Massage is the treatment of the skin and soft tissues of the body to enhance health and healing and promote relaxation. It can help to restore or maintain balance in your mind and body.
Massage usually results in decreased stress and anxiety, creating a sense of calm and well-being. Massage may help people who have several health conditions by relieving many physical and emotional symptoms.
Are there differences between getting a massage outside of a medical clinic and seeing a board-certified massage therapist in a clinic?
Listen as Jeremy Miller, BCTMB discusses the benefits of medical massage by a board-certified massage therapist .
Selected Podcast
The Benefits of a Medical Massage
Featured Speaker:
Learn more about Jeremy Miller, BCTMB
Jeremy Miller, BCTMB, massage therapist
Jeremy Miller is an enthusiastic and passionate instructor of massage, and has taught classes at some of the most respected massage schools in the U.S. Combining an easy-going manner, technical skill and humor he enjoys working with clients on any health issue or wellness goal to find the plan that will best address their needs. Jeremy joined the Penny George Institute for Health and Healing, and has worked at Abbott Northwestern Hospital with a main focus on serving oncology and rehabilitation patients. He currently provides massage therapy at Allina Health Minnetonka Clinic. Welcome, Jeremy!Learn more about Jeremy Miller, BCTMB
Transcription:
The Benefits of a Medical Massage
Melanie Cole (Host): We've all heard about a wonderful massage a friend has had that's relaxed them and even helped them to heal pain, but is there a difference between the types of massage that you can get and even where you get it? My guest today is Jeremy Miller. He's a massage therapist with Allina Health. Welcome to the show, Jeremy. So, what are the differences between getting a massage outside of a medical clinic and, for example, a fitness club, or a boutique salon, or in someone's home? Speak about the differences in those.
Jeremy Miller (Guest): Sure. Thanks, Melanie. Thanks for having me on the show. Yes, those places that you mentioned, those can be great if a patient is just looking for massage for relaxation purposes, which can be wonderful by itself; but, with medical massage, like we offer through the Penny George Institute for Health and Healing, when a patient is recovering from surgery or maybe a work accident, or a motor vehicle accident; if they're dealing with a complex or challenging medical issues, things like cancer, neurological disorders, even pregnancy, we customize the session to the individual patient and to their situation. We take into account their medical history and having a full system, a full health system like Allina Health backing us up, we're able to incorporate recent research and integrate the care that we provide with the solid, traditional, Western medicine that they're getting through their normal providers. We're able to collaborate with the patient's' other providers so that we can make sure that the massage treatment will not just be safe, but will offer the most benefits to the patients that we can as part of their overall healthcare plan. All of the massage therapists that we have here at the Penny George Institute are nationally board certified. That's one of the qualifications you have to meet to qualify to work here.
Melanie: What does that mean--board certified massage therapist? What goes into that type of training?
Jeremy: Oh, sure. So, like I said, we have to have that in place to qualify to work here. To get nationally board certified, it's the highest credential in the massage therapy field. To get that, a massage therapist has to go through rigorous training, not just to learn the massage techniques, which is the fun part when you go through school, of course, but also all the anatomy and physiology and with massage therapy training, we pay, of course, particular attention to the way to the muscles and the bones and the way that those work together to create movement for a person. We have to undergo a thorough background check and complete continuing education every year so that we stay current in our field. As board certified therapists, we're held to a very high standard with a strict code of ethics that involves us putting our patients first and asking, “What's going to be best for my patient?” So, choosing a board certified therapist is really the best way for a patient or a client to know that the therapist they're choosing is a therapist who knows what they're going to be doing when they get into the treatment room.
Melanie: So, let's talk about some of the physical and physiological benefits of a medical massage. People hear deep tissue for various sports injuries, or relaxation, or even mental health and depression. I mean, there are so many ways that massage can help. So, speak about some of those benefits and how you utilize massage to help them.
Jeremy: Sure. Sure. So, as far as what we know through research, massage therapy is still relatively new in the world of what has been researched. So, we know that it feels good and we know that it can help us feel better, but the questions about how that works in the body, what it's actually doing in the body, those questions are just starting to be answered now. We have learned that massage does decrease pain. We have good research backing that up and it can also help, as you mentioned, with increasing the range of motion for people who have restrictions that way or for athletes that are trying to get ready to perform out on the field. It can help patients sleep better, with carries with it a whole cascade of wonderful effects. Neurologically, massage puts a patient into the side of their nervous system where the body does most of its regenerative work, repairing little minor tissue injuries that happen to everybody through the day, and there's some evidence that massage increases the function of certain immune system cells, just to help us stay healthier, in general. You had asked about also the mental health benefits of massage. Massage has been shown to reduce anxiety and depression, particularly when those issues are with regard to pain. So, if somebody has pain and it's sort of causing them to be anxious because they're sort of anticipating the pain happening more, or if there's depression that's in relation to the pain, massage has been shown to help with that. There are some studies that show massage increased the measurements they looked at for mood with patients who have cancer, or during post-partum depression. Those who suffer with post-traumatic stress disorder, such as our heroes coming back from war zones, massage therapy is showing really promising results there as well for some of the symptoms of that PTSD, like the hyper-vigilance that we often see. As I mentioned, just in general, we know that it's working, but we're just now starting to figure out, from a research perspective, exactly how that is happening.
