What I want to see.
I want to see a better triage process for people seeking health care needs. I want to see an enlightenment and better understanding of alternative and complimentary therapies including diet/nutrition, exercise, etc. I want to see more accurate referrals. Better communication between practitioners and more accessible patient notes and history of treatments and medicines used in order to narrow the chances of prescribing mistakes. A more holistic consideration and application of the causes and root sources of disease. An integrated mind-body approach. Healthier practitioners. A slower pace of patient intake and historical inquiry. Openness to the possibility of how healing may occur. I want the erasure of viewing disease as something to combat and disassociate from to accepting it as a reality and using it as a catalyst to move forward in various human aspects. I want to see people grow and become empowered by their experience of illness, trauma, etc.

The following is a compilation of data gathered by the American Massage Therapy Association® (AMTA®) from U.S. government statistics, surveys of consumers and massage therapists and recent clinical studies on the efficacy of massage.

Who Gets Massage, Where and Why?

According to the 2010 AMTA consumer survey, an average of 18 percent of adult Americans received at least one massage between July 2009 and July 2010, and an average of 28 percent of adult Americans received a massage in the previous five years.6
In July 2010, 25 percent of women and 10 percent of men reported having a massage in the past twelve months.4
Spas are where most people continue to receive massage, with 24 percent of those surveyed in July 2009 saying they had their last massage at a spa.4

While the use of massage decreased in 2010, people still recognize it as an important element in overall health and wellness. 4

Twenty-nine (29) percent of adult Americans who had a massage between July 2009 and July 2010 received it for medical or health reasons.
Of those that have ever had a massage, fifty-four (54) percent say they’ve used massage therapy at least one time for pain relief.
Of the people who had at least one massage in the last five years, 31 percent reported they did so for health conditions such as pain management, injury rehabilitation, migraine control, or overall wellness.
Eighty-six (86) percent agree that massage can be effective in reducing pain.
Eighty-five (85) percent agree that massage can be beneficial to health and wellness.

Consumers are increasingly seeking massage for stress reduction and relaxation.

In July 2010, 40 percent of adult Americans said they had at least one massage in the last five years to reduce stress or relax—up from 22 percent reported in 2007.

Massage and Healthcare
Healthcare providers promoted the benefits of massage to their patients slightly less in 2010.

In July 2010, over thirty-nine million American adults (16 percent) had discussed massage therapy with their doctors or health care providers, compared to 18 percent in 2009.4
Of those 16 percent, 31 percent of their health care providers strongly recommended massage therapy, compared to 35 percent in 2009. While physicians led the way in recommending massage (50 percent vs. 55 percent in 2009), chiropractors (35 percent vs. 48 percent in 2009) and physical therapists (42 percent vs. 40 percent in 2008) also recommended massage therapy when their patients discussed it with them.4
Nearly three quarters of massage therapists (73 percent) indicate they receive referrals from health care professionals, averaging 1.5 referrals per month.

Massage therapists and consumers favor integration of massage into healthcare.

More than half of adult Americans (58 percent) would like to see their insurance cover massage therapy.4
The vast majority of massage therapists (96 percent) believe massage therapy should be considered part of the health care field.5

Massage Therapy Research

The therapeutic benefits of massage continue to be researched and studied. Recent research has shown the effectiveness of massage for the following conditions:

Cancer-related fatigue.11
Low back pain.12
Osteoarthritis of the knee.13
Reducing post-operative pain.14
Boosting the body’s immune system functioning.15
Decreasing the symptoms of carpal tunnel syndrome.16
Lowering blood pressure.17
Reducing headache frequency.18
Easing alcohol withdrawal symptoms.19
Decreasing pain in cancer patients.20

The American Massage Therapy Association® (AMTA®) is the largest non-profit, professional association serving more than 56,000 massage therapists, massage students and massage schools. The association is directed by volunteer leadership and fosters ongoing, direct member-involvement through its 51 chapters. AMTA works to advance the profession through ethics and standards, the promotion of fair and consistent licensing of massage therapists in all states, and public education on the benefits of massage.

