Therapies

Older Australians will receive more services including physiotherapy, occupational therapy, massage and podiatry with a $3.2 million Federal Government funding boost, Federal Minister for Ageing Kevin Andrews announced today.

The money will go to Day Therapy Centres which help older people maintain or recover a level of independence so they can stay in their own homes or low level care.

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Patients who expect acupuncture or massage to work wonders for their back pain seem to improve more than patients who have lower expectations, according to a report.

Dr. Donna Kalauokalani, of Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri, and her colleagues performed a 10-week study of 135 patients who complained about chronic low back pain. At the start of the study, patients were asked to …

For as long as I can remember, I’ve suffered from back pain. Although I have experienced some relief using heat, cold, massage, chiropractic and acupuncture, invariably the pain has always returned. Until one day I visited a friend in California who had similar back problems. She told me she had some body work done called Bowen. Her back and hip pain were gone after just one session!

I was d…

Pilates has become increasingly popular recently as an alternative to the more traditional methods of exercise, thanks to more sports stars and celebrities singing its praises. However, Pilates (or the Pilates method) is not a new form of exercise. It was first developed in the 1920s by Joseph Pilates (1880-1967) and was later embraced by the dance community as a means of injury prevention and …

People suffering from chronic low back pain who received acupuncture or simulated acupuncture treatments fared better than those receiving only conventional care according to a recent study published in the Archives of Internal Medicine. The study highlights central questions about the mechanisms of benefit seen in acupuncture studies.

This trial, led by Daniel Cherkin, Ph.D., of Group Healt…

Alternative health has changed from an unpracticed and little understood range of treatments to an increasingly accepted and common form of healthcare. However, many therapies are still largely unsupported by clinical trials, sometimes due to a lack of testing. The lack of a firm evidence base has been identified as a concern for Australian industry participants and consumer groups, and has res…

Osteoporosis is a disorder characterised by a reduction in bone mass causing the skeleton to become increasingly fragile. The more fragile bone is, the greater the risk of fractures. Throughout our life, our bones are constantly being remodelled. Peak bone mass is reached at about 30 years of age. After this the amount of bone lost is greater than the amount of bone being formed.

Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction Shows Promise for Easing Psychological Distress Associated with Disease Symptoms

A revered contemplative practice for centuries, meditation has recently inspired research into its therapeutic value for everything from anxiety disorders to heart attack prevention.

A painful, progressive autoimmune disease, rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is associated with a hi…

Massage is the most fundamental of all healing techniques and the profession of massage has been practiced since time immemorial. It was indeed one of the most effective and important forms of relaxation and sports medicine available to ancient civilizations, and still is today.

What is massage therapy?

It’s a hands-on approach for the evaluation and application of various techniques to t…