Carla's Healing TouchSpring 2015

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What Massage Can Do For YouBeyond Pain Relief, Massage is Valuable for Preventive CareKarrie Osborn

Massage helps you maintain a healthy body.

"For he whohas health hashope; and hewho has hope,haseverything."-Owen Arthur

Office Hours and Contact

Carla Fernandez Della RosaGould's Day Spa & Salon901-767-3888Mon. 12pm - 7pmTue. - Fri. 8am - 3pmcarlafernandez.massagetherapy.com

In this Issue

What Massage Can Do For YouFootprints for HealthFoods to Boost Your Mood

This article first appeared in the Summer 2013 issueofBody Sense.

Whether it is an aching back, recoveryfrom an injury, a case of carpal tunnelsyndrome, or a host of other debilitatingphysiological conditions, there's nodoubt massage and bodywork works torelieve pain. But once your therapist hashelped you tackle your pain, do you quitcalling? When the pain is gone, are yougone, too?

Massage therapy is highly effective forpain relief, but it is an amazingpreventive therapy as well. Massage helpsbuild and maintain a healthy body (andmind), it combats stress, and it works to

keep the immune system strong. Inshort, massage can keep on working foryou, even after the pain is gone.

MASSAGE FOR WELLNESSIf it's been a while since you bookedyour last massage--because your pain isno longer an issue or your injury is fullyrehabbed--you might want to considermassage for preventive care.

Massage can play an important role in agood health-care regimen. Just as youeat healthily, exercise regularly, and takeyour vitamins to ward off illness andmaintain a fit body, you should considermaking frequent massage a part of yourwellness lifestyle.

According to Benny Vaughn, a sportsmassage expert in Fort Worth, Texas,one of the benefits of consistent andregular massage therapy is betterflexibility. "This happens becauseregular and structured touch stimulusenhances the nervous system's sensoryand spatial processing capacity," he says."That is, the person becomes moreaware of her body's movement in spaceand becomes more aware of tightness or

pain long before it reaches a criticalpoint of mechanical dysfunction."

As a preventive measure, frequentmassage puts you more in tune with yourbody. "The consistency of massagetherapy over time creates a cumulativestress-reduction effect," Vaughn says.

Regular massage helps reduce stress and improve your quality of life.

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"The person becomes acutely aware ofstress within her body long before it cancreate stress-driven damage."

And the more massage you receive, themore benefits you reap. "Massagetherapists know that people who getmassage regularly demonstrate greaterimprovement and notice a reduction inpain and muscular tension, as well as animprovement in posture," says AnneWilliams, author ofMassage Mastery: From Student to Professional(Lippincott Williams Wilkins, 2012).

"People regularly make a commitmentto fitness," Williams says. "Peopleregularly make a commitment tochanging their diet. The differencethey'd experience if they regularly madea commitment to massage ismind-blowing."

STRESS IS A KILLERStress is more than just a word we throwaround to describe the nature of ourhectic day. Today, we understand thatstress kills.

According to the Benson-HenryInstitute for Mind Body Medicine,60-90 percent of all US medical visitsare for stress-related disorders. Chronicpain, headaches, heart disease,hypertension, and ulcers can all bewrought from stress. Many would arguethat the best benefit of massage is itsability to reduce the stress in our lives.

From the perspective of daily living,think about the stress you felt at today'smeeting--now it's hiding in your neck.Tomorrow that can turn into stiffnessand eventually begin to affect other partsof your body. If you see your massagetherapist for your regular session thisweek, the chances are good you won'treach the tipping point. Think ofmassage and bodywork as a way torebalance your body.

Noted researcher Tiffany Field and hercolleagues from the Touch ResearchInstitute at the University of MiamiSchool of Medicine report that massagecauses positive biological changes whenit comes to stress. Through the course ofmore than 20 studies, these scientistsfound that massage decreases cortisol (astress-derived hormone that negativelyaffects immune function and kills ourimmune cells) and increases dopamine

and serotonin (the neurotransmittersmost associated with emotionalwell-being).

Add to this the research that showsmassage can lower your heart rate anddecrease your blood pressure, and youhave a mighty effective,nonpharmacological, stress-fightingtool that's about as natural as natural canget.