In my practice, MedicinEvolution, I’ve heard clients say some of the most interesting things after experiencing Rolf Structural Integration.  I want to share some of what I can recall with you.
•    Since the session the world has been more vivid, my senses seemed to be more acute.  That goes for every sense, my hearing, sight, smell, etc.  I notice things I didn’t before although they’ve always been right in front of me.
•    For some reason I have access to a wider range of vocabulary.
•    I felt a sense of spirituality.  I became Muslim.
•    This work has will help develop your intuition.
•    I’m an athlete, I know my foot, but I’ve never been able to feel my foot like this before.  The awareness that it has brought, amazing!
•    I’m much more aware of my body.
•    Before the work I used to live in the attic (pointing to her head).  Now I feel like I’ve come down to live in the house (pointing to her body).
•    I wanted to get married, and now I’m engaged.
•    His confidence is better.
•    She’s happier!
•    That night after the 6th session all of my symptoms the night of the car accident returned i.e., vomitting, back pain, headache, etc. just like they were.  By the time I woke in the morning they were gone.  My back pain is gone.
•    Don’t take your hand off my back, I can feel the pain leaving through your hand.  Keep it right where it is.  (A very good friend during his bout with cancer, I miss you)
•    My asthma went away.
•    I totally forgot that I wore leg braces.  That was 20 something years ago, and right now I am recalling the Dr. and his exact address.  That’s weird.  (While reestablishing balance in his lower legs)
•    Emotions could no longer anchor themselves to flesh, they’d come and go.
•    I grew an inch.
•    I feel stronger.
•    I feel younger.
•    I feel skinnier.
•    My old pants fit me again.
•    What I’ve learned from Structural Integration is that I can prevent my own future ailments.
•    I don’t get sick like I used to, I would’ve expected to get sick this winter.
•    I’ve experienced a new level of health and fitness.
•    I consider it a part of my training (as a triathlete).
•    I’ve been to a lot of reputable people but no one ( like a Structural Integration practitioner) waits for the body to move, I feel like this does something.
•    I can sleep better.
•    I didn’t feel a thing after the ten sessions.  After returning from a 200 mile hike on the Pacific Coast Trail I don’t think I would’ve made it if I didn’t go through this work.
•    I was shy, the uprightness that I feel makes me feel better about myself.
•    After only a few sessions I could already feel the results not only in the way my back felt but my posture, breathing and the way I was moving. I knew that the underlying postural imbalances were beginning to correct themselves.

If you read through the literature of alternative medicine you can find interesting things like this.  What I love about the Rolf work is that its focus is to release, clarify, define, communicate, support, and organize the physical body.  As a result, the purity of the physical work can sometimes lead to a sort of veil being removed between different aspects of one’s being, the direct correlation, then, becomes clear.  Here are some physical goals during the ten session process of Rolf Structural Integration:
•    Bringing length to the front of the body.
•    Stacking major segments more appropriately.
•    Increasing the vital capacity (breath).
•    Helping the (3) foot arches to function properly.
•    Balancing knees over ankles.
•    Lengthening the back and supporting the spine by restoring correct position of muscles and soft tissue.
•    To win back “sides” of the body
•    Coaxing length in inner legs and revitalizing the pelvic floor.
•    Awakening deep structures and relating anatomy superficial and deep.
•    Freeing the sacrum from the pelvis and restoring it as part of the spine.
•    Horizontalizing the pelvis (the “seat of the soul” as Dr. Rolf described it).
•    Enabling micro-movements to the bones of the head and unifying the spine and all its complexities.
•    Integrating movement of the limbs into the body and empowering a broader more unified range of motion.
•    Establishing optimal joint function, nervous system health, organ space, structure and function, function and structure, three-dimensional body.

In a series of videos he addresses the very basics where most others fail – in developing an UNDERSTANDING of how the body works. Homeopathy is not a theory but a method of healing based on principles of the body’s mechanisms for disease and healing.

Effectiveness (in anything) lies in how well both practitioners and clients comprehend, understand, and trust process.

MedicinEvolution can help you with you homeopathy needs. Please contact us so we can help you.