Archive for October, 2010

Massage’s many benefits

Nearly 9 percent of Americans get at least one massage every year, and they’re probably healthier for it. A new study suggests that massage not only relax the body, but also boosts the immune system and prompts beneficial hormonal changes. Researches at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles subjected volunteers to what was perhaps the most pleasant experience ever devised. Half received 45 minutes of deep-tissue Swedish massage, while the rest received light-touch massage for the same period. Just a single massage session induced marked physiological changes. Blood and saliva samples from the Swedish group registered lower levels of cortisol; a hormone elevated by stress, and arginine vasopressin, a hormone that can elevate cortisol; they also showed a rise in lymphocytes, white blood cells that aid the immune response. The light-massage recipient showed a greater increase in the “love hormone” oxytocin and a greater drop in a different hormone that prompts the release of cortisol. Despite the popularity of massage, psychiatrist and study author Mark Hyman Rapaport tells The New York Times, “there hasn’t been much physiological proof of the body’s heightened immune response following massage until now.”  The Times magazine, October, 2010.

Massage’s many benefits

Nearly 9 percent of Americans get at least one massage every year, and they’re probably healthier for it. A new study suggests that massage not only relax the body, but also boosts the immune system and prompts beneficial hormonal changes. Researches at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles subjected volunteers to what was perhaps the most pleasant experience ever devised. Half received 45 minutes of deep-tissue Swedish massage, while the rest received light-touch massage for the same period. Just a single massage session induced marked physiological changes. Blood and saliva samples from the Swedish group registered lower levels of cortisol; a hormone elevated by stress, and arginine vasopressin, a hormone that can elevate cortisol; they also showed a rise in lymphocytes, white blood cells that aid the immune response. The light-massage recipient showed a greater increase in the “love hormone” oxytocin and a greater drop in a different hormone that prompts the release of cortisol. Despite the popularity of massage, psychiatrist and study author Mark Hyman Rapaport tells The New York Times, “there hasn’t been much physiological proof of the body’s heightened immune response following massage until now.”  The Times magazine, October, 2010.

 

Massage Therapy : Reflexology Techniques

Reflexology techniques are performed on the hands, feet or ears. Use reflexology techniques with tips from a licensed massage therapist in this free video series on massage therapy.

Expert: Rebecca Harrick
Bio: Rebecca Harrick is a licensed massage therapist who works at the Everything Peaceful Massage Therapy Center in Wilmington, N.C.
Filmmaker: Reel Media LLC

Duration : 0:1:30

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The Medical Director and Quality of Life: From Regulation to Application

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Speaker(s):

Charles A. Crecelius, MD, PhD, FACP, CMD

The Medical Director and Quality of Life: From Regulation to Application – American Medical Directors Association

AMDA’s 30th Annual Symposium

Regency Ballroom 2

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Duration : 0:2:4

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Research on Aging: Mantram Repetition to Reduce Stress

We are all looking for ways to reduce our stress. Would you believe repeating a word or phrase could do the trick? Join Jill Bormann, PhD, as she explains mantram repetition and her research showing this is an effective portable stress buster that can be easily used to calm the body and mind. Mantram is the Sanskrit term for a short, sacred word or phrase that is repeated silently in the mind resulting in stress reduction. Series: Sam and Rose Stein Institute for Research on Aging (SIRA) [5/2009] [Health and Medicine] [Show ID: 16036]

Duration : 0:53:56

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