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 Massage for Arthritis [continued from page 1] The research, conducted by the Touch Research Institute (TRI) of the University of Miami School of Medicine, examined 22 adults aged 20 to 65 years with wrist and/or hand arthritis. Participants were randomly assigned to either a massage therapy or a standard treatment control group. The massage therapy group received massage from a therapist on the affected area once a week for a four-week period, and also conducted self-massage at home daily. The control group received no massage, but was taught self-massage at the end of the study. Researchers found that the massage therapy group had lower anxiety scores and depressed mood scores after the first and last sessions, and by the end of the study reported less pain and greater grip strength. The massage therapy group showed greater improvement than the standard treatment control group on all measures. "While massage therapy has decreased pain in several pain syndromes, this is the first report of pain reduction in hand arthritis following massage therapy," says Tiffany Field, PhD, director of the TRI. "The results of this study are very encouraging for the application of massage therapy as a complementary alternative treatment for hand arthritis." Arthritis is a systemic inflammatory disease that causes persistent joint pain and can affect people of all ages and activity levels. While this pain can appear in any joint in the body, it often affects the small joints of the hands. Hand strength in patients with arthritis is generally 75 percent lower than in healthy patients. Because many daily activities, such as opening doors or food containers and lifting and carrying items, require considerable hand strength, the pain caused by arthritis can lead to significant limitations on activity. But as this research indicates, massage is one of many ways that arthritis sufferers can reduce their pain and improve their quality of life. From the American Massage Therapy Association E-Touch Newsletter, Vol. 8, No. 4, April 2007  Massage for Cancer Patients [continued from page 1] According to lead author Wolf Mehling, MD, 40 percent of people with cancer are treated with complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) therapies. Although previous studies of these therapies have shown measurable benefits, there have been no conclusive results. This study was a randomized controlled clinical trial that compared post-operative symptoms of pain, nausea and mood in two groups of hospitalized patients in the first three days after cancer-related surgery. One group had a combination of massage and acupuncture in addition to the usual treatment by medication, and the other group had medication alone. The participants in the CAM group received Swedish massage and an acupressure-type foot massage for 10 to 30 minutes, depending on their needs and condition. Acupuncture was used to treat pain, nausea and anxiety. During the study, patients used an 11-point scale to rate the severity of current pain and of pain during the preceding 24 hours. The results showed a greater decrease in both pain and depressive mood in the group that received massage and acupuncture therapy along with the usual medication. “We know that integration of these therapies has shown short-term benefit on psychological well-being, but there has not been strong evidence to support it until now,” says Mehling. “This is a significant finding because there are implications for further study to see if these therapies should be offered to hospitalized patients for symptom management.” Funding for this study was provided by the Mount Zion Health Fund, San Francisco. Source: UCSF News Services. |
 Chronic Pain [continued from page1] The benefits of those drugs still outweigh the risks for most people, particularly when they're used as directed. But research suggests that several generally safer options offer significant pain relief compared with either standard therapy or a control, such as sham acupuncture. None of the options listed here is clearly superior overall. The strongest predictor of how you'll respond may simply be whether you have confidence in the treatment. If one or two methods do not work, consider a multifaceted approach, which may include medication. Acupuncture. This treatment relieves pain and boosts function in osteoarthritic knees, a large clinical trial funded by the government has found. Other trials show that acupuncture can ease chronic back pain. In theory the needles work mainly by simulating the release of pain-cutting endorphins. Counseling/relaxation. A type of therapy called congnitive-behavioral can help you change negative attitudes about pain that can worsen the suffering and eliminate self-defeating behaviors that needlessly limit your activity. Meditation and other relaxation methods seem to work by easing muscle-tightening stress that contributes to pain. Biofeedback can teach you to reduce your negative reactions to the pain. Exercise. Supervised, individualized stretching and strengthening regimens can relieve chronic low-back pain better than standardized group exercise programs. Yoga, which combines exercise, stretching and relaxation, may also help. Massage. Various massage techniques stimulate the body's pressure receptors, which can eclipse the typically weaker pain receptors. They increase blood flood flow, which may speed healing, and they help reduce anxiety and relax the muscles. A Consumer Reports survey of some 34,000 readers, published in August of 2005, indicated that deep-tissue massage may be particularly effective. Some 39 percent of the back pain sufferers who tried that method reported substantial relief, versus 33 percent who underwent physical therapy and 26 percent treated with prescription drugs. Spinal Manipulation. In a recent analysis from the non-profit Rand Corp. and other groups, involving 39 clinical trials, chiropractic treatments for chronic back pain seemed to work about as well as prescription painkillers. [from Consumer Reports Magazine] drugwise: Acetaminophen Alert Overdoses of acetaminophen (Panadol, Tylenol) are the leading cause of acute liver failure in the U.S., according to a multicenter study in the in the December 2005 issue of Hepatology. Just doubling the maximum adult dosage for a few days can be toxic, even deadly. And many people consume extra acetaminophen unknowingly. Nearly half the overdoses in this study were accidental, often occurring when people combined over-the-counter and prescription drugs containing acetaminophen, says its lead author, Anne Larson, M.D. There are more than 600 such medications, including pain relievers, cough suppressants and cold remedies. To reduce your risk of accidental overdose: Read drug labels carefully. Prescription labels may list acetaminophen by its chemical name, acetyl-para-aminophenol (APAP). Don't use more than one acetaminophen product at a time. Follow directions. Don't exceed the labeled maximum dosage, and avoid this drug if you drink heavily or have liver disease. Know the signs. See your doctor promptly if you develop signs of liver disease: vomiting, nausea, fatigue, right upper-abdominal pain, yellowish eyes, dark urine or pale stools. |
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