| STUDIES:
~German emperor Frederick II, took a number of newborns from their
mothers and gave them to
nurses who fed them but did not cuddle or talk to them. All of the
babies died before they could talk.
Fredrick concluded "They could not live without petting."
~In the early 1990's, Romania, thousands of infants were put in
orphanages, they were left in their
cribs for two years, all alone. They were found to be severely impaired.
~Duke Professor Saul Schanberg found that rat pups separated from
their parents for 45 minutes
underwent major internal changes including a large drop in growth
hormones. Injections of growth
hormones didn't help. But when someone stroked them with a wet
paintbrush-- mimicking their
mothers tongue--the hormone levels went back up.
INTERESTING FACTS ON TOUCH:
~Touch is the first sense to develop in humans, and may be the last
to fade
~there are approximately 5 million touch receptors in our skin-- 3000
in a finger tip
~a touch of any kind can reduce the heart rate and lower blood
pressure
~touch stimulates the release of endorphins (the body's natural pain
killers) which is why a
mother's hug for a child's skinned knee can literally make it better
~people with eating disorders who receive massage three time a day
for ten day's, gain weight
faster and got out of the hospital six days sooner than those who don't
~elderly people who massage surrogate grandchildren report
higher-esteem and better moods
~massage before an athletic event, makes the athlete more flexible,
enhanced speed and power,
and less prone to injury
* One in five Americans have had a massage from a massage therapist
in the past five years
and 13% report receiving one in the past year. This is up 8% from 1997.
* Today, there are more than 60,000 Nationally Certified
practitioners that serve millions of
consumers.
* Nationally Certified practitioners provide expertise in various
areas of therapeutic massage
and body work; Nationally Certified practitioners provide expertise in
various areas of therapeutic
massager and body work, including Swedish massage, shiatsu, polarity
therapy, RolfingŪ,
TragerŪ techniques, reflexology, neuromuscular therapy and many more.
* In 1996, massage therapy and bodywork was officially offered for
the first time as a core
medical service in the Summer Olympic Games in Atlanta. At the Games,
Nationally Certified
practitioners were providing key medical services.
* Thirty-one states and the District of Columbia now regulate the
practice of therapeutic massage
and bodywork. Of those, twenty-five states, in addition to the District
of Columbia, now use the
NCBTMB examination as meeting (in part or in whole) the requirements of
regulation.
* NCBTMB currently has over 600 Approved Providers of Continuing
Education.
* Consumers spend between $2 and $4 billion dollars annually on
visits to massage and bodywork practitioners, totaling approximately 75
million visits each year.
* The three most often cited reasons for getting a therapeutic
massage are relaxation (27%),
relief of muscle soreness, stiffness or spasm (13%), and stress
reduction (10%).
* Health insurers are increasingly expanding coverage to include
alternative medicines. In addition,
several healthcare network providers use NCBTMB to check the National
Certification status of the practitioner.
* Fifty-four percent of primary care physicians and family
practitioners say they would encourage
their patients to pursue massage therapy as a complement to medical
treatment.
* Massage therapy accounts for 18% of the 425 million visits made to
alternative healthcare
providers each year.
* In 1999, 52% of American adults thought of massage as
"therapeutic," which is up 47% from
1997.
* An estimated 20 million Americans receive massage therapy and
bodywork each year, according
to the National Institute of Health (NIH).
* Approximately 50,000 massage and bodywork practitioners provide 45
million one-hour therapy
sessions each year.
* Two thirds of Americans have tried at least one form of alternative
therapy or treatment for
medical conditions.
* Massage therapy is the third most commonly used form of alternative
medicine in the U.S.,
having been tried by 35% of Americans.
* Women are more likely than men to have tried alternative treatment.
* Forty-two percent of Americans have used some type of alternative
care in the past.
* Americans make more visits to see alternative therapists than to
see primary-care physicians,
spending $21.2 billion.
* The number of massage practitioners in the U.S. is between 120,000
and 160,000.
* Massage and bodywork therapy is sought out by a large number of
people in age brackets:
18-24 (22%); 25-34 (31%); 35-44 (25%); 45-54 (22%); 55-64 (19%); and
over 65 (9%).
* The most important driver to try an alternative treatment is a
recommendation from a friend or
family member, which leads 62% of their patients to these providers.
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