Q & Ahhh: April 12, 2011

Q & Ahhh is our monthly segment where we get the experts at Massage Envy to answer your questions!  In honor of Mother's Day (coming up in less than a month!), this edition of Q & Ahhh is all about moms:

Q: Is it safe for my elderly mother to receive massage?

A: Geriatric massage is designed to address the specific needs of the elderly population. This type of massage uses gentle and light application of massage techniques and can include passive stretching. Geriatric massage can help us maintain and improve overall health even as we are aging. It also has been shown to relieve anxiety and depression and provide comfort especially to touch-deprived elderly clients.
Find a therapist who is trained in providing this type of massage and be sure to check with your mother's physician to ensure her condition is stable enough to receive hands-on therapy. Once the doctor gives approval, I recommend scheduling sessions for you and your mother together for her first visit to ensure she has a comfortable and relaxing experience.

- C.G. Funk, Licensed Massage Therapist and Vice President of Industry Relations and Product Development for Massage Envy

Be Sure To Drink More Green Tea!

We all know the movie Christmas Story, right?  One of my favorite scenes is when Ralphie scrambles to get his decoder and hides in the bathroom to start decoding the mysterious code to find out what Orphan Annie's secret message of the week was. After waiting for what seemed like years for his decoder to come in the mail, he could finally participate with lots of other young listeners in what seemed to be the most important weekly radio special.  Lo and behold, he discovered that the message held no great significance, but merely advertising..."BE SURE TO DRINK MORE OVALTINE."  

Though Ovaltine is delicious and nutritious, it's no match nutritionally compared to green tea!  Countless studies have been done to find out why this tea is so highly valued in the East. 

The benefits scientists have found in this tea by far outweigh the one possible side effect, insomnia, because of the caffeine amount if consumed shortly before bedtime. Although, the caffeine amount in green tea is far less than in black teas. 

According to Harvard Health, green tea is high in flavonoids, which are antioxidants naturally found in the plant itself.  Green tea is also loaded with catechins which are found to be more potent than vitamins C and E as far as in preventing oxidative damage to cells as well as other disease fighting properties.  Antioxidants are also good for promoting good cholesterol (HDL) and warding off bad cholesterol (LDL), which can help the arteries to function at a more optimal rate. 

The reason green tea's antioxidant content is so much higher than black or oolong teas' is because of the way the green tea leaves are processed.  They are withered and steamed instead of the normal fermentation process done to black or oolong leaves.

Studies have shown that drinking green tea on a regular basis can inhibit the growth of several types of cancer such as breast, stomach, pancreatic, and lung cancers.  The caffeine amount in green tea aids in weight loss, helping with fat cell oxidation, breaking its compounds down to eventual elimination.

For those of you currently taking these sort of medications, it is highly encouraged not to drink green tea because of the way the tea's chemical properties could affect the potency of the medication:  Adenosine, Antibiotics, Benzodiazepines, Beta-Blockers, Propanolol, Metoprolol, Blood Thinning Medicine (such as aspirin), Chemotherapy, Clozapine, Ephedrine, Lithium, Monoamine Oxidase Inhibitors, Oral Contraceptives, and Phenylpropanolamine.  Please check with your health care provider first.

Experts at Harvard suggest that you drink three cups a day.  Once you heat the water, allow the tea bag to steep (sit in the cup and brew) for 3-5 minutes.  You can add honey not only sweeten it, but it takes the bite out of the bitter taste.  For the most health benefit, drink it freshly brewed.  You won't get the same catechin amount in commercially brewed teas in cans and bottles.

Without all the trouble of a decoder, we'll let you know the secret to better health..."BE SURE TO DRINK MORE GREEN TEA!"

Tandee Phillips
Lead Therapist
Pleasant Grove Location

Relief at Last

Before getting a driver's license or graduating from high school, Erin Knight had already shouldered an adult burden: chronic headaches. "I started having problems with headaches in high school," says Knight, 26, who lives in the Seattle area. "I think all the studying and computer time may have been a trigger for chronically tight muscles."

For more than 10 years, Knight battled migraines and tension headaches up to two or three days a week. "I blamed the weather, hormones, my diet or allergies. I never thought I would be able to live headache-free," she says.

Her doctor recommended a restrictive diet, but following its challenging list of foods to avoid didn't bring Knight relief.

Pain medicine wasn't a perfect solution either, since one side effect was stomach problems. She was able to effectively stop migraines by taking prescription medication. "But I worried about its long-term effects," she says.

Knight wanted to do better than treat a headache once it showed up. She wanted freedom from the disruption of chronic headaches. "It was just one more thing to worry about on a big day," Knight says. "It seemed like whenever I had a big test or a job interview, I would get a headache."

A breakthrough came in fall 2009 when Knight joined Massage Envy in Beachwood, Ohio, where she was living at the time. "through deep tissue and trigger point massage, my massage therapist, Carrie, worked miracles," she says. "Not only do I go months without a headache, but I sleep better and have better posture. Working through chronic tension has helped me learn body awareness so I can correct small imbalances before they turn into bigger problems."

After years of chronic pain, regular massage has changed Knight's life. "I consider it as important as exercising and eating well," she says. "I encourage friends to think of massage as a tool for health management, not a luxurious experience."