Kivivi Blog

Holistic medicine is based on healing principles and treatments that are intended to prevent dis-ease; and maintains health and wellness by facilitating the body’s innate abilities (to heal itself).

As an integrative system of health intervention and maintenance, holistic medicine is comprised of mind-body-spirit medicine and natural health treatments like chiropractic, naturopathy, homeopathy, energy healing, and massage therapy. The philosophy (of all of these complementary therapies) shared in common is the belief in doing no harm and treating the “whole” person, and not just the “dis-ease.”

Thirty-two percent of Americans get massages for medical and health reasons, according to the 13th annual consumer survey sponsored by the American Massage Therapy Association® (AMTA®), compared to 31 percent last year.

• Twenty-five percent of Americans ages 35-44 have talked to their doctor or healthcare provider about massage therapy this year, compared to 14 percent in 2008.
• Seeking a massage for medical or health reasons is now tied with relaxation and stress reduction as the top reasons why Americans get massages.
• Of those who discussed massage therapy with their doctors, 52 percent say their doctor strongly recommended/encouraged them to get a massage.
• Eighty-six percent of Americans agree that massage can be effective in reducing pain.
• Eighty-five percent of people agree that massage can be beneficial to your health and wellness.

Massage therapy for stress reduction

• This year, 32 percent of Americans said they got a massage for stress and/or relaxation in the last five years; compared to 36 percent last year.
• Fifty-seven percent of Americans say they are more stressed this year than they were a year ago.

Massage therapy and Income

• Forty-seven percent of those making $35,000 to $50,000 a year say they have considered massage to manage stress.
• Thirty-four percent of those making less than $35,000 a year got massage for medical/health reasons. This group is the second largest income bracket of those who had a massage for medical/health reasons.
• Forty-nine percent of those making $75,000 to $100,000 choose massage for medical or health reasons.

Older Americans are most likely to seek massage for its medical and health benefits rather than for relaxation or stress reduction

Older Americans are most likely to seek massage for its medical and health benefits rather than for relaxation or stress reduction

• Among those who have had a massage in the last five years, 41 percent of those over 65 years of age and 41 percent of those between the ages of 55 and 64 received their last massage for medical or health reasons.
• In contrast, only 13 percent of those over 65 and 28 percent of those ages 55 to 64 had massage for relaxation/stress reduction.

Massage considerations and recommendations

• Fifty-seven percent of 35-44 year olds who had a massage in the previous 12 months have considered massage to manage stress.
• Sixty-two percent of Americans have or would recommend massage therapy to a relative or someone else they know.

This can be a confusing question to answer. When presented with the two options, it seems to indicate that Swedish Massage simply lacks pressure. This is not true. A Swedish Massage can be performed with a great deal of pressure or as light as the client may wish. Deep tissue on the other hand is typically a deeper stroke.

Swedish Massage is a systematic and scientific manipulation of the soft tissue of the body. This manipulation is performed to promote good health. There are five primary strokes involved in Swedish Massage. They are the effleurage, petrissage, friction, tapotement and vibration. Effleurage strokes are long flowing strokes that allow the therapist to spread the lubricant and feel the muscle tone. Petrissage is a kneading stroke that lifts and squeezes the tissue and it helps flush out metabolic waste in that area. Friction is a strokes that involves fast short movements to create heat. This is good to bring blood flow to that area and is great for loosening ligaments. Tapotement is a series of light blows to the body designed to relax a muscle. This is the stroke most people are familiar with and sometimes looks like alternating karate chops. Vibration is a stroke that is used to create movement in the entire body and when done properly, is very relaxing.

Deep Tissue is a series of slow, specific and deliberate strokes and is best suited for postural deviances and abnormal muscle tone. The Massage Therapist will choose between several strokes depending on the size of the muscle that they are working on. They will “hook in” and start a slow moving down the muscle as it lets them. A good Massage Therapist will never force pressure into the muscle. They will continue to apply pressure until the muscle pushes back against them. The muscle will then slowly begin to release and allow the therapist to move along it. The pressure used should not be painful, but should walk a fine line between pleasurable release of tension and a pain-blocking response from the body (tensing up). The standard misconception in Deep Tissue work is “No Pain, No Gain”. This is simply not true. Pain causes the muscle to tense up and actually makes the massage less effective.

Unless you have an injury to a specific muscle or have postural concerns, I recommend you book for a Swedish Massage. You should communicate with your therapist about how much pressure you like. It is much more difficult to ascertain how much pressure a client needs in Swedish Massage than in Deep Tissue. Some clients have expressed that they don’t ask for more pressure because they feel like they are asking the Therapist to work harder. This is not the case. A Massage Therapist will use proper body mechanics to use leverage instead of strength to apply pressure. Our Therapist want you to have the best experience possible. To achieve this goal requires education and communication. Never be afraid to ask a Massage Therapist to back off of pressure or to apply more.

It’s not uncommon for Elizabeth Maleko’s clients to open their eyes mid-way through a Swedish massage and see a leap of leopards. The 26-year-old therapist is used to working in the wild. At Sanctuary Olonana, a luxury tented camp on the banks of Kenya’s Mara River, the spa is surrounded by squawking secretary birds and moaning hippos (and, mercifully, a functioning electric fence). The sound of East Africa’s menagerie is all around. It’s a great place to catch a glimpse of the park’s Big Five; the remote, calming spot clearly appeals to the elusive big cats and their cubs, says Maleko. “Last week we saw three playing on the bank.

Lyrics:
It’s Spa Day, a day to unwind.
We’ll walk on your spine, we’ll be kind.It’s Spa Day, P & F on the scene.
Gonna slather you with mud and make you feel like a queen.
Get you sittin’ in a hot tub. (Loungin’!)
You’re thinkin’ this place is a-(stoundin’!)
Hot steam, hot stones, hot water, hot wax.
We’re pipin’ cool new-age music, can’t help but relax!

-Courtesy BarlowGirl101

The purpose of massage therapy varies according to the practitioner. As a result, the intended goal also differs. Yet, the aim of all massage therapy includes an increased sense and actuality of a person’s well-being. This includes various physical, emotional and spiritual effects. The benefits one is to reap from therapeutic massage range from general to specific health effects to a more ephemeral sense of physical, emotional and psychological feeling of welfare. In this sense, although it does depend upon the techniques of the practitioner and the type or school of therapeutic massage, massage therapy falls into the holistic approach to health and welfare currently embraced by an increased number of people in the medical professions.

Microdermabrasion using a coarse diamond-studded instrument may induce molecular changes in the skin that help rejuvenate it, a new study shows.

The procedure may improve the appearance of wrinkles, acne scars, and other signs of aging, University of Michigan scientists report in the October issue of Archives of Dermatology.

The process involves buffing the skin using grains of diamond or another hard substance, the researchers say.

To change the appearance of skin, the procedure would have to induce the production of collagen, the major structural protein in skin, and it appears to do so, according to the study.