health can also be greatly improved by regular massage therapy. The immune system relies on the good bacteria in the digestive tract to be the first line of defense against invading pathogens, which bombard us all the time from the food we eat and the water we drink. Because regular massage therapy can improve general digestive function, the immune system reaps secondary benefits because of the improved protection against the bad bacteria. But food and water are not the only way pathogens get into our bodies. The air we breathe carries dangers as well. Airborne bacteria are not the only invaders; we also need a strong defense against viruses, both airborne and bloodborne, and there is evidence that massage therapy may provide some benefits in that fight also. Research has suggested that massage therapy can alter the activity of white blood cells in the body, improving the body’s response against viral attacks: In a controlled study composed of HIV-positive adolescents, participants who received massage therapy showed enhanced immune function by the end of the 12-week study. The immune changes included increased white blood cells known as natural killer (NK) cells, which provide rapid responses to viral-infected cells. (AMTA, 2018) Increases in lymphocyte activity, another kind of white blood cell, also play a role in reducing cytokine levels, which are molecules that can cause inflammation. This is promising news. Dr. Michael Rapaport, author of a 2010 study at Cedars-Sinai’s Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neurosciences on the health benefits on massage therapy, said: Massage is popular in America, with almost 9 percent of adults receiving at least one massage within the past year. People often seek out massage as part of a healthy lifestyle but there hasn’t been much physiological proof of the body’s heightened immune response following massage until now. … Massage doesn’t only feel good, it also may be good for you. It appears that a single massage may deliver a measurable benefit. (Skuban, 2017) 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 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.
help the client feel better. When perceived stress levels get lower, the tendency to placate stress with junk food should come down with them. Although much of the gut health of our clients is influenced by their lifestyle choices, we still have the opportunity to improve digestive health by relaxing the body to allow for better function of the digestive tract. Even if we eat the right foods and live a healthy lifestyle, chronic stress can still give us digestive discomfort because of the digestive system’s reduced ability to function properly, either from lack of sleep or too much time spent in the fight-or-flight response. Remember that during a massage, the parasympathetic nervous system, or the rest-and-digest response, is activated, which works in opposition to the sympathetic nervous system, or the fight-or-flight response. When the parasympathetic nervous system takes over, it stimulates the peristalsis reflex, which is a series of involuntary muscle contractions along the digestive tract that allows the body to process the food we eat. When the body is in a relaxed state, the digestive system can function normally and without compromise. And when the digestive system functions normally, the body can better absorb and utilize nutrients more efficiently making them readily available for cellular growth and replenishment. Over time, these effects can also aid and prevent digestive disorders like food intolerances, bloating, constipation, and diarrhea because the digestive system is healthier overall. Another digestive condition called leaky gut , which is characterized by chronic inflammation of the digestive system that makes it porous enough to leak substances into the bloodstream, can wreak havoc on the body. With leaky gut syndrome, the immune system responds by attacking the “leaked” substances, causing systemic inflammation. Medical professionals believe that leaky gut is also related to many allergy symptoms even if they seem unrelated like sinus congestion. The bottom line is that when the gut is not healthy, the rest of the body cannot be healthy. Massage therapy can help as part of a multidimensional approach. Digestive health also affects immune health. The immune system is closely linked to the digestive system, and immune Massage and medication dependence Can massage therapy reduce dependency on medication? The short answer is that we do not yet know because not enough research has been conducted to find out at this time. Most of the studies conducted so far have investigated the therapeutic benefits of massage for pain management, thereby potentially reducing the need for pain medication, which can be especially important in light of the current opioid crisis. But clear connections have yet to be drawn between massage therapy and reduction in medication usage. 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)
EliteLearning.com/Massage-Therapy
Book Code: MNJ0524
Page 20
Powered by FlippingBook