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Massage News - April 2017

Massage News - April 2017

Foam Roller work can change the pressure pain threshold of the Ipsilateral and Contralateral Muscle Groups

Foam rolling is a popular intervention used by allied health professionals and the general population. Current research suggests that foam rolling may have an effect on the ipsilateral antagonist muscle group and produce a cross-over effect in the muscles of the contralateral limb. A new study from Canada examined the acute effects of foam rolling to the left quadriceps on ipsilateral antagonist hamstrings and contralateral quadriceps muscle group pressure pain threshold (PPT). This research was published in Journal of Sport and Rehabilitation.

Twenty-one healthy adults (age= 27.52 ± 8.9 years) participated using a video-guided foam roll intervention on the left quadriceps musculature.

The results showed a significant difference between pre-test to post-test measures for the ipsilateral hamstrings and contralateral quadriceps suggesting an increase in PPT.These findings suggest that foam rolling of the quadriceps musculature may have an acute effect on the PPT of the ipsilateral hamstrings and contralateral quadriceps muscles.

This study also follows a past study which found that foam rolling on plantar flexor muscles of one side of the limb can have an effetc in the PPT on the contralateral limb, suggesting that other mechanisms such as a central pain-modulatory system play a role in mediation of perceived pain following foam rolling.

Clinicians should consider these results to be exploratory and future investigations examining this intervention on PPT is warranted.

How To Cure Evidence B(i)ased Manual Therapy

Chris Worsfold, a physiotherapist from the UK, recently wrote a blog article on his journey as an evidence-based therapits. As we see the rise in this Evidence-based sceptical therapist, Chris reminded us that client is the centre of manual therapy.Worth a read here http://www.chrisworsfold.com/how-to-cure-evidence-biased-physiotherapy/

His final words are:"Oh! The day of the clinical guru has long since passed, ’tis dead and buried – and some stamp on their graves with glee – for now we worship on our knees at the altar of ‘the evidence’: WiFi’d up and stoned on meta-analyses, we do a clever dance each day. But in reality healthcare remains deeply disconnected from it’s subject and I'm not convinced we are really in a better place than we ever were."

Massage, a complementary therapy effectively promoting the health and well-being of older people in residential care settings

Globally, the proportion of people over 65 years is rapidly rising. Increased longevity means older people may experience a rise in physiological and psychological health problems. These issues potentially place an increased demand for quality long-term care for the older person. Complementary approaches such as massage appear to be needed in quality residential care. A critical literature review was undertaken by researchers at Riverland General Hospitalin Berri, SA, to explore the potential benefits of massage within daily routine care of the older person in residential care settings.

A literature review pertaining to massage in the older resident was conducted using a range of online databases. Fourteen studies dated 1993–2012 met the inclusion criteria and were critically evaluated as suitable resources for this review. Evidence suggests massage may be advantageous from client and nursing perspectives. Clients’ perceive massage to positively influence factors such as pain, sleep, emotional status and psychosocial health. Evidence also demonstrates massage to benefit the client and organisation by reducing the necessity for restraint and pharmacological intervention. Massage may be incorporated into care provision and adopted by care providers and family members as an additional strategy to enhance quality of life for older people.

The authors concluded that Massage offers benefit for promoting health and well-being of the older person along with potential increased engagement of family in care provision. Integration of massage into daily care activities of the older person requires ongoing promotion and implementation.

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