Melanie: Now, what about massages for all ages and even prenatal massage, Jeremy? So, I mean, can kids get massages and can it help them? We've got a lot of kid athletes now and, you know, some of them get injured or even don't get injured but they are growing, they get growing pains and all that. How can massage help kids? Then, even speak about prenatal massage.
Jeremy: Sure. So, for kids, massage can be great really for kids of all ages, but speaking about kids in particular, massage offers the same benefits to children that it does for adults, even for babies--for newborns. We can teach the parents to give their new child a gentle massage. We can teach them real simple techniques that they can do that can help the baby stay calm, can help with things like colic and some of the digestive issues that babies often come with and it can also be a wonderful bonding experience between the parent and the child to be able to do that and help the child get a better sleep, too, which can be helpful for the parent, as well.
Melanie: Absolutely.
Jeremy: For toddlers and adolescents, massage can be great. Typically, we would do shorter sessions, usually 15 or 20 minutes because they just tend to get a little antsy on the table. They don't want to lie still for very long, but massage can be very helpful for, like I say, for kids of all ages.
Melanie: So, then tell us a little bit about Allina Health's Minnetonka Clinic and how someone can make an appointment with you?
Jeremy: Sure, yes. So, our Minnetonka Clinic, we're located at the corner of County Road 101 and Highway 7, just across from the Minnetonka Target, and patients can refer themselves, or we're happy to work based on a referral from a provider if they have that. We love working in conjunction with a patient's care team, which can include, of course, doctors, or nurse practitioners, or exercise physiologists, physical therapists, chiropractors, and, generally, we're here Monday through Friday from 8 to 5 and the call center that we have for scheduling appointments is open 24 hours. So, people can call any time day or night to get a scheduled appointment.
Melanie: Jeremy, in just the last few minutes, wrap it up for us with what you want people to know when they ask you about massage therapy and being a board certified massage therapist. What do you want them to know about the benefits of a really good medical massage?
Jeremy: Sure. So, like I say, massage--we're just starting to learn the benefits of massage from a research perspective, but there are literally centuries of anecdotal reports of how good a massage can make a person feel and they can receive the benefits of that no matter what their health status is, no matter whether they've never had a massage or whether they've been getting a massage regularly for years. The benefits can truly be astounding and can help in many areas of their life.
Melanie: Thank you so much for being with us today, Jeremy. It's great information. You're listening to The WELLcast with Allina Health and for more information, you can go to www.allinahealth.org. That's www.allinahealth.org. This is Melanie Cole. Thanks so much for listening.
The Benefits of a Medical Massage
Melanie Cole (Host): We've all heard about a wonderful massage a friend has had that's relaxed them and even helped them to heal pain, but is there a difference between the types of massage that you can get and even where you get it? My guest today is Jeremy Miller. He's a massage therapist with Allina Health. Welcome to the show, Jeremy. So, what are the differences between getting a massage outside of a medical clinic and, for example, a fitness club, or a boutique salon, or in someone's home? Speak about the differences in those.
Jeremy Miller (Guest): Sure. Thanks, Melanie. Thanks for having me on the show. Yes, those places that you mentioned, those can be great if a patient is just looking for massage for relaxation purposes, which can be wonderful by itself; but, with medical massage, like we offer through the Penny George Institute for Health and Healing, when a patient is recovering from surgery or maybe a work accident, or a motor vehicle accident; if they're dealing with a complex or challenging medical issues, things like cancer, neurological disorders, even pregnancy, we customize the session to the individual patient and to their situation. We take into account their medical history and having a full system, a full health system like Allina Health backing us up, we're able to incorporate recent research and integrate the care that we provide with the solid, traditional, Western medicine that they're getting through their normal providers. We're able to collaborate with the patient's' other providers so that we can make sure that the massage treatment will not just be safe, but will offer the most benefits to the patients that we can as part of their overall healthcare plan. All of the massage therapists that we have here at the Penny George Institute are nationally board certified. That's one of the qualifications you have to meet to qualify to work here.
Melanie: What does that mean--board certified massage therapist? What goes into that type of training?
