Massage beat meds for relief of lower back pain

A new study published in the Annals of Internal Medicine suggests this therapy might indeed alleviate back pain better in the short term than traditional interventions of medicine, bed rest or exercise: Healthday reports.

The investigation conducted by the Group Health Research Institute in Seattle involved 400 patients who had low back pain, the majority of which were middle aged, Caucasian and female. Researchers found those who were given a series of relaxation massage or structural massage were better able to work and be active than those who were given traditional medical care, such as pain pills, muscle relaxants or physical therapy.

According to The New York Times, the study's participants were randomly divided into three groups: structural massage, relaxation massage and traditional care. Patients in the massage groups received one hour of therapy weekly for 10 weeks.

At the conclusion of the 10 week period, over one-third of the patients who were given massage therapy reported their pain was much improved or eliminated completely, as opposed to only one in 25 patients who were given traditional care. Furthermore, patients in the massage groups were twice as likely to have spent fewer days in bed rest, used less pain pills and participated in more activity than the traditional care group.

Lead author Daniel Cherkin was surprised by the fact that structural massage did not prove superior to relaxation massage in relieving pain. Structural massage involves manipulating specific back pain related muscles and ligaments, while relaxation massage, otherwise known as Swedish massage, involves inducing body-wide relaxation.

The beneficial effects of the massage seemed not only to be experienced during the 10-week therapy period, but also to linger for a time following the cessation of therapy. Evidence of this lingering effect was manifested by the fact that the massage groups continued to display improved function six months after the study's onset. At the one year mark, however, no significant differences were found in the three groups.

Although the researchers were uncertain of massage therapy's exact mechanism of action for easing back pain, they voiced several theories. One suggestion was that it either stimulated tissue locally or produced a general central nervous system response. Another speculation was that merely spending time in a relaxing environment and feeling cared for might have been responsible for the improvement. An additional factor to consider is the subjectivity that is impossible to eliminate in such studies. Patients in the control group were aware that the other groups were receiving massage and this knowledge may have caused them to discount their own progress.

It should be reiterated that the study suggests rather than proves the benefit of massage for back pain. Also, some members of the American medical community not associated with the research have expressed reluctance to accept the suggested benefits as being valid.

Conversely, the study's authors offered their assessments of its import. Cherkin characterizes the results as being "pretty strong." He states the massage was tested on patients who did not improve using the standard medical approach to back pain treatment. He feels that massage therapy is a reasonable thing to try for anyone getting insufficient relief from this malady. The coauthor, Dr. Richard Deyo, feels that massage appears to provide clinicians with another choice for managing the challenging medical problem of chronic low back pain.

Learn more: http://www.naturalnews.com/033113_low_back_pain_massage_therapy.html#ixzz1oZROgdNE

Best Foot Massage Techniques

Best Foot Massage Techniques


Learning to give a good foot massage is one of the nicest gifts you can give to your own two feet, or to those of a friend! The ultimate study in this area is called "reflexology," and is something you may want to delve into further if you wish to use foot massage as a health care treatment. This article, however, explains the basics of a general, tension relieving rub for feet. Some benefits of reflexology will happen automatically simply by virtue of massaging the soles of the feet and paying special attention to tender places, but please do not take the information here as anything other than general guidelines for helping tired feet feel better. These instructions are wonderful for achieving that!

SUPPLIES you will need are two or three big towels and some form of lubricant. Rich cream works better for a foot's tough calluses and hardened skin than hand lotion or oil, but any will work. You may wish to use one scented with eucalyptus or mint (marvelous for refreshing tired, stale feet) or ti tree oil, which is a natural disinfectant. You can make your own by mixing a couple drops of essential oil into an unscented cream.

You can find lotions, creams or oils designed for massage at a health food store or massage supply house. If hand lotion or baby oil is what you have on hand, feel free to use it, but remember that it will need to be applied more often than the products designed especially for massage.


If you are working on a friend, have their knee and foot supported while you work; a recliner chair with the foot rest up is an ideal place for the recipient, with the giver either on the floor or on a small stool in front of them.


BEGIN WITH CLEAN FEET. A foot soak with a cup of Epsom salts dissolved in a gallon of warm water is a wonderful way to de-stress before you begin the foot massage. Dry thoroughly, including between your toes.

GENTLY MASSAGE ONE FOOT completely, then do the other. Begin by massaging the cream gently into the whole foot, top and bottom, toes to ankle. End this portion with strokes going from your toes to your ankles.

