Certainly, we are aging as we speak...

Signals start becoming more evident. The results of our juvenile craziness reveal themselves on the surface of our skin as a result of the intensity of the sunlight. Swimming pools, beaches and the Sun take their toll on our skin.

Appearing next are the reversible and sometimes irreversible consequences of retirement, losing a spouse and in some cases, the results of a new life, in a nursing home for seniors or living with relatives in someone else's home, a son, daughter or some other relative.

There are many factors contributing to physical stress in our bodies, as we continue to age. The loss of independence and self-sufficiency may result in drastic changes in our life styles, throwing people off balance and compelling them to face changes and take action. The loss of privacy and having to part with your home, your things, often in order to cover your financial needs.

Statistics reveal pointers that are concern among the elderly, marking 60 years of age or more. Back pain, fatigue, tiredness, insomnia, faulty breathing and other symptoms generate confusion, frustration and a desire for isolation. Symptoms such as those mentioned here cause energy, drive and usefulness to be depleted, even if only within our minds, preventing a full enjoyment of life.

The key word is drive. Our goal: to take the elderly to a degree of drive and strength that may allow them to live a better quality life and retain usefulness, as well as self-worth through massage. It also has the power to liberate, the power to keep the body vital, flexible, with elasticity that are so necessary in staying self-sufficient. Massage has the virtue of softening both the joints as well as the emotions.

We have all heard of the relationship between stress and the defense in our biological and physiological systems. One distraction and the door is open for viruses and health complications, attempting against our well-being, may be handled in a better way, if the body is in optimum condition for the age in question. In other words, not having to sacrifice too much our tastes.

Massage is, in addition to a mechanism to maintain flexibility and elasticity of movement, a tool to fight the problems at the root. Problems arising from the process of aging such as depression and stress resulting from loneliness, isolation and a feeling of uselessness that sometimes takes over us, and it also offers us the opportunity to interact with a professional massage therapist who provides human contact, bonding for warmth of spirit and attention that some elderly people no longer receive from friends and family. Relatives and others seem to forget about the elderly and stop paying attention that is much needed even in the third age.

It is said that massage and therapy, through the sense or touch, have been connected and in use for ages. However, the new trend in massage is in the process of being rediscovered by individuals and professionals as an effective alternative to pills and medication.

Among the virtues of massage, is the fact that it does not pose physiological risks to the patient-client, because the healing nature of massage is the result of stimulated endorphin, the curative element produced naturally by the body that reaches to the nervous, the immunological system and promotes fast healing after trauma, injury and surgery.

Some of the most successful results in massage programs have been obtained in groups of elderly people suffering from senile dementia, whose conduct has moderated thanks to body massage, like for example massaging the feet and the hands proved to have a soothing effect in people displaying a conduct characterized by uneasiness and anxiety.

Research in the filed of massage and its application with positive results in the elderly is still underway. As new publications reach the newsprint, these will be forwarded to you in future articles.

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