In a 2016 article in Massage Magazine , author Karen Menehan shared some statistics: In 2014, more than 28,000 Americans overdosed on some type of opioid, a figure representing more than 60 percent of all drug overdose deaths, according to the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC). … Millions of dollars in government funding are flowing toward prevention, education, and treatment of opioid use. That flow has rarely included funding of complementary therapies such as massage or acupuncture, despite such therapies’ indicated pain-relieving abilities, low cost, and safety. Could that change? (Menehan, 2016) According to the most recent data from CDC, perhaps it should change. The 2016 data showed that more than 40% of all U.S. opioid overdose deaths involved a prescription drug, with Conclusion Massage therapy is wonderful; this is not news. Based on the statistics and evidence provided in this course, it is easy to see that massage therapy can be a vital tool in the battle against the American stress epidemic. But it will likely be up to us, the practitioners, to advocate for better recognition. We already know that massage therapy is a powerful tool, and although its power has become more recognized in the last decade, we still have a long way to go to prove ourselves as valid health References American Institute of Stress. (2018). What is stress? Retrieved from https://www.stress.org/ what-is-stress/ American Massage Therapy Association. (2017). 3 ways massage can impact your self- care. Retrieved from https://www.amtamassage.org/articles/1/News/detail/3763/3-ways- massage-can-impact-your-self-care American Massage Therapy Association. (2018). Massage therapy may boost immune system functioning. Retrieved from https://www.amtamassage.org/research/Massage- Therapy-Research-Roundup/Research-Roundup0.html American Psychological Association. (2017). Stress in America: The state of our nation . Retrieved from https://www.apa.org/news/press/releases/stress/2017/state-nation.pdf American Psychological Association. (2018). Stress: The different kinds of stress . Retrieved from http://www.apa.org/helpcenter/stress-kinds.aspx Bird, J. (2003). Work-life balance defined . Retrieved from https://worklifebalance.com/work- life-balance-defined/ Burgan, B. (2016). How does massage work? Retrieved from https://www.takingcharge.csh. umn.edu/explore-healing-practices/massage-therapy/how-does-massage-work Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2017). Prescription opioid data . Retrieved from https://www.cdc.gov/drugoverdose/data/prescribing.html CCHR International. (2018). Number of children & adolescents taking psychiatric drugs in the U.S. Retrieved from https://www.cchrint.org/psychiatric-drugs/children-on-psychiatric- drugs/ Chadwick, M. (2018). Effects of excessive sleep and prolonged bedrest . Retrieved from https://www.hypersomnolenceaustralia.org.au/single-post/2018/01/10/Effects-of-Excessive- Sleep-and-Prolonged-Bedrest Crawford, C., et al. (2016). The impact of massage therapy on function in pain populations—A systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials: Part I, patients experiencing pain in the general population. Pain Medicine . The American Academy of Pain Medicine, Oxford University Press. Retrieved from https://academic.oup. com/painmedicine/article/17/7/1353/2223191
more than 46 people dying every day from overdoses involving prescription opioids (see Section 5: References for link to data, also referenced in Section 2 of this course). It is also likely that those numbers have gone up since the 2016 data were compiled, as the opioid crisis continues to rage in the United States. Maybe we will also see research that supports massage therapy in place of anxiety medication, prescription sleep aids, and blood pressure medication in the future. At the very least, maybe we can offer our clients less dependency on over-the-counter treatments for pain, insomnia, and digestive distress with all of the ways to counteract stress that massage therapy can provide. Feeling better overall because of regular massage therapy may also help our clients consistently make better self-care choices, also helping to reduce their need for medication. care practitioners to the medical community and the general public. If we continue to be taken more seriously by the medical community, perhaps more states will start to include insurance coverage for massage therapy in health care plans, giving people more access to the care we can provide and making it easier for physicians to prescribe our skills to their patients. Until then, we must keep being the voices—and hands—for change. Dreifus, C. (2017, March 6). We can’t look away from our screens. The New York Times. Retrieved from https://www.nytimes.com/2017/03/06/science/technology-addiction- irresistible-by-adam-alter.html Keltner, D. (2017). T he science of touch: Why physical contact can make you happier and more successful. Retrieved from https://www.wired.co.uk/article/the-good-life-human-touch Kibler, K. (2014). Massage for a better night’s sleep. Retrieved from http://www. sleepreviewmag.com/2014/05/massage-therapy-sleep/ Lu, S. (2014). How chronic stress is harming our DNA. Retrieved from http://www.apa.org/ monitor/2014/10/chronic-stress.aspx Menehan, K. (2016). Can massage help fight the opioid epidemic? Retrieved from https:// www.massagemag.com/can-massage-help-combat-opioid-epidemic-36842/ Mental Health America. (2018). Work life balance. Retrieved from http://www. mentalhealthamerica.net/work-life-balance Moya, E. (2017). As if you didn’t know: Your massage clients are chronically stressed. Retrieved from https://www.massagemag.com/massage-clients-chronic-stress-85723/ National Institutes of Health. (2018). Pain management fact sheet. Retrieved from https:// report.nih.gov/nihfactsheets/ViewFactSheet.aspx?csid=57 Selye, H. (1970). Stress and aging [Abstract]. Retrieved from https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/ doi/full/10.1111/j.1532-5415.1970.tb02813.x Skuban, R. (2017). Massage for wellness: Strengthen your immune system . Retrieved from https://www.amcollege.edu/blog/strengthen-your-immune-system-with-massage-therapy Tuck. (2018). Stages of sleep and sleep cycles . Retrieved from https://www.tuck.com/stages/ U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. (2013). Time spent working in 2012 . Retrieved from https:// www.bls.gov/opub/ted/2013/ted_20130716.htm?view_full U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. (2018). Percent of employed people who worked by day of week, 2017 annual averages . Retrieved from https://www.bls.gov/charts/american-time-use/ emp-by-ftpt-job-edu-p.htm World Health Organization. (2011). America’s state of mind . Retrieved from http://apps. who.int/medicinedocs/documents/s19032en/s19032en.pdf World Health Organization. (2018). The top 10 causes of death . Retrieved from http://www. who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/the-top-10-causes-of-death
MASSAGE THERAPY AND THE STRESS EPIDEMIC Final Examination Questions Select the best answer for each question and mark your answers on the Final Examination Answer Sheet found on page 108 or complete your test online at EliteLearning.com/Book 26. Hans Selye defined stress as “the nonspecific response of the body to any demand for __________.” 29. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the average workday for full-time workers in 2017 was ______ hours.
a. Growth. b. Change. c. Speed. d. Health.
a. 7.25. b. 6.95. c. 8.56. d. 9.15. 30. Work-life balance is defined as a balance between _____________________. a. Work and play. b. Achievement and enjoyment. c. Business and pleasure. d. Professional and personal.
27. When the nervous system senses stress, a part of the brain called the ___________ triggers the production and release
of stress hormones. a. Hypothalamus. b. Amygdala. c. Cerebellum. d. Cerebrum. 28. According to the World Health Organization,
noncommunicable diseases like ischemic heart disease and stroke accounted for ______% of deaths worldwide in 2016.
a. 34. b. 18. c. 88. d. 71.
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Book Code: MLA1224
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