June 4, 2010 — The following items are the top 20 most-read articles for the first six months of 2010 on MASSAGEmag.com.
A news item on how massage therapy reduces depression in pregnant women topped the list, followed by several technique and practice building articles, as well as health and industry news.
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Top 20 most-read articles—January through June 2010:
1. Massage Reduces Depression in Pregnant Women
New research shows massage therapy reduced depression in pregnant women, and also reduced the incidence of massaged women’s babies being born prematurely. The study was conducted by researchers at the Touch Research Institutes, where pioneering research about massage has been conducted since 1992. Read more
2. Oriental Facial Massage: Mixing Ancient Tradition with Cutting Edge Application
So you think you should learn how to do a proper head and face massage without first becoming a skin esthetician? Your clients have been bugging you about how good it feels, but in your old-school curriculum it was just glossed over. You have looked at the Western massage approach to the head, face, neck and shoulders, but you don’t think the Swedish approach quite hits the mark. On top of that, you are ambitious to practice massage as an art form without abandoning its scientific basis. Why not turn to the East? Read more
3. Destinations Spas Introduce New Unique Wellness Opportunities in 2010
With the shift in health care going from sick care to prevention, the mind-body-spirit retreats known as Destination Spas have introduced a wide variety of new wellness options for spa-goers in 2010. New offerings like college weeks, two-for-one spa experiences, Pilates for osteoporosis, Bollywood dance and gardening for life add more wellness opportunities to the broad range of programs a destination spa vacation offers. Read more
4. Therapeutic Insight: The Myofascial Release Perspective—What Makes a New Year’s Resolution Fail?
As you know, many new year’s resolutions quickly fade away, covered over by a slew of excuses in a short period of time. Your intelligence, your willpower, your strength will erode quickly, stolen like a thief in the night if your subconscious beliefs are allowed to dominate. Read more
5. Therapeutic Insight: The Myofascial Release Perspective—Inner Light
Much of what we were taught is obsolete, since it was based on outdated and inaccurate scientific assumptions. We were taught the fascial system was just packing material and the covering of muscles, but this information was based on research on cadavers. The only way we have been able to separate muscle from fascia has been done in our imagination; it cannot be done in vivo. Read more
6. SpaFinder Announces Top 10 Spa Trends for the Past Decade
While SpaFinder has been forecasting annual spa trends for many years, 2010 represents the first time the company has spotlighted the top 10 spa trends for an entire decade. Read more
7. Sister Rosalind Gefre Seeks Help to Carry on Legacy of Healing Touch
When Sister Rosalind Gefre gave her first massage 30 years ago it was, as it is then, a laying-on of hands, a means of effecting bodily and spiritual healing. Today Sister Gefre, now 80 years old, is requesting donations to her healing ministry, which includes nonprofit schools of massage. Read more
8. Introducing Blue Lotus Mist From Anastasia Beverly Hills
Anastasia Soare has been the definitive brow and eye expert for Hollywood’s elite for the past twenty years. Following the success of her cosmetics line, Anastasia Beverly Hills, Anastasia launched her first ever skin-care collection nationwide in late December 2009. Read more
9. Massage and Other CAM Therapies Reduce Pain in Hospital Patients
A new study shows complementary therapies—including massage therapy—relieve pain as much as 50 percent among a wide range of hospitalized patients. Read more
10. Therapeutic Insight: The Myofascial Release Perspective—The Titanic is Going Down!
The health-care system is collapsing under its own weight and obsolescence. Therapists are concerned about loss of control, diminishing income and their future potential. Read more
11. Research Shows New Risk Factors for Fibromyalgia
Massage therapy and spa therapies have both been shown to benefit people with fibromyalgia. New research shows inactive and overweight people are at greater risk of developing fibromyalgia, a chronic pain syndrome characterized by widespread pain lasting more than three months, and tender point sites in the neck, shoulders, back, hips, arms and legs. Read more
12. Massage Therapists Learn a Simple Way to Get Clients
Massage therapist and small business coach Woody Haiken will present the “Get Clients Now!” seminar on Jan. 18 via teleconference. Get Clients Now! is a simple sales and marketing system, designed to help small business owners overcome the most challenging issue in building a business: landing new clients with a minimum of time and effort. Read more
13. Learn the Business of Massage Through Home Study
What they don’t teach you in massage school could hurt you. Sure, you learned the general anatomy of the human body, locations of muscles and techniques to help your ease your clients’ pain. But how much did you learn about massaging a business ledger? Or, what about best business practices, general accounting principles and tax law? Read more
14. The Sacred Dance of Three-Dimensional Hot Stone Massage
Three-dimensional hot stone massage takes an already superb art to an entirely new level. This form of hot stone massage is a dance of fluidity and reverence, where stones seem to appear out of midair and the client is effortlessly moved in space, undulated like seaweed in water. Stones cradle and embrace the body from both sides at once. Read more
15. Natural Weight Loss: 5 Fundamental Diet Tips for Success
These five diet tips are crucial in the effort to achieve natural weight loss. By taking these tips seriously and putting them to use, a solid foundation will be built for a lifetime of healthy weight management. Read more
16. Massage Envy Acquired by Sentinel Capital Partners in Management Buyout
Massage Envy, the nation’s largest provider of therapeutic massage services, announced it has been acquired by Sentinel Capital Partners. Sentinel is a private equity firm that invests in promising middle-market companies in the U.S. and Canada, and it has a proven record of success investing in growing franchise businesses. Read more
17. Workplace Depression Hurts-Can Massage Help?
Massage therapy has been shown to be a valuable component of workplace-wellness programs, and many massage therapists specialize in taking massage onsite into workplaces. New research shows depression—one of the conditions massage therapy alleviates—lowers productivity in the workplace. Read more
18. The History of Hot-Stone Massage
Although some massage therapists and clients may consider this to be simply fashionable, the use of stones and gemstones for healing purposes dates back thousands of years. Read more
19. The Craniosacral System and Sphenobasilar Restrictions—How Common, How Important?
Viola Frymann, D.O., F.A.A.O., performed a study of 1,250 infants and found 88.4 percent had one or more sphenobasilar symphysis (SBS) strain patterns. Mark Sandhouse, D.O., performed a study with 142 adults, and he found 100 percent had at least one SBS strain pattern and 92 percent had a combination of strain patterns. Read more
20. Massage and Spa Industries Rally to Help Haiti
Massage therapists are traditionally quick to help people in need. The tragic events in Haiti, following a 7.0 earthquake, are no exception. Professionals in the massage and spa industries are creating events to raise funds for disaster relief. Among the efforts underway… Read more