• Introduction
• Win a free massage upgrade
• Odd Bod Tidbits
• Carpal Tunnel Research
• Bear Cottage Fundraiser
• Are you getting enough sleep?


Introduction

Welcome to the latest edition of your massage newsletter, particularly those who are receiving Massage Matters for the first time. Unfortunately, Sally has decided to leave for the warmer climate of Brisbane and we wish her well for the future. We encourage all of Sally's clients to continue to visit the clinic as her replacement, Amanda will be available on Tuesdays and Thursdays. (Some of you may well remember Amanda as she used to work on the front desk prior to her obtaining massage experience at several locations including Solar Springs Health Spa, Bundanoon). We will still be available six days a week as Richard will be working on Friday afternoons.

The amount of building in the area is limiting the availability of parking around the clinic so we suggest that you allow a few minutes extra to make sure that you get to your booking on time. We do have a clinic parking space in the small car park immediately next door which is sometimes vacant (if you are lucky!). Ask someone to point it out to you next time you visit.

On May 22nd, Richard is holding a fundraiser for Bear Cottage, Manly. If you have never had a massage or feel like supporting a very worthy cause then check out the details at http://www.maroubramassage.com.au/bearcottage.php.

Richard and Amanda

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Win a free massage upgrade

Recently a client mentioned that she put up a copy of "Massage Matters" at her workplace. If you have a similar (or better still a very different) idea how we can spread the word about the benefits of massage through this newsletter then either email us at or talk to your therapist.

For the best idea we receive before 30th June we will give a free half-hour upgrade for your next massage.

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Odd Bod Tidbits

• Men can read smaller print than women

• Women can hear better than men

• No one knows why, but 90% of women who walk into a department store immediately turn to the right

• In 1992, 5840 people checked into U.S. hospitals with 'pillow-related injuries"

• The Bible has been translated into Klingon

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Massage Research Findings - Carpal Tunnel Syndrome

Massage therapy eases the symptoms of carpal tunnel syndrome and increases grip strength, according to a recent study. "Carpal tunnel syndrome symptoms are lessened following massage therapy" was conducted by staff at the Touch Research Institutes at the University of Miami School of Medicine in Miami, Florida.

Subjects were randomly assigned to either the standard-treatment control group or the massage-therapy group. Those in the massage group received one massage per week on the affected arm for four weeks. They were also instructed in self-massage, which they were to perform each night before bed. Subjects in the control group received no intervention.

Doctor's evaluated participants' carpal tunnel symptoms, such as tingling, numbness, pain and strength, at the beginning and end of the four-week study. A nerve conduction test was also performed at the start and finish of the study. This involved stimulation of the median sensory nerves through electrodes placed on each subject's index finger and wrist. Peak sensory latencies were recorded to test for nerve compression at the carpal tunnel. Median peak latency was the primary outcome measure.

Results of the study showed that the subjects in the massage group had significantly less pain and reduced carpal tunnel symptoms, as well as shorter median peak latencies and increased grip strength.

"Functional activity also improved as noted in reduced pain and increased grip strength in the massage therapy group, both immediately after the first and last massage therapy sessions and by the end of the study," state the study's authors.

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Bear Cottage Fundraiser - Sunday 22nd March

Please check out http://www.maroubramassage.com.au/bearcottage.php for more details.

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Are you getting enough sleep?

Are you getting enough sleep? Most of us aren't. A cumulative lack of sleep can lead to many unhealthy conditions. Regardless of the brain's attempt to overcome sleep deprivation, a sleep-deprived person cannot perform mental tasks as well as someone who has had sufficient sleep.

Chronic sleep loss can reduce the capacity of young adults to perform basic functions such as processing and storing carbohydrates or regulating hormone secretion, report researchers from the University of Chicago Medical Center. Cutting back from the standard eight down to four hours of sleep each night produced striking changes in glucose tolerance and endocrine function -- changes that resembled the effects of advanced age or the early stages of diabetes -- after less than one week!

So tuck yourself in earlier tonight and have a great night's rest!

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