Many people view getting a massage as a luxury that allows them to relax and unwind from the stresses of life. Some also see the benefits massages can give to relieve sore muscles and help them feel at ease. However, these aren’t the only benefits of going for a massage. There are others many people don’t recognize. Learn more about some of these advantages so you can see why you should schedule yourself a massage and give it a try.

Lowers Blood Pressure

It’s easy to simply write off your reduced blood pressure as the stress relief you feel after you get a massage. While this is partially true, it’s not the only reason. Massages themselves actually work to promote good blood circulation, particularly the areas worked on. This can help lower your blood pressure as a result. When you have lower blood pressure, you can reduce your risks of heart attack, stroke and other heart-related conditions. It may even help you stop taking medication to reduce your blood pressure, which can have many benefits of its own.

Reduce Anxiety, Depression and Fatigue

Numerous people suffer from some form of anxiety and depression. Others may experience bouts of fatigue or may even constantly feel tired. However, regular exercise can often help with all of these problems. Unfortunately, not everyone has the time or the desire to exercise. The good news is you can get many of the same results if you go for a massage on a regular basis. Loosening the tension in your muscles can help you feel more relaxed, which can have a positive effect on your mental health as well. You will sleep better and may find you don’t feel as down as often.

Improve Your Posture

You probably had grownups telling you to stand up or sit up straight at some point during your childhood. While it may seem like an insignificant thing, having good posture can have an impact on many aspects of your life, including whether you suffer from back pain. One of the causes of poor posture, or at least one of the contributing factors, is poor muscle tone in the back, negatively impacting the amount of support your spine has. Getting regular massages can help strengthen these muscles and encourage better posture, potentially eliminating your back pain and certain other issues you may suffer from.

Strengthen Your Immune System

Many factors can affect how strong your immune system is. However, few people realize massages can actually help strengthen your immune system so you get sick less often and the duration and severity of any illnesses you do catch are reduced. This is because your stress levels can actually affect your immune system. If you are too stressed, you may not eat as well and likely aren’t getting the amount of exercise you should. When you get a massage, you will feel that stress melt away and you will feel better overall, allowing your body to better fight off illnesses.

The US Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services believes that medicaid should be providing more access to non-drug pain management such as rehabilitative, physical therapy, and preventive services. This stems from the fight against opioid misuse that has been plaguing the country more and more recently.

Tuesday, March 05, 2019

Could states be doing more to increase access to nonopioid and nonpharmacological approaches to management of chronic pain under Medicaid? The US Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) thinks so, and has issued guidance that outlines options and shares examples of some states’ promising initiatives. The approaches are largely consistent with APTA’s #ChoosePT opioid awareness campaign, which emphasizes the importance of patient access and choice in the treatment of pain.

The CMS information bulletin released in late February is anchored in the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) guidelines for prescribing opioids for chronic pain, published in 2016. Those guidelines, which recommend nonopioid approaches including physical therapy as the preferred first-line treatment for noncancer chronic pain, have been increasingly acknowledged and adopted by state health care entities, and early reports are positive, according to CMS. The new CMS document is designed to help states understand possible avenues for incorporating programs that help support the CDC guidelines.

In outlining possibilities that could allow for the use of nonpharmacological approaches to chronic pain, CMS offers states a wide palette of mandatory and optional benefits, from more effective use of inpatient, outpatient, and health center services to expanded coverage for rehabilitative, physical therapy, and preventive services. The bulletin also offers home health benefits, special “demonstration” projects, and potential waivers as ways states could take creative steps to strengthen their nondrug offerings.

CMS also offers examples of states that have changed or extended their Medicaid coverage options, including Oregon, which expanded its list of Medicaid-covered services for uncomplicated back and neck pain to include physical therapy, cognitive behavioral therapy, and other services; and California, where a 14-county Medicaid program implemented an intensive prescriber education program on nonopioid options for pain management.

APTA has been engaged in the fight against opioid misuse in multiple ways. In addition to its flagship #ChoosePT opioid awareness campaign, the association has produced a white paper on reducing opioid use and contributed to the National Quality Partners Playbook on Opioid Stewardship. On the advocacy front, APTA continues to meet with legislators and agency representatives to address the opioid crisis, and comments on a range of topics, including a federal Pain Management Best Practices Inter-Agency Task Force draft report. Additionally, a recent formal partnership between APTA and the Department of Veterans Affairs includes collaboration to promote veterans’ access to nopharmacologic approaches to pain management.

“Providers and beneficiaries need access to effective therapy for chronic pain,” CMS writes. “A multidisciplinary approach…that incorporates nonopioid pharmacologic and nonpharmacologic therapies, well-communicated treatment goals and expectations, and a careful consideration of the benefits and risks of available treatment options is the most appropriate approach for most patients and has the potential to lead to more appropriate prescribing of opioids.”

Source: http://www.apta.org/PTinMotion/News/2019/03/05/CMSMedicaidPain/

Muscle aches are a common, often times unexplained medical issue that individuals face. There are many factors that play into your muscles being sore. They extend through medical issues, trauma, over-use and more. This article breaks down the causes of muscle aches as well as information to speed up the healing process.

