Beating the Blues with Massage Therapy

Massage therapy can have a positive effect on enhancing one's mood. It can help you manage stress, anxiety and even depression. In short, massage provides many additional benefits besides aiding in the relief of sore joints and muscles relevant to back and neck pain and discomfort resulting from athletic injuries. A form of depression that affects people is seasonal affective disorder (SAD). While generally a condition most relevant to the long winter months ("the winter blues"), SAD is a type of depression that can have an effect on people in all seasons. Symptoms generally start in the fall and continue into the winter months. People who normally are physically and psychologically healthy may feel tired and lethargic and might even suffer from muscle soreness and stiffness. Other symptoms can include irritability, overeating, oversleeping, loss of libido and a weakened immune system. While it is not clear what causes SAD, it is thought that it results from a lack of sunlight, which is why people can be affected even in spring and summer if the days are gloomy and overcast. It is estimated that 2 to 3% of Canadians will experience SAD in their lifetime while another 15% will suffer from a milder form of seasonal depression that still enables them to function in their daily routine.

Massage helps to alleviate SAD symptoms in a number of ways. Psychologically, massage therapy stimulates nerve receptors in your body, releasing mood-enhancing chemicals such as serotonin and dopamine. The release of these chemicals is important as they relate to one's mood, appetite, sleep and memory, along with benefiting sexual function and even social behaviour. Massage therapy can also reduce the levels of cortisol in your body, which is a hormone released in response to stress and, if not properly regulated, can result in elevated blood pressure and blood sugar levels, as well as suppressing the immune system. These factors can ultimately lead to depression. Massage lowers blood pressure, improves circulation, stimulates the nerve endings, removes toxins and improves energy and concentration. Massage has also been shown to heighten alpha brain activity, allowing you to function more efficiently both at work or in handling stressful situations.

  

Massage also aids in boosting your immune system, heightening the body's resistance to bugs and viruses and making it easier to ward off the many communicable diseases that exist in our daily environment, regardless of the season.

Through regular massage sessions, anyone suffering from SAD will experience less severe symptoms and regain a more positive and healthy perspective on life.

Academy Massage offers therapies that are effective in helping clients deal with both the psychological and physiological effects of SAD. Our therapists are trained to provide a relaxing treatment session in a comfortable environment that will both calm you and improve your mood as it focuses on healing the mind-body connection.

Academy Massage reminds our valued clients that now is the perfect time to get your body and your brain re-charged with a spring tune-up.

Hospice care for patient, family and care givers

While not a subject people generally wish to discuss or consider, death comes to us all as it is a natural process of life. It goes without saying that facing the end of one's life is difficult not only for the patient but for their loved ones. No one wants to see that person suffer and be in pain. We want to ensure that he or she is made as comfortable as possible. However, that can be a difficult task in those final days. And the emotional strain on the caregiver can be enormous.  

For many seriously ill patients, hospice care is the preferred option. Hospice is a care program that focuses on the quality of one's life instead of continuing with treatment to prolong life. Hospice provides an alternative for people whose life expectancy is six months or less, and involves palliative care rather than ongoing curative measures, enabling a terminally ill patient to live their last days with purpose, dignity, and support. This is achieved through the compassionate efforts of a dedicated team of health care professionals and volunteers who provide medical, psychological, and spiritual support. The caregivers also try to control pain and other symptoms so a person can remain as alert and comfortable as possible. Hospice programs also provide services to support the needs of the patient's family, including helping the family manage the practical details and emotional challenges of caring for a dying loved one. To that end, hospice care does not cease once the patient has passed on. The survivors may also need support as they grieve and struggle with their bereavement.

It is a difficult decision to know when the time is right for a loved one to enter  hospice care. Some families choose to prolong personal care for as long as possible and may decide upon hospice care for the last few days of life. For the patient, it is important that the family understands their wishes and are educated about hospice care so that they are prepared once the time arrives for hospice care to be administered. When loved ones are clear about a patient's preferences for treatment, they’re able to devote themselves more fully to providing care and compassion.

In most cases hospice is provided in the patient’s own home. This allows the patient to spend their final days in a familiar, comfortable environment, surrounded by loved ones who can provide personal care with the support of hospice staff. With an emphasis on holistic care, hospice programs frequently provide benefits that are not available in traditional health-care settings such as hospitals or nursing facility and may include various therapies such as music, art, pet and massage. Massage has proven to be extremely helpful for many hospice patients in managing stress and alleviating pain. 

Working with the dying is a difficult task and requires commitment and compassion. But by providing peace and comfort to the terminally ill during their final days, it also helps to show us how to live more fully. 

A Valentine's Gift That Shows You Care

Valentine's Day is when the cold and frosty days of winter warm a little as we embrace the love we feel toward that special someone. Flowers, gifts, chocolates and other expressions of sentiments are presented, intimate romantic dinners are shared, and quite often even wedding proposals are made.