Jeremy: Oh, sure. So, like I said, we have to have that in place to qualify to work here. To get nationally board certified, it's the highest credential in the massage therapy field. To get that, a massage therapist has to go through rigorous training, not just to learn the massage techniques, which is the fun part when you go through school, of course, but also all the anatomy and physiology and with massage therapy training, we pay, of course, particular attention to the way to the muscles and the bones and the way that those work together to create movement for a person. We have to undergo a thorough background check and complete continuing education every year so that we stay current in our field. As board certified therapists, we're held to a very high standard with a strict code of ethics that involves us putting our patients first and asking, “What's going to be best for my patient?” So, choosing a board certified therapist is really the best way for a patient or a client to know that the therapist they're choosing is a therapist who knows what they're going to be doing when they get into the treatment room.
Melanie: So, let's talk about some of the physical and physiological benefits of a medical massage. People hear deep tissue for various sports injuries, or relaxation, or even mental health and depression. I mean, there are so many ways that massage can help. So, speak about some of those benefits and how you utilize massage to help them.
Jeremy: Sure. Sure. So, as far as what we know through research, massage therapy is still relatively new in the world of what has been researched. So, we know that it feels good and we know that it can help us feel better, but the questions about how that works in the body, what it's actually doing in the body, those questions are just starting to be answered now. We have learned that massage does decrease pain. We have good research backing that up and it can also help, as you mentioned, with increasing the range of motion for people who have restrictions that way or for athletes that are trying to get ready to perform out on the field. It can help patients sleep better, with carries with it a whole cascade of wonderful effects. Neurologically, massage puts a patient into the side of their nervous system where the body does most of its regenerative work, repairing little minor tissue injuries that happen to everybody through the day, and there's some evidence that massage increases the function of certain immune system cells, just to help us stay healthier, in general. You had asked about also the mental health benefits of massage. Massage has been shown to reduce anxiety and depression, particularly when those issues are with regard to pain. So, if somebody has pain and it's sort of causing them to be anxious because they're sort of anticipating the pain happening more, or if there's depression that's in relation to the pain, massage has been shown to help with that. There are some studies that show massage increased the measurements they looked at for mood with patients who have cancer, or during post-partum depression. Those who suffer with post-traumatic stress disorder, such as our heroes coming back from war zones, massage therapy is showing really promising results there as well for some of the symptoms of that PTSD, like the hyper-vigilance that we often see. As I mentioned, just in general, we know that it's working, but we're just now starting to figure out, from a research perspective, exactly how that is happening.
Melanie: Now, what about massages for all ages and even prenatal massage, Jeremy? So, I mean, can kids get massages and can it help them? We've got a lot of kid athletes now and, you know, some of them get injured or even don't get injured but they are growing, they get growing pains and all that. How can massage help kids? Then, even speak about prenatal massage.
Jeremy: Sure. So, for kids, massage can be great really for kids of all ages, but speaking about kids in particular, massage offers the same benefits to children that it does for adults, even for babies--for newborns. We can teach the parents to give their new child a gentle massage. We can teach them real simple techniques that they can do that can help the baby stay calm, can help with things like colic and some of the digestive issues that babies often come with and it can also be a wonderful bonding experience between the parent and the child to be able to do that and help the child get a better sleep, too, which can be helpful for the parent, as well.
Melanie: Absolutely.
Jeremy: For toddlers and adolescents, massage can be great. Typically, we would do shorter sessions, usually 15 or 20 minutes because they just tend to get a little antsy on the table. They don't want to lie still for very long, but massage can be very helpful for, like I say, for kids of all ages.
Melanie: So, then tell us a little bit about Allina Health's Minnetonka Clinic and how someone can make an appointment with you?
Jeremy: Sure, yes. So, our Minnetonka Clinic, we're located at the corner of County Road 101 and Highway 7, just across from the Minnetonka Target, and patients can refer themselves, or we're happy to work based on a referral from a provider if they have that. We love working in conjunction with a patient's care team, which can include, of course, doctors, or nurse practitioners, or exercise physiologists, physical therapists, chiropractors, and, generally, we're here Monday through Friday from 8 to 5 and the call center that we have for scheduling appointments is open 24 hours. So, people can call any time day or night to get a scheduled appointment.
Melanie: Jeremy, in just the last few minutes, wrap it up for us with what you want people to know when they ask you about massage therapy and being a board certified massage therapist. What do you want them to know about the benefits of a really good medical massage?
Jeremy: Sure. So, like I say, massage--we're just starting to learn the benefits of massage from a research perspective, but there are literally centuries of anecdotal reports of how good a massage can make a person feel and they can receive the benefits of that no matter what their health status is, no matter whether they've never had a massage or whether they've been getting a massage regularly for years. The benefits can truly be astounding and can help in many areas of their life.
Melanie: Thank you so much for being with us today, Jeremy. It's great information. You're listening to The WELLcast with Allina Health and for more information, you can go to www.allinahealth.org. That's www.allinahealth.org. This is Melanie Cole. Thanks so much for listening.