PureInsight | December 29, 2007
"Would you like a free massage as a holiday present after your haircut,
doctor?" the owner of Elizabeth Milan's salon in Toronto's Royal York
Hotel asked me. It had been a hard day seeing patients, and maybe I
looked a trifle haggard. But whatever the reason, being of Scottish
heritage, the "free" part appealed to me. So I said, "Why not?"
Massage as therapy has stood the test of time. It has been used by
Chinese, Greek, Roman, and Indian civilizations. During a trip to Egypt
last year, I saw numerous paintings in the tombs of kings and queens of
people practicing massage. And Julius Caesar was apparently given daily
massage to treat neuralgia.
Many people tend to look on massage as a luxury found only in upscale
health clubs. But massage is a great tool, a combination of art and
science. It can have a major impact when treating tension, insomnia,
headache, hypertension, arthritis, acute and chronic pain, and can
promote healing in a variety of conditions.
How does it work? Research shows the enormous benefits of hands-on
therapy. It fosters a positive emotional reaction to something physical
being done to ease whatever ails you. That's why a massage therapist
has so much more to offer psychologically and physically than a doctor
who simply hands out prescriptions across a desk.
But there's more to massage than the touch of well-trained hands.
Massage, by manipulating tissues, muscles, and tendons, decreases
stress hormones, enhances the production of endorphins, the body's
natural painkillers, and by improving circulation, eases muscle spasm
and joint stiffness. Besides all this, it makes you feel good, and how
do you weigh that benefit?
A report from The Mayo Clinic claims that massage has reduced anxiety
in depressed children. This finding should be sent to every school in
this country that believes hyperactive children are best treated by
sedating them with drugs.
Years ago when I was hyperactive in school, I was sedated by a good
whack on my backside. I don't believe this has caused me psychological
harm. But in retrospect, I would have preferred to be sedated by a
relaxing massage.
Mayo Clinic adds that studies show massage results in less pain in
patients suffering from fibromyalgia, recent surgery, and back pain.
And we all know its benefits in sport injuries. In other studies,
cancer patients undergoing treatment also reported less anxiety and
pain if they had regularly scheduled massage sessions.
I can't confirm this fact, but I'd bet my last dollar that those with
terminal illness would find their days less painful and depressing if
massage were part of their treatment.
How did I fare after my treatment? I felt relaxed and ready to take on
the world. But I had a problem. There was no mention that the next
session would be free. That triggered considerable tension.
But I'm sure that if one massage provides so much help, frequent
massages would do even more. So in the end, this free massage is going
to cost me a lot of money. Hopefully I can get my psyche to accept
massage, not as an expense item, but as an investment in relaxation and
good health in an increasingly tense world where so many problems are
related to stress.
Massage is also non-invasive, without any of the side effects of drug
therapy. It's therefore a great way to help decrease the frightening
epidemic of "pillitis" in this country. If doctors wrote more
prescriptions for massage, there would be fewer written for
antidepressant drugs.
Oliver Wendell Holmes, one of Harvard's great thinkers was right. He
counseled, "If you threw all the pills into the Pacific Ocean, so much
the better for mankind, so much the worse for the fish." I say "Amen"
to that remark.
