Whether seeking relief for a medical condition, searching
for a method to help deal with the stresses of daily life or wanting
to maintain good health, more and more Americans are turning to therapeutic
massage.
Massage doesn't just feel good. Research shows it reduces the heart
rate, lowers blood pressure, increases blood circulation and lymph
flow, relaxes muscles, improves range of motion, and increases endorphins,
the body's natural painkillers. Therapeutic massage may enhance medical
treatment and helps people feel less anxious and stressed, relaxed
yet more alert.
A writer for the Chicago Tribune stated, “Massage is to the
human body what a tune-up is to a car.” Therapeutic massage can
be part of your regular healthcare maintenance. The consumer demand
for massage therapy is fed by the health and fitness movement as well
complementary alternative care.
Both the demand and the healthcare profession's response are overwhelming:
Consumers spend $4 billion to $6 billion a year on visits to massage
therapists, according to an American Massage Therapy Association (AMTA)
analysis of a study by Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and Harvard
Medical School published in the Journal of the American Medical Association
in November 1998.
Current research shows people are getting more massages, and that
therapeutic massage has become mainstream, appealing to everyone from
young adults to seniors. People are experiencing the therapeutic benefits
of massage and report getting massages mostly to relax, relieve aches
and pains, and help reduce stress.
A national survey of consumers attitudes about massage, conducted
by Opinion Research Corporation International in July 2000, found that,
among those people who discussed massage with their primary healthcare
provider, 71 percent reported the conversation was favorable and 20
percent found the response from their doctor to be neutral.
The American Massage Therapy Association's membership quadrupled
in ten years, to more than 46,000 in 2002. There also is a growing
trend
of offering therapeutic massage in the workplace. Your employer may
be among those who have learned that massage therapy isn’t just
a perk, but actually increases employee productivity and morale, and
reduces absenteeism.
"Massage therapy has clearly been shown to me to be very beneficial,
particularly in areas where conventional medicine has not been as successful,
including chronic arthritis, musculoskeletal syndromes and chronic
headache, among others." — Renslow Sherer, M.D., Director
of the Cook County Hospital HIV Primary Care Center, Chicago
According to a 1996 survey of employees who regularly receive therapeutic
massage onsite at Reebok International Ltd., 98 percent said it helped
them reduce work-related stress; 92 percent said it increased alertness,
motivation and productivity; 83 percent said it had in some cases sufficiently
addressed a problem so medical attention was not necessary; and 66
percent said it had enabled them to stay at work when they would have
otherwise gone home sick.
