October 2005 [Volume 4, Issue 10]

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In this issue of To Your Health:

• Can Massage Relieve Symptoms of Tension Headache?
• Use Massage to Help Hurricane Katrina Victims
• Answers to Your Massage Questions: Highlights From This Month's "Ask a Massage Therapist" Online Forum

Many people suffer from headaches, with tension-type headaches being the most common. The treatment options vary and range from prescription medication and over-the-counter remedies, to ignoring and learning to live with the problem. One group decided to look at the viability of massage as a treatment option.

The Massage Therapy Foundation recently awarded Northwestern Health Sciences University's Wolf-Harris Center for Clinical Studies a grant of $19,935 to conduct a pilot study to determine if massage therapy is a viable treatment option for those who suffer from tension-type headaches (TTH). The study will take about one year to complete and according to Roni Evans, DC, MS, Northwestern's dean of research, tension-type headaches affect 38 percent of the population each year. Sixteen percent of people suffer from headaches on any given day. While TTH is not life threatening, it can greatly alter an individual's life by causing lost work days, decreased productivity, increased health care costs and a poor quality of life for themselves and their families.

The study will include 38 people between 21 and 65 years of age who suffer from chronic or chronic episodic tension-type headaches. Participants also must have suffered from TTH for at least three months and experience a headache at least once a week.

To track the status of this and other research projects at NHSU's Wolf-Harris Center for Clinical Studies, go to www.nwhealth.edu/research/WHCCS/activity.html.

The massage community has a history of responding in times of crisis, such as the selfless acts performed in the aftermath of September 11, 2001. In the wake of Hurricane Katrina, hundreds of thousands of men, women and children have been displaced from their homes. Once again, the massage community has come together and converged on the cities devastated by this hurricane, as well as those cities helping victims recover and offering a fresh start.

Perhaps you have volunteered your time or given of your finances to help the victims of this disaster. If you are one of the many who wonders what else you could do, the answer might be as simple as getting a massage.

Day spas and massage therapy schools across the country are offering discounted massages, manicures, pedicures and other services and donating the money to relief organizations. Employees also are donating tips, as well as their time, to help the victims of Hurricane Katrina.

Perhaps an organization or massage therapist in your area is planning an event to help in the Hurricane Katrina relief efforts. Contact your regular therapist and suggest this as an option if they aren’t already doing something. If you don’t get a massage regularly, contact the spas in your area and see if they are participating in the relief efforts. This is a great time to start a message regimen and help those now trying to pick up the pieces in this region. You will be doing something to help those in the greatest need and helping yourself cope with the images and stories coming from this area daily.

Question: A friend of mine's daughter had back surgery from the base of her head to her waist 3-4 years ago, now the doctors have told her she has Arachnoiditis - and is in pain all the time. This was due to an accident. She still has the metal in her. She has been through pain management that helped for a while, could massage help? And what kind should she get? Should she have a doctor’s consent? Thank you for any information and help.

Answer: Arachnoiditis is a debilitating condition characterized by severe stinging and burning pain and neurologic problems. It is caused by an inflammation of the arachnoid lining - one of the 3 linings that surround the brain and spinal cord. This inflammation causes constant irritation, scarring, and binding of nerve roots and blood vessels.

I would recommend that your friend’s daughter try two different types of massage to find out which responses best to her. The first being Swedish massage, a relaxing massage that uses gentle soothing strokes to calm the young lades nervous system, which will help ease the pain, and to calm the her mind and spirit. Swedish massage is a basic technique that all massage therapist are trained in so find someone in your area should not be difficult.

The second modality I recommend this young lady should try is called CranioSacral Therapy. The technique has a direct impact with the nervous system and works with the arachnoid lining. A few treatments may be needed before an affect is really impacted her, so be patient. It is important go to someone that is trained and certified in CranioSacral Therapy, preferably, someone that is Diplomat Certified (CST-D), the highest standard of excellence in CranioSacral Therapy. To find someone in your area link to www.upledger.com (the Upledger Institute) then click "Find a Practitioner".

Under these circumstances a MD's approval in not necessary, but would be appreciated (on being informed) from the doctor's point of view.

Depending on the state, some health insurance companies pay for massage and craniosacral therapy, so check into that.

Note: Information provided in this Q&A section is drawn from the "Ask a Massage Therapist" online forum, in which massage therapists field questions relative to the massage profession. Readers are encouraged to post their questions at www.massagetoday.com/ask/. Answers should not be misconstrued as a diagnosis, prognosis or treatment recommendation and do not in any way constitute the practice of massage therapy or any other health care profession. Readers should consult their own health care providers for medical advice.

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