urn:lj:livejournal.com:atom1:massagebylaura Laura's Letters massagebylaura 2038-01-19T03:14:07Z urn:lj:livejournal.com:atom1:massagebylaura:1750 2038-01-19T03:14:07Z 2038-01-19T03:14:07Z Here's just a little bit of the wonderful things massage therapy can do!<br /><br />Alzheimer's Disease: Slow-stroke, neck and shoulder massages helped people with Alzheimer's disease reduce the pacing, irritability, and restlessness commonly associated with this disease.<br /><br />Severe Burns: In one study, burn patients were given a 20-minute massage before wound-care sessions. After five days, they reported less pain and anxiety than other burn patients.<br /><br />Fibromyalgia: Fibromyalgia can cause pain, disturbed sleep, anxiety, and depression. When researchers provided patients with 30 minute massages twice a week, their pain, depression, and anxiety scores all went down - along with stiffness, fatigue, and troubled sleep.<br /><br />Smoking: A group of smokers were taught how to massage their own ears or hands when they felt a craving for a cigarette. After a month, they were smoking fewer cigarettes, had improved moods, and had fewer withdrawal symptoms than a group who didn't practice self-massage.<br /><br /><br />That's just the start! A big thanks to Women's HealthSource magazine and Highland Hospital for providing this information.