Holistic healing

Health: In defence of massage

By Michael Van Straten

Leave massage alone, says our controversial columnist

Leave massage alone, says our controversial columnist
Edzard Ernst is not only my gripe of themonth, but gripe of the decade. This man has spent years attacking alternative therapies and demanding more research. While sometimes I agree with him, when it comes to the bizarre therapies and outlandish claims, his recent insistence on double blind studies to prove the safety and value of massage is ridiculous in my opinion.

Ernst claims that many patients have adverse reactions like soreness after treatment, but surely, if you go for a long walk your legs may hurt the next day.Should we all stop walking? When a mother rubs the knee of a child that has fallen, it is massage to stop the pain; when you hug someone in deep distress it is automatic to rub their back and ease their grief. And,what about physiotherapists who using lymphatic drainage massage after breast cancer surgery to reduce hugely swollen arms? Physical or emotional, the healing touch of another’s hand helps.

Years ago a famous organist was sent to me by the desperate manager of Royal Festival Hall. Due to give a sell-out concert that night, he developed excruciating pain in his left buttock and could not even sit. He had a condition called Weaver’s Bottom,once common and caused when weavers slid from side to side on their bench at the loom. This poor chap had done the same at his organ. An hour of deep massage dispersed the bursitis in his bum and I had a stage side seat at the concert.

In qualified hands, massage is a fantastic therapeutic tool that is based on 5,000 years of use and observation. Of course we need the scientific method in many areas of health, but in this instance how can you do a double blind trial? People would know instantly if they were getting a fake or placebo treatment.

Ernst has the grace to admit that the chances of serious injury from a massage are extremely small, but his continued sniping is of no help to the public or the professions.

Article by

Michael Van Straten

Naturopath and Nutritional Consultant

is a naturopath and nutritional consultant. Go to michaelvanstraten.com

Article by

Michael Van Straten

Naturopath and Nutritional Consultant

is a naturopath and nutritional consultant. Go to michaelvanstraten.com