Massage: The Powerhouse of Wellness

Three years ago my friend Dana was on the brink of exhaustion from the rigors of moving into the middle of her fifth decade. She had been to several doctors with a variety of concerns, none of which they were able to address to her satisfaction.

Fear not dear reader! This is not a story of a woman with mysterious illnesses that stump medical experts around the country! Dana's health problems were fairly common for women her age: stiffness and achiness when she stood up or while gardening, pain in her hip that seemed to travel around her knee and ankle, sleeplessness, unusual lethargy and even depression (Dana would never say she was depressed, though. In her words, she had "the blues"). The down feelings were particularly troubling to her given a recent tendency to feel agitated and anxious, especially in the wee morning hours when she couldn't sleep. One morning she called me, crying, asking how she could be an anxious wreck at 3:00 in the morning; then, by 10:00am feel so low she felt she could walk into the local river with a backpack loaded with rocks if only she had the energy?

Dana had always been an enthusiastic do-it-yourselfer when it came to health and wellness. So her doctors' attempts to treat her symptoms rather than teach her how to address the problems, left her at first irritated, then discouraged, and finally despondent.

On a trip to Colorado a couple years ago I barely recognized the rough and ready woman I had come to know while serving an internship in her rural town two decades ago. The daughter of an oil shale miner and a massage therapist, Dana owned the best and busiest bakery in the Rockies. She'd built the business from scratch--so to speak--while also raising a family, and serving as a leader in her small town. Dana's indomitable spirit seemed to match her environment and this was no doubt part of the success of her bakery. She could make things happen! When she couldn't figure out how to make her troubling moods, aches, and pains go away, she felt she'd met her match.

When we talked about the physical and psychological challenges Dana was facing I gingerly approached a suggestion: "I know this is a ridiculous question, but have you been getting massage?" She confided that since her mother had died she hadn't wanted to get massage from anyone else, and besides, she was too busy and too practical for such a "luxury".

While Dana was pregnant with all three of her children, her mother provided her with massage that eased the difficult elements of pregnancy and helped foster three remarkably easy deliveries. After delivery, Dana's mother taught her to massage her babies-a practice that lessened her own post partum blues and helped to build strong bonds with her children-the kind of bonds that we now know are crucial for children's healthy brain development and a raft of resiliency factors in children and teenagers.

Dana knew that massage was beneficial. It had helped her through three pregnancies and been an integral part of the strong bond with her kids. She had seen her hard-working father avoid many of physical complaints that plagued the other miners in town. She'd heard countless reports from locals and tourists about the benefits of massage throughout her life. And when her beloved granddad died slowly of lung disease, massage helped ease his anxiety and the unpleasant side effects of some of his medications.

As a wide-eyed graduate student in the late 80's I used to regale Dana with research on a variety of topics over her famous cinnamon rolls and coffee. Because she was a consummate host she listened and in so doing only encouraged me. So it wasn't so odd that our conversation turned to more of a treatise about exactly how science is demonstrating that many of her concerns could be addressed at the source, by massage! Today, research on massage is confirming what virtually all cultures have known about massage for millennia.

I reminded Dana what she had already experienced as a young mom. Regular massage decreases mild to moderate depression as well or better than counseling or medication. It does the same for anxiety, and in both cases-unlike medication--the impact is immediate; with virtually no risky or burdensome side effects.

Massage has long been known as a reliable treatment for the kinds of pain Dana was feeling in her hip. As we age, many of our aches occur when our body's fascia, tendons, and muscles, become less flexible and adhere to each other rather than glide smoothly together. Massage works to lubricate and loosen soft tissues. It improves circulation of blood and lymph to increase connective tissue flexibility and decrease stickiness. That was the secret to Dana's dad's success. In addition to massage, well-trained massage therapists can suggest and demonstrate stretches and exercises for people to continue and expand upon massage-related benefits. This is something that can-do people like Dana can embrace and in so doing redouble the benefit of massage.

Research on massage and sleeplessness has found that people who receive massage don't just sleep longer as a result. They also report higher quality, more restful sleep. In this longer, deeper sleep the body has the opportunity to do what it does best: heal and rejuvenate.

Like deep rest, massage activates the autonomic nervous system: the rest and digest aspect of our nervous system--great balancer to the fight or flight or stress-related aspect. What's more, recent studies have shown that massage stimulates the production of white blood cells and killer t-cells known to fight illness and infection-from the common cold to cancer to HIV disease. People who receive regular massage (once or twice a month) understand that it plays a key role in their wellness lifestyle: stimulating the immune system, increasing circulation, improving flexibility, and contributing to mental resilience and well-being.

Massage is luxurious, yes. A luxury? No!

With all the ways that massage positively addresses some of the most stubborn of complaints and illnesses, placing it in the luxury category is an underestimation of its tremendous power to prevent, heal and revitalize.

But back to Dana. She wouldn't be the first person to neglect to see the value in what was right before her. Now, I'm not so naïve as to think that my research lecture turned it all around for Dana. But for whatever reason she did seek out a well-trained massage therapist who not only provided massage that addressed many of her concerns, but also recommended some work that Dana could do at home to further the benefits of massage. Dana thrives in this combination of expert help and do-it-yourself healthcare. And with men and women age 55-65 being the fastest growing group of massage-users, she's not alone. The whole country's getting smarter about what works!