Massage therapy news and research breakthroughs

Massage Magazine reports that therapy helped decrease pain, nausea, stress and anxiety, along with increasing white blood cells and neutrophils, in children with cancer. This conclusion is based on a review of seven published studies on massage and childhood cancer. The children in these studies ranged in age from 6 months to 18 years. They had been diagnosed with cancers such as acute lymphoblastic leukemia, acute myeloid leukemia, sarcomas, lymphomas and brain tumors.

Swedish massage was the main massage modality used in the seven studies. The amount of time and number of sessions also varied between the studies. Depending on the study, each massage session was either 15, 20 or 30 minutes. The number of sessions between studies and ranged anywhere from a total of three massage sessions to one session a day for one month with varying intervention schedules in between. Read more.

Global Massage Makes Me Happy Day

March 20 has been designated “Massage Makes Me Happy” Day. The event is the latest initiative of the Global Wellness Institute to celebrate the powers of massage therapy and promote its benefits through research, education, advocacy and global awareness. The day coincides with the United Nations’ International Day of Happiness.

Global Massage Makes Me Happy Day will spread global awareness of the positive impacts of massage therapy through educating on its many benefits, collecting data and research, and creating systems to help everyone better understand what massage therapy can do for them and how it can make people both happy and healthy.

Several ways offered to celebrate Massage Makes Me Happy Day:

  • Gift a Massage – Whether it’s for a loved one, a best friend or the barista who makes your coffee every day, gifting a massage is a great way to spread happiness to people in your life.
  • Offer a Special Promotion – If you’re a massage therapist, spa owner/director, massage school or wellness center, you can celebrate Massage Makes Me Happy Day by offering special promotions, upgrades, discounts or by hosting an event on March 20, 2018.
  • Share Your Story – How does massage therapy make you happy? Whether you receive massage therapy regularly or are a massage therapist yourself, share your story with others, via social media channels, using the hashtag #MassageMakesMeHappyDay.  Learn More.

  

All Male Spa Parties Grow in Popularity

With more men visiting spas these day (International Spa Association reports 47 percent of spa clients are men, versus 31 percent a decade ago), spa parties for men are taking off, reports Men’s Health Magazine.  The magazine writes thatmen are increasingly booking group spa parties for massages, facials, or even the occasional pedicure, according to experts in the spa industry.”

Traditionally men used to seek massage for pain, but now treatments are leaning toward pampering and relaxation. Although spa parties have typically been associated with females, as the masculinity norms shift and evolve, men are slowly turning to spa treatments as a way to bond and unwind after a rough week. Read more.

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