Welcome to 2004! As the year starts, I’m making plans and setting goals for the upcoming year, and I’m including regular massage as a way of keeping myself in shape physically and mentally. My theme for this year is wellness – staying healthy, taking care of myself and broadening my horizons.

As you start the new year, even as credit card bills come rolling in, remember that you’ve only got one of you, and you need to keep yourself in good health. Massage keeps the body healthy, flexible and well. It’s a good investment in time and money to keep you fit.

This newsletter includes an article on massage relief for tension headaches, as well as a description of Myofascial Release. Since several clients have brought it up recently, the self-massage for January is for TMJ or tension in the jaw area.

Talk to you soon! -- Heather Wibbels (615.294-6672)

A dull throbbing pain encircles your head. You know a headache as soon as it starts. Sometimes they only last for an hour or two, but severe headaches can last as long as four days. The medical community has many ways of treating headaches, and since stress can be a primary cause of them, consider massage a treatment option.

Although many types of headaches exist, tension headaches are the most common type of headache – they cause a mild to moderate pain felt in a diffuse band around the front and sides of the head. Tension-type headaches are associated with muscular tension in the jaw, neck and head region. However, these headaches are sometimes caused by stimulus other than muscle tension including “poor posture, working in awkward positions, stress, depression and anxiety” (See MayoClinic.com “Tension-type Headaches”). The main factors contributing to tension-type headaches are also symptoms and conditions that massage treats.

The relationship between stress/anxiety and headaches is well-documented and alternative medicine uses massage as a way to promote wellness by reducing stress and inducing relaxation. Studies show increased relaxation and reduced stress levels during and after a massage. In addition, muscle release resulting from massage can relax the areas of tension contributing to headaches, reducing their duration: “The massage group reported fewer distress symptoms, less pain, more headache free days, fewer sleep disturbances and taking fewer analgesics.” (See Hernandez-Reif, M., Field, T., Dieter, J., Swerdlow. & Diego, M. “Migraine Headaches are Reduced by Massage Therapy” International Journal of Neuroscience, 96, 1-11.). Both the stress-reduction and muscle-relaxing results of massage therapy address the main causes of tension-type headaches.

Some types of massage may be particularly effective in reducing the symptoms of headaches. Swedish massage, since it concentrates on muscle relaxation, is an excellent means to address muscle tension in the head and neck area. Acupressure has many points to induce muscle relaxation in specific areas as well as points that lower anxiety and stress. Neuromuscular Therapy uses the location of the referred pain and palpation to find and release those tight trigger points. Reflexology can induce deep relaxation, and it can target pain specific to the head and neck area.

Many of the benefits of massage treat causative factors of headaches. The increased amount of stress in our lives means that headaches can be frequent. Whether you use massage as a way to decrease your stress level or as a means to relax muscular tension held in the head, neck and back, you may be reducing the duration or frequency of your headaches with regular massage. Remember that chronic or sudden severe headaches may mean a visit to your primary health care provider. Do not hesitate to get him/her involved in the treatment of headaches.

You can treat yourself with massage techniques to assist with tension headache pain and frequency. For a short self-massage routine I've put together for my clients to use to help with headaches, go to Self Massage for Headaches. If you'd like a demonstration of the techniques, I can show them to you during a massage session. Call 615-294-6672 to schedule an appointment. For more information see the following sites:

• WebMD “Headache Basics”
• Mayo Clinic “Tension-type Headaches”
• National Headache Foundation
• American Council for Headache Education

More on Massage: Myofascial Release
How tight spots in connective tissue contribute to dysfunction

Inside us, each muscle group, individual muscle, muscle fiber, and organ is surrounded and held into place by flexible connective tissue called fascia. Fascia encases the entire body, connecting muscles and organs to bones to keep the interior of the body stable and in place. Normally, fascia holds muscles and organs in the most efficient, natural place, but injury causes adhesions in the fascia. Fascia surrounding muscle fibers or muscles may tighten and loose elasticity. It can adhere to other fascia and cause the muscle it contains to shorten. This causes pain, decreased range of motion and other symptoms.

Imagine fascia as a big piece of plastic wrap that surrounds all the individual pieces of the body, and holds them in place. It's also wrapping the entire length of the body underneath the skin. An injury to one area of the fascia causes repercussions throughout the fascial system as pulls and restrictions in one area cause shortening and adhesions in other fascia. Myofascial Release (MFR) is a form of massage designed to treat these tight points and adhesions through gentle stretching. Beginning in the 1970s, physical therapists, massage therapists, chiropractors, and other practitioners have used it as a means to treat many problems in the body. “People with longstanding back pain, fibromyalgia, recurring headaches, sports injuries, and a host of additional complaints. . . are all said to benefit from the technique” (“Myofascial Release” WholeHealthMD.com) .

In MFR, the practitioner takes time to observe the client's body, and assesses possible problem areas through observation and palpation of the body. During palpation, the practitioner finds areas of tension and applies a light stretch to that area, working in smaller segments before moving to stretch the fascia surrounding an entire muscle or muscle group. During each stretch, the practitioner “listens” to the body in the stretch, feeling for that moment when there is a release of the fascia so that a further stretch may be applied. These areas of tension often feel tender or painful to the client, but the gentle stretching of MFR may relieve that tenderness.

Sessions last between 30 minutes and an hour, and sometimes are prescribed by physicians, physical therapists or chiropractors. Treatment for chronic pain lasts many sessions, but clients will see a gradual decrease in symptoms as the fascial system adjusts to a more efficient and comfortable placement of muscle fibers, muscles and organs. Sometimes simple muscle pulls can be treated in just a few sessions.

For more information you can go to the following websites:

• Myofascial Release.Com
• Myofascial Release Online
• WholeHealthMD “Myofascial Release”