July 2025

Hello, and welcome to this month's article! Enjoying your summer? As children, we lived for summer vacation. For adults, it’s often more complicated. Make a point to step back from the demands of day-to-day living for a moment and focus on something pleasing to you. Savor the sights and sounds of summer and relax a while!

Here’s some advice from the Mayo Clinic’s website:

Cultivate a sense of humor— A good laugh doesn't just lighten a mood, it also lowers cortisol, the body's stress hormone. Letting out a giggle boosts those feel-good brain chemicals called endorphins. A deep chuckle relaxes your muscles and lowers stress hormones. In other words, a big unrestrained burst of laughter could be thought of as a massage for your inside.

The main article this month focuses on massage as an aid for chronic pain and for serious illness, showing the broad scope of massage benefits. No matter your level of health, massage is the ideal support system. Your regular massage sessions are an investment in a healthier and happier future.

Enjoy the rest of your summer; see you soon for your next appointment!

Massage therapy benefits patients undergoing oncology treatments or chronic pain
by Mary Gay Broderick

The caring and sympathetic touch of a trained massage therapist can help many patients with the side effects of oncology treatments and those who suffer from chronic pain.

While massages have been viewed in the past as a treat or luxury for special occasions, more research is showing that massage can lead to better health outcomes.

“Studies are showing that massage therapy can help with injury, sickness and disease,” said Kat O’Leary, a licensed massage therapist ... in Steamboat Springs. “There is a definite shift in attitude, as more people are using massage therapy to assist with health and wellness rather than solely because it just makes you feel good. It’s also a way to help with recovery and manage pain stress.” ...

How does massage therapy work? By applying direct pressure on “trigger points” or areas of muscle tightness in the body that might be holding onto pain or stress, the body can then release the spasms, she said.

“Massage therapy has a sort of healing touch to it that can help relieve tension in the body and assist with pain relief, stress management and relaxation,” said O’Leary. ...

“We hear so much about how people hold onto stress in the body. For patients going through treatment for cancer or other illnesses, we hear from them about how much they feel that massage therapy contributes to their ongoing wellness regimen.” ...

“Massage can help in so many scenarios,” said O’Leary. “A lot of patients dealing with cancer and autoimmune disorders have nerves and tissues that are aggravated or compressed. Massage can ease that tension and hopefully, create a little more space for those areas to continue to heal.”

Helping with patients with pain management— The pain management aspect of massage therapy, whether it’s dealing with pain from cancer treatment or chronic pain from accidents or autoimmune disorders, is a complementary therapy that patients can turn to.

“While a lot of patients are using massage as a way to prevent or recover from injury, it also is helpful for patients facing cancer and other illnesses,” said O’Leary. “Patients are receiving a diagnosis that will change their lives. Having an appointment in their daily or weekly treatment routine where they can destress and relax and feel the benefits to their body is huge.” ...

Not only is massage therapy non-invasive, but it’s a way to find relief that doesn’t involve medication.

“It’s another tool in their kit that they can use to regain their health and return to the life they want,” said O’Leary.

She hopes patients dealing with the stress of a disease or illness try massage therapy and seek relief before pain sets in, and not just when they are feeling bad.

“It’s something that can really benefit a person’s life during stressful and painful periods and move them in the direction they want to go,” said O’Leary. ...

Source: steamboatpilot.com

Happy meals: Making positive change to diet also helps ward off depression
by Terra Marquette

A new study finds that healthier eating habits can relieve symptoms of depression, whether the dietary changes focus on weight loss or improved nutrition.

The University of Manchester study determined that the benefits of dietary changes positively impact mood in all individuals, not just those formally diagnosed with depressive disorders. Lead author Joseph Firth, a researcher with the university, says that the impact of diet on mood and mental health was not well understood before this study was undertaken.

“But,” Firth explains in a university release, “our recent meta-analysis has done just that: showing that adopting a healthier diet can boost peoples’ mood.” ...

The findings were remarkable. It seems that any dietary intervention has an equally positive influence on mental health, whether the goal of the diet is weight loss, improved nutrition or a reduction of fat consumption.

“This is actually good news,” says Firth. “The similar effects from any type of dietary improvement suggests that highly-specific or specialized diets are unnecessary for the average individual.”

“Eating more nutrient-dense meals that are high in fiber and vegetables, while cutting back on fast-foods and refined sugars appears to be sufficient for avoiding the potentially negative psychological effects of a ‘junk food‘ diet,” he says.

Interestingly, the results of the study showed that, although both men and women benefit from dietary changes, women see improvements in both depression and anxiety. ...

The findings support a combination of dietary changes and exercise to provide even more relief from depressive symptoms than dietary interventions alone. Researchers believe there is a need for much more research to determine how a healthy diet results in better physical [and mental] health ...

“It could be through reducing obesity, inflammation, or fatigue—all of which are linked to diet and impact upon mental health,” Firth suspects.

Study findings are published in the journal Psychosomatic Medicine.

Source: studyfinds.org

A smile is the light in your window that tells others that there is a caring, sharing person inside.
— Denis Waitley

The content of this article is not designed to replace professional medical advice. If you’re ill, consult a physician.
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