Providing massage and touch therapy is within the scope of practice of many health care providers including physicians, nurse practitioners, nurses, physical therapists and occupational therapists. However, massage is not frequently practiced by these practitioners because of time constraints or lack of comfort with providing massage therapy. Qualified practitioners, who practice massage therapy for pediatric clients, and patients, provide numerous benefits to the child and improve their family’s satisfaction with the care their child receives. This compassionate care can also contribute to a positive healing environment, which has been shown to improve the satisfaction of members of the health care team.

The physical, psychological and emotional benefits of touch for infants, children and pediatric patients who are hospitalized have been well documented in published research studies. Equally documented are the effects of touch deprivation for hospitalized children.

Many health care providers have explored the use of massage for particular populations of children with special health care needs. Overall, the evidence that massage provides global benefits to a child’s health far outweighs any evidence of negative effects.

There are numerous benefits for infants and children contributed to the use of massage and touch therapy. Some studies also show that infants diagnosed with complex medical conditions may find greater benefit from the intervention of massage therapy. Evidence has shown that infants have increased healthy weight gain and respiratory function after they receive appropriate nurturing touch. Their time spent in the hospital has been decreased. Even the amount of time it takes to fall asleep shortens. The length of time the child stays asleep and how deeply, also improves with massage therapy.

For children with special healthcare needs massage therapy is often used to improve muscle tone, joint mobility and respiratory functions. Additionally, as in infants, we also see improved respiration and sleep patterns. And, with the use of specific massage techniques gastrointestinal function improves (regular bowel movements). There are a number of children who are hospitalized simply due to constipation. Massage may be able to change this unfortunate situation.

As someone who cares for infants and young children, in a healthcare environment, surely you may wish to include appropriate nurturing touch into your daily care for the children in your setting. It is important to consider your role as a healthcare provider and consider providing hands-on care, as well as education to encourage families to provide this same care for their children when they are home. Becoming certified in pediatric massage therapy will provide you with the skills necessary to safely and effectively apply hands-on pediatric massage for children who are well, hospitalized or have special healthcare needs. If you receive your certification as an infant massage teacher, you will have the opportunity to provide families with information and hands-on lessons, so parents feel confident in providing massage for their own child. By encouraging and supporting nurturing touch you foster mutual respect, communication and understanding that lasts a lifetime.

We all think that once we are happily married and ready to have a baby we will simple get pregnant and voila! There’s a happy, healthy baby. However many couples find to their dismay and heartache that’s not always the case. When couples have trouble conceiving, they may consider going to a fertility clinic after they’ve tried other options. However, did you know that in some cases infertility could be addressed by a professional massage therapist? That is right…it is possible to increase your chances for reproduction through a massage therapy session. Why? Well, medically, massages help increase blood flow to the uterine region… blood flow that could help the uterus function better. And it also helps the women to relax and all of the system in our body respond better when we are in a relaxed state of mind.

Yet, what if a woman loves hot stone therapy… the type of massage where heated stones are used instead of a therapist’s hands? Can that offer similar benefits? It depends on who you ask. Holistic doctors would probably encourage Chinese fertility massage. With this type of massage, the principles of acupressure are addressed, which helps free up the body’s energy.

However, some massage therapists are very sensitive to metaphysical philosophies when performing their massages. In fact, one of the propagators of hot stone therapy, Mary Nelson, even based her special “LaStone Therapy” training on these belief systems.

In addition, a hot stone massage adds heat to the affected area. When this happens, circulation improves. This is vital for good health, especially in the reproductive region. Combine this with the concepts of acupressure, and a woman could substantially increase her chances that such therapy could help get her body revved up for conception.

But there is one factor that should also be considered. If a woman does become pregnant, it may be dangerous for her temperature to rise. This is why women are often told not to take long hot baths or go to saunas in their latter stages of pregnancy. Yet, that’s the ultimate keyword here… ‘later.’ Hot stone therapy probably wouldn’t have an effect in an early pregnancy, since there are many massage therapists that will do the procedure during this time. Then there are others that won’t do it at all, just to be on the safe side.

Either way, you will want to keep a close eye on your body during the time you get hot stone therapy. If you miss your period, get a pregnancy test as soon as possible. Don’t undergo any more hot stone therapy until you get the approval from your gynecologist. And, if they feel uncomfortable with you doing that type of massage, simply tell the masseuse to give you a more ‘traditional’ treatment. Save the hot stone until after the baby is born. Sure, you won’t get some of the additional health benefits, but your child’s development is much more important.

Massage therapy has survived the modernization of medical equipment in providing relief from stress. Since ancient civilizations, touch therapy have been regarded highly for encouraging healing and relaxation. This therapy involves the use of the hands, feet, or other tools like heated rocks and glass tumblers to knead soft tissues of any part of the body subjected to stress or in chronic pain. This is effective as pressured is being pressed into these soft tissues to make them tender and more pliant improving circulation and easing tensed tissues to a more relaxed state.

Stress in everyday living is no surprise for people always on the go or beating the clock. The demands of daily activities at work and home can really be a work load to modern life. Stress can have many forms. The most common type is the physical stress that the body is being subjected to when it accepts the physical activities and strains when you are performing a job. At the end of the day, you can feel the heaviness upon your shoulder and the persistent pain at your lower back. These areas of the body are the most common stress points that manifest pain when they have been overworked or used improperly. Poor posture and bad body mechanics also contributes to the stress levels of your back and shoulders.

Another typical form of stress is the psycho-emotional stress that you are going through when you feel depressed, agitated, or simply feeling low. The stress hormones can get activated when your mindset is also negative or you are feeling sad emotions for unexpected events. Even people who are physically ill can also be subject to emotional stress as they feel more inactive and secretes lesser endorphins due to prolonged periods of rest. Happy hormones gets activated by being active and being in a hospital or your own bed for far too long does not help in releasing these happy hormones into the bloodstream.

Not enough sleep or rest can also contribute to stress levels. The time to sleep is the only period when the body can replenish, repair, and rejuvenate itself from the daily battles of stress. Lessen the sleeping or resting period can only increase the stress hormones inside the system.

The gradual accumulation of stress brought about emotional, physical, psychological or conditional factors can get worse if not treated properly and on a periodic basis. You might be surprised to find out that spas and massaging salons are constantly packed with individuals who schedule their weekly or monthly Massage sessions to ease their stress levels. Having Massage therapies have greatly improved the threshold of stress levels of these individuals. They also claim to have better performance in their daily demands than ever before without feeling pressured too much. They have more restful sleep and lesser slip ups at work.

These people know the great healing and relaxing powers of touch therapy and are living much healthier and balanced lives. Stress busting has never been easier to do with Massage therapy.