the lower extremities of the body.

Symptoms of Oedema include:

• Puffiness of body part
• Heaviness in limbs or extremities
• Discolouration/paleness
• Aching or tender limbs
• Stiff joints
• Fluid-filled parts of the body hold imprint of the thumb when pushed

Massage has been shown to help improve the circulation of lymph reducing the impression of puffiness, particularly in the hands and feet. Many studies have been done into the benefits of Lymphatic Drainage Massage: many of those conducted are listed at Dr. Vodder’s website. 

Wee Sally’s Susan Munro specialises in Manual Lymphatic Drainage Massage: call  01506-238366 to book an appointment. She is available for appointments on Tuesdays and Wednesdays 12pm – 8pm, and on Saturdays 10am – 6pm.

The website is a fascinating resource for the active massage therapist, containing over 2, 000 massage videos, 10, 000 massage pictures and charts, thousands of test questions and a selection of free e-books, packed with plenty of introductory information on massage techniques as diverse as Thai massage, Sports, Reflexology and more, as well as an overview of more obscure massage techniques. Not just a resource for the established practitioner, Massage Nerd also includes plenty of basic information for the student therapist or curious client, including how to put together a consult form, handle a business practice, body mechanics for the therapist and a history of massage. If you’re interested in expanding your understanding of the treatments we provide here at Wee Sally Therapeutic Massage, The Massage Nerd is a five-star resource.

The most recent preliminary study into the effects of Massage on Hormone and Immune functions in normal (re:healthy) individuals came to the following conclusion:

Preliminary data suggest that a single session of Swedish Massage Therapy produces measurable biologic effects. If replicated, these findings may have implications for managing inflammatory and autoimmune conditions.

You can read the details of the study at the following URL:

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20809811

I hope that I can continue to provide you with the latest research news for hte Massage Industry as they are released.

As a Massage Therapist and raving lunatic obsessed with massage, I am determined to find methods of massage to help with as many ailments as I can, and low and behold, believe it or not, Massage can work wonders for your Immune system.

The health benefits of regular massage include some of the following:

There have been only a few studies done on the benefits of Massage and the stroke victim however their findings are very beneficial.