Traditions prevail, but perhaps this year you might be looking for another way to show your loved one how much you care, an alternative that is unique and personal, yet practical, with benefits geared toward maintaining health and restoring relaxation.

If that is the case, consider the gift of massage.

Massage therapy offers a variety of physical and emotional advantages beyond soothing stressed and overworked muscles and joints. Massage has been proven to enhance one's mood (which is important given the winter doldrums many people experience at this time of year) through the release of the feel good or "love hormones" called oxytocin. As February has been designated at Heart Month, what better way to take care of your most vital organ than a massage treatment that helps to maintain a healthy blood pressure and keep your heart beating smoothly, reducing stress and anxiety.

To create a special memory, you might choose to share the experience with your partner and indulge in a couple's massage, complete with soothing scented oils.

Massage allows for self-connection, which is important for individuals without partners who feel the need to give care and a little pampering to themselves.

Whatever your preference, Academy Massage invites you to discover the pleasure of our healing touch.

Vodder Technique in Advanced Lymphatic Drainage Techniques

The lymphatic system is a vital part of the immune system and is comprised of a network of lymphatic vessels that carry a clear fluid called "lymph" directionally toward the heart. As such, it is also an important component of the circulatory system.

During the 1930s, Dr. Emil Vodder pioneered the specialty of medicine called "lymphology." The technique he developed:  Manual Lymph Drainage (MLD) has become the most recognized manual method to assist lymph flow and aid in the drainage of tissues.

Dr. Vodder's MLD technique is a gentle, non-invasive procedure that has a profound yet subtle effect on the body.  This method is a safer option for clients who have undergone post-radiation treatment and those suffering from a traumatic injury. In addition, it also has a relaxing and calming effect on the nervous system. The gentle massage movements follow the direction of lymph flow and produce swift results. MLD has been proven effective both as a stand-alone treatment and in combination with other therapies. Conditions such as lymphedema and certain types of venuous edema, non-infected inflammatory conditions (such as sprains and strains), ulcerations, dermatological conditions, circulatory disturbances, sports injuries, among others, have all benefitted from MLD.

Manual Lymph Drainage may also benefit the immune system. By assisting lymph flow, MLD is thought to bring pathogens more rapidly to the lymph nodes where they can be neutralized.

At Academy Massage we employ the Vodder method of Manual Lymph Drainage. Our therapists are trained and certified. It is another service we provide our valued clients to aid you in maintaining optimum health.  If you are interested in receiving treatment using the Vodder technique, please contact our office to speak to our staff specialist.

Projected Fitness Trends for the New Year

The new year has begun and perhaps one of your resolutions for 2016 is to start a fitness program, either to wear off the Holiday Season excesses or just to improve your overall health and get into better shape. The question you may be asking yourself, however, is: What is the best form of exercise and what are the fitness trends for 2016?

Trends vary from year to year but perhaps it is not surprising to learn that listed as one of the top trends for 2016 is: Wearable Technology. These technological wonders are designed to help monitor your exercise activities and progress and include such tools as fitness trackers, smart watches, heart rate monitors and GPS tracking devices.

As for the various training programs, the highlights for the year include the following:


Bodyweight Training

• These exercises are among the simplest to perform as they require minimal equipment and as such are convenient and affordable and can be done virtually anywhere from home to office. Exercises include push-ups, pull-ups and sit-ups among others.

High-Intensity Interval Training (HIIT)

• This exercise is characterized by short bursts of activity followed by a short break or even complete rest. These workouts can be performed in 30 minutes or less. Examples of a HIIT workout include squats and push-ups.

Strength Training 

• This exercise not only helps to develop muscle but aids in burning calories and also protects bone health and muscle mass. Strength training combines body weight training with aerobic exercise and is a necessary component for any workout program to keep one fit and healthy in body and mind.

Educated and Experiences Fitness Professionals 

• Many people are choosing to avoid the gym and work instead with a fitness professional. The benefits are many as he/she provides guidance in exercise, nutrition, and healthy eating habits that connect the mind and body for total lifestyle changes.

Personal Training

• A personal trainer allows for the necessary one-on-one time that will provide maximum effectiveness of your gym or private workout experience.

Functional Fitness

• A simple workout that includes everyday activities as part of your exercise program, including bending down and walking up the stairs.

Fitness Programs for Older Adults

• As muscle mass decreases with age, this program is important and designed for those over 40 to help keep older adults healthy and active.

Exercise and Weight Loss 

• A program that combines exercise with proper nutrition, a key component to weight-loss programs.

Yoga

• Yoga remains a popular fitness trend as it not only blends together mind, body and spirit, but provides the physical benefit of greater balance, strength, and flexibility through the application of varying postures.

Your friends at Academy Massage want to remind you that whatever fitness trend you decide to follow for 2016, we recommend regular visits with our trained and experienced therapists for massage treatments that will both strengthen and relieve muscles that may be put to strenuous use so that you can enjoy maximum benefit from your exercise program.