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In this issue of To Your Health:

• Massage Helps Relieve Stress-Related Pain
• Prince Charles Promotes Integrative Health Care
• Answers to Your Massage Questions: Highlights From This Month's "Ask a Massage Therapist" Online Forum

We've all had the warning signs; the stiff neck and back muscles, soreness around the shoulders, possibly followed by a headache. These signs of stress appear in countless numbers of workers everyday. Most of us ignore the symptoms, take some aspirin or just complain. Perhaps, we should be making an appointment for a much-needed massage.

Acupressure massage is one method used by therapists to help relieve the painful side effects of stress. "A certain amount of stress is a healthy, but too much stress can lead to pain in areas such as the neck, shoulder or arm," said therapist Paula Visser. "Acupressure uses fingertip massage on these points to reach energy meridians and relieve pain in that area."

There are other massage techniques used to relieve the painful side effects of stress. Deep tissue, aromatherapy, lymph drainage therapy and hot stone massage also can be effective in relieving pain associated with stress.

Instead of suffering through the pain, get out your calendar and book yourself an appointment to get a massage and find some relief. Our stressful lives might never completely get under control but we can help manage the pain with regular massage therapy treatments.

In a May 23, 2006 speech at the 59^th World Health Assembly in Geneva, Switzerland, Prince Charles emphasized the need for health care providers in industrialized and developing nations to adopt more integrated approaches to health care, citing a "dangerously fragmented and abstracted" world view that is leading mankind further from valuable ancient traditions in medicine. While noting several alarming statistics and various clinical studies regarding the state of disease and chronic illness worldwide, Prince Charles' speech also was marked by an appeal for empathy, hope and compassion - the humanity too often absent from traditional patient care.

Excerpts from Prince Charles' speech appear below; the complete speech is available online at www.princeofwales.gov.uk/speeches/health_23052006.html.

• "In many ways, and over rather too long a period, we have maintained a dangerously fragmented and abstracted view of our world which has led to the abandonment of a great deal of valuable traditional knowledge and wisdom. As a result, we are beginning to reap the harvest we have sown through living off Nature's capital rather than her income. I believe, Ladies and Gentleman, that there is now a desperately urgent need to redress the fragile, but vital balance between man and Nature through a more integrated approach where the best of the ancient is blended with the best of the modern."
• "I feel we need to be prepared to think radically - and certainly beyond the range of conventional health approaches. I have long felt that we have somehow lost touch with our instinct and intuition for each other, and for our environment. The time has surely come to appreciate that the complexity of chronic diseases requires considered and multi-dimensional solutions."

Supporting Prince Charles' recommendations is The Prince's Foundation for Integrated Health (FIH), an independent charity he founded and presides over. The FIH works to widen access to complementary health care, promote confidence in integrated approaches, and promote greater understanding of integrated health.

Question: My wife has a decrease in capillary blood flow in one of her feet due to either diabetes or some recent cellulitis. Can massage increase capillary blood flow on more than just a temporary basis.

Answer: I would suggest speaking with your wife's Doctor about her having massage therapy treatments for her circulation and see if there are any other health concerns that may be problematic. Then find a massage therapist with experience working with people affected with diabetes.

Regular massage therapy treatments can increase circulation. Studies have shown the effects of massage on the circulation last even longer than exercise is some cases.

Beware, if there is still cellulitis present, massage will be contraindicated. Cellulitis is a bacterial infection and it can be spread so massage would be out of the question until it is completely gone.

Wendy Turpin, RMT
New Brunswick, Canada

Note: Information provided in this Q&A section is drawn from the "Ask a Massage Therapist" online forum, in which massage therapists field questions relative to the massage profession. Readers are encouraged to post their questions at www.massagetoday.com/ask/. Answers should not be misconstrued as a diagnosis, prognosis or treatment recommendation and do not in any way constitute the practice of massage therapy or any other health care profession. Readers should consult their own health care providers for medical advice.

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