WORK A LITTLE MORE DEEPLY for these next few strokes. Put both hands around your feet with your fingers on the bottom and your thumbs on the top. Move your thumbs between the tendons (those cords you feel on the top) smoothly and firmly from your ankle toward your toes. Make long strokes rather than short, jerky ones. Work with enough pressure so it's not ticklish, but not so deep it feels like a gouge.

WORK ON THE SOLES of your feet next. When you are working on yourself, this is easiest with your foot propped on the opposite knee, with a towel underneath to protect your clothing from cream. Using your thumbs, make circular motions that cover the entire surface of the bottom of your foot, moving from the base of your toes toward your heel. Keep the pressure of the circles steady and even. Use a bit more firmness on your heels; the skin here is tougher.

CONTINUE with a little firmer pressure yet, and go back over the entire surface of the sole. Give a few extra strokes to any area where you experience chronic pain--the ball of your foot, or the arch, or perhaps around your ankles. Do not dig deeply; this is supposed to be relaxing! One way to relieve cramping in the arch is to hold gentle pressure with one hand, and stretch your foot with the other, but not to the point of pain, just to muscle resistance.

MASSAGE YOUR TOES with gentle, circular motions, using a bit of a stretch while you rub. Then, give them a little exercise by rotating them. Grip all your toes together by holding them with your thumb underneath and all your fingers on top. Gently rotate them three times one direction, then three times reversed. Now rotate each one individually, gently, now, we don't want broken bones here!

SHAKE THE ENERGY loose from your own hands as you feel it building up. If this happens for you, you will be aware of it; if not, don't worry about it. Although excess energy tends to accumulate in the feet and be released by massage, not all people feel it, even among professional body workers.

TWIST the foot by rotating both hands around it, each going in opposite directions; this is reminiscent of the "Indian burn" move from grade school. To keep it feeling wonderful, you


MUST use ample cream--and work gently.

FINISH the massage by repeating the all-over gentle massage you did to begin with. Keep the pressure of your strokes moving from the toes toward the ankle, continuing to work up around your ankle and all the knobs and crevices you find there.

(The reason for this directional movement is that, as we age, the skin and tissue in our feet tend to migrate toward our toes, leaving our ankles bony and without proper support. That affects our balance; we can help to prevent this by carefully moving things back the other direction.)

After the massage, wipe the soles of your feet with a towel to prevent your feet from being slippery. Slip into some wonderful heavy cotton socks or favorite (clean) slippers.

Your feet will thank you for taking the time to learn an effective way to give a foot rub!

If you have chronic foot pain that is not relieved by a thorough foot massage, or any pain that is made worse, PLEASE see your health care professional for further advice or treatment.

Too Much Sodium from Softened Water?

A Answer (Published 3/5/2012)

Water from household taps usually contains calcium and magnesium that can precipitate out and stick to plumbing pipes, water heaters and even tea kettles as is known as "scale." Eventually scale can clog pipes and interfere with heat conduction. One solution to this hard water is to install a water softener that removes the calcium and magnesium via the exchange of ions with sodium or potassium ions in a bed of small plastic beads or through a chemical matrix called zeolite.

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I recommend using potassium in the water softener, although I realize that it is three to four times more costly than sodium. Potassium is better for your health and better (though still not great) for the environment. I think softened water is fine for bathing, but not for drinking or cooking.

I doubt that you absorb a significant amount of sodium through your skin and bathing in water softened with sodium is not a significant contributor to your intake. Bear in mind that 90 percent of the sodium consumed in the U.S. diet comes from salt and that we get most of that (about 75 percent) from processed and restaurant foods. The amount added in home cooking accounts for most of the rest.

I recommend limiting your daily sodium intake to 1,500 mg (the average American consumes far more than that). According to an analysis from Washington University in St. Louis, the mean sodium concentration of municipal non-softened water is 110 mg per liter. Sodium from softened water can raise levels as high as 1,219 mg per liter. Using data from a 1997 study published in the Archives of Internal Medicine, the analysis noted that in 17 percent of the households surveyed sodium levels were higher than 400 mg per liter (the harder the water, the more sodium needed to soften it). Drinking two liters of water, each of which contain 400 mg of sodium, would account for more than half your daily limit of 1,500 mg.

