We know that art therapy can help children with anger, stress and depression. Do you know that it can also help children with heart disease?

One such patient is an 18 year old girl profiled in the July 1 2009 issue of the Wall Street Journal. At age 9, she had her second heart transplant. Her body was determined to reject the first heart. She went into cardiac arrest six times in 2 hours. She recalled being “awake” when the doctors were frantically trying to revive her.

Fearing that they would pull the plug on her, she tried desperately to tell the people in the hospital room that she was alive.Recuperating at home was no easy matter; she kept having recurring nightmares in which she watched herself suffering cardiac arrest.

Things, however, began to change when she took up the pen. She began writing down her thoughts about being helpless and scared. She turned these details into poems and stories. Eventually, the nightmares disappeared.

Now 18, she has successfully completed high school and is looking forward to nursing school in the fall.She credits her writing for helping her deal with her heart and surgery. It was her creative expression through writing that enabled her to transform something frightening and painful into a positive goal – to make something of her life.

Researchers are taking note of the positive relationship between art therapy and the heart. Some current clinical data on this relationship include the following:

a) Psychosocial factors like depression and stress have been found to be strong risk factors for heart attacks. In fact, these emotional factors are considered as strong as physiological factors like high blood pressure and diabetes.

According to researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, depression increases the risk of heart disease more than genetics or the environment. This means that any intervention that can reduce depression can benefit the heart. Scientists are working to determine how artistic expression can be considered a valid form of clinical intervention to be used along with exercise, diets and medication for reducing heart disease. (more…)

Therapeutic massage does more than relax and eliminate stress from the body. It is another option to achieving relief from pain. Many people are surprised to learn the effectiveness of massage therapy when the right techniques have been used. People who never thought of massage as a healing therapy are now sold on the idea.

Chronic pain in the muscles usually indicates muscles tightness. Trauma, injury, repetitive use of the same muscles, or even stress can develop into a chronic condition if left untreated. When muscles tighten, the fibers within the muscle decrease in length, resulting in a shortened muscle. This shortened muscle, along with the connective tissue coverings called fascia, can begin to adhere to surrounding structures in the body, decreasing range of motion in the joints and placing pressure on nerves. Tight muscles also can lead to reduced circulation, allowing waste products to accumulate. These waste products can also irritate nerves causing pain to develop throughout the affected area. This pain cycle can be corrected by increasing circulation, softening and lengthening tight muscles and fascia, and breaking down any scar tissue or adhesions that have formed between tissue layers. All of the above can be remedied by therapeutic massage.

Massage therapy is more than a relaxation and stress relief tool. It is a natural, safe, and non-invasive therapy for the prevention and rehabilitative treatment for conditions such as carpal tunnel syndrome, fibromyalgia, low back pain, sciatica, tendonitis, thoracic outlet syndrome, frozen shoulder, whiplash, sports injuries, shin splints, knee pain, plantar fasciitis, tennis elbow, and golfers elbow. (more…)