A ONE-HOUR VACATION AND SOMUCH MOREYou may no longer need to rehab thatknee or work the scar tissue from yoursurgery, but don't forget abouteverything else massage can do for you.Massage is the entire package, helping toheal body, mind, and spirit. Think of itas a one-hour vacation with amazingreturn on investment.

Whether it be maintaining joint

flexibility, managing blood pressure, orenhancing immunity, massage works.From repair to relief and from recoveryto relaxation, massage is a magnificentpiece of natural medicine you shouldalways have as part of your health-careroutine.

Karrie Osborn is senior editor for Body Sense.Contact her at karrie@abmp.com.

Treat your feet, and body, to reflexology.

Footprints for Health

Foods to Boost Your Mood

You walk on them all day, but did youknow your feet do more than carry youfrom one place to the next? They alsohave a unique connection to balancedhealth and well-being. In a form ofbodywork known as reflexology, the feetare said to contain reflex areas thatmirror and connect to all parts of thebody--and pressure on these points canactually influence your state of health.

Reflexology is viewed primarily as a stressreduction or relaxation technique.Using the thumb, finger, and hand,gentle pressure is applied to reflex areasof the feet in order to decrease stressand bring the body into equilibrium.

Although simplistic in application, theeffects of the treatment can beprofound. Through activation of nervereceptors in the hands and feet, newmessages flood into the body system,changing its tempo and tone. In essence,the foot or hand becomes a conduit forsharing information throughout thebody. Function in the connecting area is

improved and, at the same time, thebody experiences overall relaxation andbenefits to the circulation andelimination systems. When the body'ssystems are at optimal functioning,self-healing is enhanced.

Scientific studies have documented thebenefits of reflexology for a variety ofailments, ranging from reduction ofpain, improvement in circulation, andrelease of tension, to improvedeffectiveness of medication, as well asbenefits for diabetes and headaches.

In this sense, reflexology is not amedical treatment for specific symptomsor diseases, but rather a way to facilitatethe body's inherent healing power.

Don't let your diet get you down. Ifyou're looking for a quick pick-me-upthat will boost your mood but go easy onyour calorie count, consider these"superfoods" recommended by MehmetOz, MD, vice-chair and professor ofsurgery at Columbia University andcontributor to Oprah.com.

Kefir MilkTry it if: you're looking to calm down.Made by fermenting more traditionalmilk with kefir grains, this drink is highin the amino acid tryptophan, whichproduces a relaxing effect on thenervous system. As a bonus, the drinkalso contains a healthy amount of Bvitamins.

AsparagusTry it if: you're feeling low.This vegetable is loaded with folic acid,

which is good news for your mood, aslow levels of the vitamin have been tiedto depression. In fact, one 5.3-ounceserving contains 60 percent of yourrecommended daily folic acid allowance.Plus, asparagus is low in calories andcontains no fat or cholesterol, so itwon't ruin your diet.

OrangesTry it if: you're stressed out.Why? Vitamin C. This powerhousenutrient can help support your immunesystem, skin, and more, but itsstress-fighting powers come from itseffect on your blood pressure. Studieshave shown that consuming 500milligrams of vitamin C daily candramatically lower cardiovascular andstroke risk. One orange contains about80 milligrams.

"Gardening isthe mosttherapeutic anddefiant act youcan do,especially in theinner city. Plus,you getstrawberries."-Ron Finley

Text Neck and Desktop NeckBy Erik Dalton

"The weight seen by the spine dramatically increases whenflexing the head forward at varying degrees." (Rene Cailliet,MD)

With so many people spending hours daily peering down atdigital devices, wear and tear on joints and connectivetissues slowly whittles away at our uprightness.

The good news is today's bodyworkers and correctiveexercise therapists are on the front line against thisepidemic. The bad news is clients often wait too long to seekhelp, allowing time for the brain to map their aberrant forwardhead postures (FHP) as normal.

Both prevention and correction rely on a basic understandingof the biomechanical nuances associated with texting andprolonged desktopcomputer viewing.

Carla Fernandez Della Rosa - LMT

Carla Fernandez Della Rosa

1203 Ridgeway Rd. - Gould's Park PlaceMemphis, TN 38119