about me Penny has been practising massage since 1987 and Herbal Medicine since 1996. She has also taught massage since 1989. Penny's commitment to you is to make a difference to your health and wellbeing.

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Massage and herbal medicine news
Issue: Xmas 2016

This is the Xmas edition and the last for the year.

Topics include:

• The neuroscience of pain
• Massage for eating disorders
• Weight lifting and aerobic exercise to fight dementia
• Xmas gifts

Housekeeping

The clinic will be closed from Thursday 26 January to Sat 28 January inclusive. Also, Sat 4 Feb and Mond 6 Feb.

Massage conference Sept 2016 - Lunar Park

It  was the 50th anniversary of our Association of Massage Therapists. The two highlights were talks by Dr Sasha Stanton on the neuroscience of pain and Dr Sarah Fogarty on the benefits of massage used in clients with eating disorders.

Dr Sasha Stanton

'What is in between your ears is more important than the pain'.

How is it that two clients can have scans where there is bone on bone in the knees, or disc/facet joint pathology in their spine and one has no pain and the other loads of pain?  

Her research suggests that expectancy,anxiety,stress and fear play a major role in the level of pain we feel.

We expect drugs to relieve pain. In one experiment recruits were told they were to be pricked but given no opiate - however they were given an opiate. Their perceived levels of pain went up! There was a negative expectancy. 

In chronic osteoarthritis central sensitisation is not working properly. And the volume of pain perceived is much higher than it really is. 

Doing 3X 1 hour physio sessions a week, knee pain was reduced in 85% of participants, whilst there was complete elimination of pain in 33% of people.

So what are the implications of these findings? 

• Pain is not indicative of tissue damage
• How your brain codes your body is important to explaining your level of pain
• Acknowledge the scans but do not focus on them.
• A need to increase movement, however small, so that the range of motion is increased in the joint and also support to decrease anxiety around the pain.

Dr Sarah Fogarty

Eating disorders are anorexia and bulimia. These clients' self worth depends entirely on how they perceive their body image. 

Massage can:

• decrease depression,anxiety and stress
• decrease levels of body dissatisfaction and the drive for perfectionism
• help digestion, decrease fight/flight mechanisms, calm the body
• decrease high cortisol levels and catecholamine hormone - high levels cause low seratonin, increased heart rate and B.P.,stress and anxiety.M

A fabulous quote' If only your eyes saw souls and not bodies, how very different our ideals of beauty would be'.

High Intensity weight lifting and vigorous aerobic exercise to fight dementia

Professor Singh from Sydney University has led a study on the subject. She  has found that to keep the  brain sharp in the 60-80 year old bracket, when mild cognitive impairment can begin, weights and aerobic work are beneficial. Benefits were seen in ability to plan, organise and devise strategies after doing 6 months of weight training.Improvements were still seen 12 months after the study was completed. Recommendations to come out of this were:

• High intensity weight lifting 2X a week or 3 days of moderate intensity aerobic exercises.
• Workouts need to be a challenge. You beed tio be huffing and puffing. When a weight no longer feels heavy you need to increase it. 

Xmas Gifts

Fisiocrem - This is a new all natural cream for muscular aches and pains. It contains Arnica, Calendula, Hypericum and T-Tree.

$16.95

Back rest/roll - Great for those long car or plane trips. Very portable. $28'

Massage oils - I make up 100mL bottles of massage oil plus aromatherapy oils. Easy to take on holidays, great aroma. $8

Quote of the quarter  - 'To be upset over what you don't have is to waste what you do have - Ken Keyes' 

I hope you have a very enjoyable and restful Xmas and New Year whatever you do.

Kind Regards

Penny Wade

Massage Therapist and herbalist

02 9436 0306