• Introduction
• Massage Benefits Depressed Pregnant Women
• Odd Bod Tidbits
• Health Fund Information
• Health Funds and Massage




Introduction

Welcome to the latest edition of your massage newsletter, particularly those who are receiving Massage Matters for the first time. Thank you to those of you who supported Richard’s Bear Cottage fundraiser in May. Hopefully we will be able to run similar events in the future.

This issue focuses on Health Funds, asking you to question whether you are in the right fund for you and offers some information that may lead you to change funds.

Richard and Amanda

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Massage Benefits Depressed Pregnant Women

A study "Massage therapy effects on depressed pregnant women" was recently conducted by the Touch Research Institute, Florida. The researchers found that massage can ease anxiety and depression in depressed pregnant women and there are indications that their newborns may benefit as well!

84 diagnosed depressed pregnant women were randomly assigned to either a massage group, a muscle-relaxation group or a control group. A group of non-depressed pregnant women were used for a comparison group. Women in the massage group received two 20 minute massages per week for around 16 weeks.

Results of the study indicated that the massage group showed a greater decrease in depression on the last day of the study as compared to the first, whilst the other groups showed no significant changes. There was a greater improvement in mood and decreased anxiety among women in the massage group immediately after the massage on both the first and last days of the study. They also found that there was decreased reporting of leg and back pain.

They concluded "Overall the findings suggest that massage therapy is effective for reducing pregnant women's stress hormones, stressful mood states, leg and back pain and for lessening obstetric and post-natal complications”

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Odd Bod Tidbits

• Cats average 16 hours of sleep a day, more than any other mammal.

• On average women say 7,000 words per day. Men manage just over 2000.

• A fingernail or toenail takes about 6 months to grow from base to tip.

• Every person has a unique tongue print.

• 10 percent of all human beings ever born are alive at this very moment.

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Health Fund Information

For many individuals and families, health insurance is essential. However people may think that all health funds are similar in what benefits they offer and the premiums they charge. Yet each fund can pay significantly different benefits for different treatments. It is easy to take a casual approach and assume that changing to another health funds is probably not worth the effort. However, we suggest that this is not the case and it is more than likely that there is a different health fund to the one you are currently in that offers you better benefits or similar benefits for a lower premium.

How do you find out what the best health fund is for you?

Well researching each health fund and doing a detailed analysis of what features and benefits are important to you is one way but very time consuming. One possible shortcut is use a website called iSelect.com.au. This website acts as a broker for a number of different funds and it enables you to compare funds based on your particular requirements. They analyse policy combinations and suggest policies that may be suitable for you. Now you can do a detailed comparison with your existing fund and see what savings are available for you! The service is free and you do not pay any more for your policy by using iSelect. Check out their Frequently Asked Questions if you want more information.

A caution we would add is that iSelect do not cover all health funds so please be aware that other funds may be more appropriate for your individual needs. We would still recommend that it's worth going through their shortlist of funds that they recommend for you to see if you could be saving money.

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Health Funds and Massage

The following table provides a comparison of some popular health funds. This information was obtained from the company websites and from contacting the companies directly around 27th June 2005. Whilst we have attempted to ensure that the information is correct, we do not guarantee the accuracy or intrepretation of the data. Indeed when we went through the data collection process we ended up with some slightly different numbers so please be aware that the varying assumptions slightly can influence the outcome.

We would like to stress that we are not recommending specific health funds as the circumstances for each family or individual are different. We urge that you do your own research and determine what is the best health fund for your own personal circumstances.

The information in this table is based on a NSW Family policy for basic hospital service (approximately $500 excess per person although this may vary with the particular company policies chosen) with extras coverage (that includes massage, of course!). The quoted premium includes the Federal Government 30% rebate and assumes that there is no extra premium due to "Lifetime Health Cover".