Originally Featured in "The Island Packet"

Bette Davis said, "Growing old ain’t for sissies." Those bodily aches and pains that make aging a misery, respond wonderfully to the healing touch of massage. But that is only the beginning of the story about the health properties of massage.

Massage, a natural therapy, is an effective way to reduce and/or alleviate muscular aches and pain. Muscle tightness, known as spasms, are the primary source of chronic, physical pain not associated with trauma. To better understand the role muscles play in causing bodily pain, it is important to understand why and how we hurt.

Muscles do not hurt.  Nerves are the pain messengers, sending signals to the brain to alert the mind that there is a problem.  When a nerve becomes irritated by tight muscles, the nerve heats up. (the early surgeons felt the heat radiating from the irritated nerve and called the condition inflamed.)
This alerts the brain that there is a problem in a part of the body by producing pain.  

Medical massage works by stretching the muscles to restore them to their original length and width.  This takes the pressure off the nerve, allowing it to cool down.  Consequently, the problem is resolved and the pain messages are discontinued. 

These principals are a simplified explanation of the  anatomy of pain. Understanding these principles will shed light on the role of massage in alleviating physical pain.

Natural healing methods are more time consuming and take a greater commitment then many people are willing to make. Why take the time and bother when a person can just pop a pain pill, and feel relief?  The answer is simple.  Pain is not the problem.  Pain is a SYMPTOM alerting the mind to the fact that THERE IS A PROBLEM.  Removing the pain without addressing the problem only masks the true nature of the problem.  Often when medication alone is used, there comes a time when that problem overcomes the medication’s ability to stop the pain. As time passes, what may have started as an easily treated condition can become a complex, more serious problem, with a much more difficult treatment prognosis.

It is important to clarify that massage works best in conjunction with the diversity of medical and health offerings. Good massage therapists are trained to recognize their limits, and ONLY treat conditions within their range of competency. When client' need help beyond the expertise massage therapy offers, then it is their duty to refer those people to the proper therapist or physician.

Massage is a conservative, and minimally invasive therapy, that can produce wonderful results with people who suffer from chronic muscular pain, and more. Massage has shown beneficial results with a broad range of problems including fibromyalgia, low back pain, arthritis, and bursitis.  Other conditions that have responded positively to massage include fatigue, high blood pressure, diabetes, and immunity suppression. Sickness is not the only realm where massage is gaining popularity.  Infant massage and massage for pregnant women are examples of rapidly growing health therapies.

Massage is gaining respect in the medical community in this country. Many physicians are beginning to understand and prescribe massage for their patients.  Even the US government  has recognized the importance of natural therapies by forming the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (NCCAM), a component of the National Institutes of

Health.  For example, locally, the use of oxygen in high concentrations, (hyperbarics), is now being offered as therapy for a wide range of ailments, and one cannot find anything more natural than oxygen.

So, is massage a luxury, self-indulgent pampering, or a therapy that treats a wide range of medical problems? The answer is simple. Yes.

Jan Rose Kasmir is a graduate of the New York College of Health professionals, with over 25 years of experience. She provides in-home service and in-office service. Hilton Head Massage Therapy is located at 6 Office Way, Suite 908, Hilton Head Island, SC 29928, and can be reached at 843-683-2273.

IT IS TIME TO STOP HATING

This picture is me at 17 years of age. I was living in a foster home in Rockville, having just spent 10 months in a state mental institution because I was busted for 1 ounce of marijuana. Even though I was a very troubled, unhappy youth, I had a passion burning in my heart that reached out to my brothers and sister who were being slaughtered in Vietnam. I don't only mean the Vietnamese - my heart was also breaking for the soldiers who had been duped into using their magnificent sense of honor and duty to perpetrate an atrocity - the war in Vietnam.

Fast forward 40 years. Here we go again. The war in Iraq is a symptom of our society's inability to care about each other. I know that sounds very simplistic, but I want to share some thoughts as to why I have managed to carry a passion for peace in my heart for 40 years, and I want to invite you all, especially the youth, to start thinking and acting differently.

I was blessed with a life that was tough enough to have killed me many times over. The result of the pain and degradation I experienced is that I see myself as above no other human. I know that when I see a person in trouble, there but for the grace of G!d go I. I do not feel superior to another human - no more deserving of material wealth, prestige or position. I feel a deep sadness and a desire to be of service, if possible.

I am not a person of means - I struggle to make my rent and other bills. When I have a little extra, I generally end up giving it to someone who needs it. Perhaps I will perpetually be poor in dollars but always rich in spirit. Now, in all fairness, I do have to add that I am supporting a 15 year old, and almost all of my money goes to her education and needs, but whatever I have, I have always felt, that if you need it, you can have it.

So many Americans spend a lot of time and money entertaining themselves trying to drown out the screams of the suffering in this world. It is time to take off the headphones and listen up. WE NEED EACH OTHER. and I am particularly speaking to the students , for you are the hope of the world.

I was 17 years old when that picture was taken. In the ensuing years I spent my time going into prisons and institutions doing life skills groups for adults and teens. Over the years I have volunteered in many different ways trying to be of service to my brothers and sisters in need. I PROMISE YOU. If you become involved in worthy pursuits, you will not need to do drugs and thrill sex to get good feelings. There is a greater high waiting out there for you. It's not easy BUT IT IS SIMPLE.

NEXT BLOG - HOW LOOSING A $150,000 INHERITANCE TAUGHT ME ABOUT WHY PEOPLE HATE.