healthbriefs
Massage Relieves Chronic Back Pain R
esearchers from Indiana University- Purdue University, in Indianapolis, set
out to fi nd out if massage therapy—typically an out-of-pocket expense not covered under most insurance plans—can provide effective treatment for individuals suffering with chronic back pain. The study followed 76 primary care
patients with chronic back pain for 24 weeks. The researchers measured pain, disability and quality of life at the beginning of the study, after 12 weeks and again after 24 weeks of massage therapy. Each patient was referred to a licensed massage therapist for 10 no-cost sessions in a real-world environment during the initial 12 weeks.
More than half of the patients that completed the core study reported clinically meaningful improvements for physical and mental measures. For bodily pain, 40 percent were clinically improved. Older adults and Baby Boomers reported the highest percentage of changes. Plus, the study found that sufferers that avoided taking painkillers were twice as likely to experience reduced pain than those using opioids.
Natural Sounds Soothe the Brain
Sussex University researchers in the UK tested the brain activity of 17 healthy subjects as they listened to a series of soundscapes from either natural or artifi cial environments. Brain scans and questionnaires found that natural sounds led to relaxation and positive feedback, while artifi cial sounds activated stress and anxiety-related brain activity.
“You should sit in meditation for 20 minutes every day — unless you’re too busy. Then you should sit for an hour.”
~ Zen Proverb, author unknown
Meditating Raises Spirits More than a Vacation S
cientists from the University of California at San Francisco, and
Harvard Medical School, in Boston, tested the effect of vacations and meditation on the genes of 64 women between the ages of 30 and 60 that were novice meditators. They all spent six days at the same resort in California. Half participated in a meditation program that included yoga, self-refl ection exercises and mantra meditation; the other half did not engage in onsite meditation. The researchers also studied a group of 30 experienced meditators already participating in the resort’s meditation program.
Blood sample tests and surveys from all 94 women were conducted at intervals: once right before their stay, once right after, a third one month post-vacation and then 10 months after the trip. All the women displayed signifi cant changes to their molecular network pattern after the six days, with the most substantial genetic changes related to immune function and stress response. One month after the resort experience, all groups continued to display improvements. However, the novice meditators showed fewer symptoms of depression and stress for a signifi cantly longer period than the women not participating in the meditation exercise.
12 Central Florida natural awakenings
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