Please accept our privacy terms

We use cookies and similar technologies to improve your browsing experience, personalize content and offers, show targeted ads, analyze traffic, and better understand you. We may share your information with third-party partners for marketing purposes. To learn more and make choices about data use, visit our Advertising Policy and Privacy Policy. By clicking “Accept and Continue” below, (1) you consent to these activities unless and until you withdraw your consent using our rights request form, and (2) you consent to allow your data to be transferred, processed, and stored in the United States.

Source: https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/322869.php

Not only are your deltoid muscles in charge of lifting your arms and giving your shoulders its range of motion, it’s one of the most common areas we experience pain post-workout or activity. Symptoms vary from person to person, and remedies depend on the type of injury or strain you are experiencing. If you are experiencing muscle pain, contact us today on how we can help you!

This page was printed from: https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/322031.php

Visit www.medicalnewstoday.com for medical news and health news headlines posted throughout the day, every day.

---

2018 Healthline Media UK Ltd. All rights reserved. MNT is the registered trade mark of Healthline Media. Any medical information published on this website is not intended as a substitute for informed medical advice and you should not take any action before consulting with a healthcare professional.

Source: https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/322031.php

Everyone it seems needs to have a good binge watching TV session every once and a while. It helps us de-stress, unwind, relax, and clear our heads, as well as being a form of entertainment. This process though, may not be always good for us as researchers are finding out. Being a couch potato may come with risks that exercise can’t reverse:

Tuesday, April 03, 2018

Dedicated binge-watchers take note: a new study has found that in addition to its link to other well-established negative health effects, regular long periods of television viewing can also increase risk for venous thromboembolism (VTE)—and it’s a risk that isn’t dramatically offset by increased levels of physical activity (PA).

The study tracked the self-reported television viewing and PA habits of 15,792 participants aged 45-64 over a series of surveys that began in 1987-1989, with follow-ups every 3 years after that, through 2011. Participants were part of the Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities (ARIC) research initiative administered in Washington County, Maryland; Forsyth County, North Carolina; Jackson, Mississippi; and suburbs of Minneapolis. Researchers excluded participants who reported baseline VTE or anticoagulant use.

Participants were asked to rate their television viewing habits during leisure time as “never,” “seldom,” “sometimes,” “often,” or “very often” at baseline, visit 3 (1993-1995), and visit 5 (2009-2011). Researchers also tracked estimates of physical activity using the Baecke physical activity questionnaire, which asks respondents to estimate the duration and intensity of PA during the previous year. Demographic variables and body mass index (BMI) also were recorded. Results were published in The Journal of Thrombosis and Thrombolysis (abstract only available for free).

For purposes of the study, researchers divided PA responses into 3 levels based on American Heart Association recommendations: “recommended” (75 or more minutes per week of vigorous intensity PA or 150 or more minutes of a combination of moderate and vigorous intensity PA), “intermediate” (up to 74 minutes per week of vigorous intensity PA or up to 149 minutes per week of a combination of moderate and vigorous intensity PA), and “poor” (no reported vigorous or moderate PA). They also reduced television-viewing categories from 5 to 4 after finding that no participant reported “never” watching television. Here’s what they found:

• Among all participants, 18.6% reported watching television “seldom,” 46.8% reported watching “sometimes,” 26.5% reported watching “often,” and 8.1% reported watching “very often.”
• Age, sex, and race-adjusted models showed a positive dose-response correlation between frequency of television viewing and VTE incidence (a total of 691 events during the study period), with participants who watched television very often having a 1.71 times higher risk of VTE than those reporting “seldom” watching television.
• The relationship of VTE risk to television viewing remained in place despite levels of PA. Participants who reported “recommended” levels of PA and watching television “very often” were found to have a 1.8 times greater risk of VTE than the seldom-watch group—a risk rating not much different from the 2.07 times increased risk associated with the group that reported watching television very often and having no PA.
• BMI did play a role. Obese individuals who reported watching television “very often” were found to have a 3.7 times higher risk of VTE than normal-weight individuals who reported watching television “seldom.” However, authors note that higher BMI did not explain the associations observed between television viewing and PA.

The relationship between sedentary behavior and poorer health may be well-known, but authors of this study believe they’ve added a new dynamic—the inability of PA to counteract the risk for VTE caused by prolonged sitting.

“These results suggest that sedentary behavior is not just the opposite issue from [PA],” authors write. While they acknowledge that individuals who engaged in more PA did lower their risk of VTE independent of television viewing frequency, the researchers also point out that “even individuals who met the…recommended level of [PA], when they viewed TV very often, had an increased risk of VTE compared with those who met the recommended level and seldom watched TV.”

The results echo findings in a study from 2017 that concluded that risk of a mobility disability increased relative to television-viewing time, regardless of hours spent in PA.

[Editor’s note: for more information on the role of the physical therapist in the treatment of individuals diagnosed with VTE, check out this clinical practice guideline available at PTNow.]

Research-related stories featured in PT in Motion News are intended to highlight a topic of interest only and do not constitute an endorsement by APTA. For synthesized research and evidence-based practice information, visit the association’s PTNow website.

Source: http://www.apta.org/PTinMotion/News/2018/04/03/VTERiskTV/