If you're concerned about the amount of sodium you consume, begin by avoiding processed foods, canned foods and snack foods. Keep the saltshaker off the table, and exclude foods with visible salt such as pretzels, chips and salted nuts. You can reduce some of the sodium in pickled foods by rinsing or soaking them in fresh water before eating them. Over time, you will notice that your taste for sodium will change and foods you once found appetizing will seem too salty.

The ratio of sodium to potassium in the diet and in our systems seems to affect blood pressure and kidney function more than salt levels alone. I also recommend increasing your potassium intake because these two elements balance each other. The best way to do that is to eat more fruits and vegetables. Most fruits are good sources of potassium, especially bananas, as are dark leafy greens, potatoes and legumes. Salt substitutes contain potassium chloride; do not use them without first consulting with your physician. And never take potassium supplements, except as prescribed by a physician.

Andrew Weil, M.D.

Oil Spreading techniques

Techniques Spreading Oil by Bodyrubs raytown

Warm oil in your hands.
(Be careful not to let drops fall on your partner.)




Spread the oil by sliding your hands up the back side:
starting at the feet, pull up the legs, the torso,all the way off the fingertips.

Repeat the same sequence on the other side.

(It is easier if you first move to the other side.)
This is not the only oil application. Generally, you add more oil in the initial stroke of each section.

Techniques for Bodyrubs Raytown

Finger Pulling massage

Fingers' Pulling massage

With a finger pad
on each side of the spine at the neck,
pull downward toward the buttocks.
Use a firm pressure.

(You can have even more pressure
by putting the fingers of your other hand
on top of the first.)



Side Pulling



Alternating your hands on one side,
slide them in a pulling manner
across the side of the torso
toward the spine.

(This series includes the area from the hips
to near the underarms.)

Move to the other side, and apply the pulling movements to the opposite side.

Mouse Study Suggests Vitamin E May Weaken Bones

SUNDAY, March 4 (HealthDay News) -- Vitamin E may stimulate cells that result in bone loss, a new study suggests.

Researchers led by Shu Takeda of Keio University in Tokyo said their findings could have implications for people who take vitamin E supplements.

The researchers explain that maintaining a balance between bone-forming cells (osteoblasts) and bone-degrading cells (osteoclasts) keeps bones strong. Although prior studies had suggested that vitamin E could be beneficial for bone health, the Japanese researchers found the opposite may be true, since the nutrient seems to trigger the production of bone-eroding osteoclasts.

A U.S. expert agreed with the hypothesis.

"Bone health is a dynamic tissue and issue," said Dr. Robert Graham, an internist at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York City. "It is in a constant struggle between osteoblasts ... and osteoclasts."

Understanding this cellular battle "is crucial in understanding how vitamin E may affect our bone health," Graham said.

The new study, published online March 4 in Nature Medicine, revealed that mice deficient in vitamin E actually have higher bone mass because there is less bone breakdown. Meanwhile, healthy mice that were fed a diet with the amount of vitamin E found in typical human supplements lost bone mass.

The study has revealed "the opposite of what was traditionally believed," Graham said. "This is intriguing, because previous in vitro

No need to stick with demitasse

Dark roast aficionados and overworked college students need not fear having a few cups of coffee a day, suggests a new study. Researchers from Germany report that people who drink coffee do not have any increased risk of chronic disease such as heart disease or cancer, compared to those who abstain from the beverage — and they may even have a lower risk of developing type 2 diabetes.

In a study of over 42,000 adults without a pre-existing chronic condition, researchers assessed participants’ coffee drinking habits, along with their diet, exercise, and general health. Over the course of nine years, the researchers assessed participants at two- to three-year intervals, paying special attention to indicators of conditions such as cardiovascular disease, stroke, cancer, or diabetes. The results, published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, showed no difference between coffee drinkers and non-drinkers in the rate of developing serious chronic diseases. The most significant difference, in fact, was that coffee drinkers were less likely to develop type 2 diabetes, the most common form. When researchers controlled for factors such as weight and smoking, they found that people who drank four cups of coffee a day were 23 percent less likely to develop diabetes than those who drank none.

ACSH's Dr. Gilbert Ross appreciates having this large (although observational) study to provide a clearer picture of coffee consumption in the wake of earlier studies that questioned its health effects. “This report suggests that people who drink even fairly large amounts of coffee don’t need to worry about reducing their consumption to ward off chronic illness,” he observes.