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Celebrating 25 Years of Massage Service It hard to believe, but today marks my 25th year since I graduated from Massage School. I never intended to make a career out of it. It just happened.
I have managed to stay with it by regularly adding new techniques and several different paradigms too. Even today I am excited to add Lymph Drainage Therapy to my practice. I expect it to shift my approach and give me years of new ideas and possibilities as did Ortho-Bionomy and before that Sports Massage.
I appreciate all the clients over the years who let me practice and grow, not expecting every session to be the same as the last.
Today I remember all of the great teachers and mentors who have guided me, challenged me and supported my steps.
I feel most grateful to fellow students, in particular my good friend Marla Moore, who traveled with me through many courses over many years.
I love doing Massage Therapy. Perhaps another 25 years waits before me.
--Barry Krost
Visit My Cool Internet Links The Psoas Muscle Causes Back and Hip Pain
The Secrets of the Pelvis
What is Positional Release?
What is Lymph Drainage Therapy?
Do You Love Chocolate Eclairs?
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A Look at the Benefits of Sports Massage 
What Is Sports Massage?
Sports massage is a form of massage that utilizes specific strokes to help athletes obtain maximum performance and physical conditioning by increasing power, endurance, and mobility—both before and after an event or exercise.
Who Can Benefit?
Sports massage is particularly beneficial when an athlete is in training for an event. It’s also helpful for anyone who routinely stretches physical limits through movement. Swimmers, weight lifters, runners, golfers, ball players, skaters, dancers, tennis players, musicians, and boxers, as well as weekend warriors and those who practice strength training or aerobics, have benefited from sports massage.
How Can Sports Massage Help In Rehabilitation?
Sports massage can accelerate the healing process, increase range of motion, reduce adhesions, and reduce swelling, bruising, and pain. Areas of stress in other muscles, created through compensating for an injury, can be eased with a regular sports massage regimen. Sports massage can partially compensate for lack of exercise during inactivity while recovering from injury. Sports massage is also used to relieve muscular spasms and fatigue-related injuries.
Why Is Sports Massage Recommended?
Sports massage is more than just a reward at the end of a workout. It is a vital tool for keeping athletes primed for top performance and even lengthening their careers. Recognized as an important part of a regular maintenance program, sports massage is widely used by individuals, teams, and Olympic and professional athletes.
Source: Associated Bodywork & Massage Professionals. [https://abmp.com]
Barry Krost has been working with athletes since 1985 including working with the Chicago Bears in the 1990's.
Lymph Drainage Techniques: A Key to Health and Longevity 
The Lymphatic System is very important to good health. Lymph Drainage Technique developed by French physician Bruno Chikly, is an original hands-on method that supports the proper movement of lymph through the body.
The proper functioning of the lymphatic system is critical to our body's ability to operate at peak performance. This system drains fluids, detoxifies and regenerates tissues, filters out toxins and foreign substances and helps us maintain a healthy immune system. If lymph circulation stagnates however, toxins accumulate and compromise cellular functioning, which opens the way to physical ailments. (http://upledger.com/therapies/ldt.htm)
The lymphatic system is a complex network of lymphoid organs, lymph nodes, lymph ducts, lymphatic tissues, lymph capillaries and lymph vessels that produce and transport lymph fluid from tissues to the circulatory system. Lymph is returned to blood circulation behind the collarbone. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lymphatic_system)
Lymph Drainage Therapy (LDT) is a gentle, light-touch, noninvasive technique. If done correctly LDT can help in:
- Reduction in edemas (swelling) and lymphedemas of various origins.
- Detoxification of the body.
- Anti-aging effects.
- Removal of cellulite tissue.
- Relief of numerous chronic and subacute inflammations, including sinusitis, bronchitis and otitis.
- Relief of chronic pain.
- Regeneration of tissue, including burns, wounds, stretch marks and wrinkles.
- Stimulation of the immune system.
- Reduction in the symptoms of chronic fatigue syndrome and fibromyalgia.
- Antispastic actions to relieve conditions such as muscle hypertonus and some forms of constipation.
- Deep relaxation to aid insomnia, stress, loss of vitality and loss of
memory.
(http://upledger.com/therapies/ldt.htm)
Practitioners of LDT learn how to “manually attune the specific rhythm, pressure, quality and direction of the lymph flow by using a combination of precise anatomical science and distinct manual techniques.” LDT practitioners can help move lymph very specifically. Training includes learning to create exact lymphatic maps of the direction of superficial and deep lymphatic pathways. This allows the practitioner to restore the normal flow of fluids from the tissues to the circulatory system. (http://upledger.com/therapies/ldt.htm)
According to Dr. Chikly:
LDT practitioners can facilitate nature by stimulating the natural peristaltic contractions of the two to three layers of muscles located along the lymphatic pathways, also called lymphangions (Mislin, 1961). Stagnating fluid, toxins and wastes will be drained through the flow of lymph. During its passage through lymphatic nodes, the body will generate production of more lymphocytes to reinforce immune response and accelerate contact antibodies/foreign substances.
Lymphatic drainage techniques are among the most scientifically documented, gentle and efficient hands-on therapeutic tools practiced today. They are widely utilized in hospitals and clinics across Europe and are reimbursed by Medicare in Florida for lymphedema. (http://www.massagetherapy.com/articles/index.php/article_id/207) The work is very gentle and relaxing. Clients often go into a deep state of relaxation as the water in their tissues is slowly moved into lymphatic vessels, down into lymphatic nodes and ducts and back to the circulatory system.
—Barry Krost
Barry Krost is training to become a certified practitioner of LDT.
Studies Show the Effectiveness of Acupuncture 
A number of recent scientific studies have demonstrated the effectiveness of acupuncture treatments. Acupuncture is a technique that aims to reduce pain and restore health and well being by inserting and manipulating needles into points on the body.
Acupuncture has been around for thousands of years. In China, the practice of acupuncture may be traced as far back as the Stone Age where they used sharpened stones instead of needles. “Different types of acupuncture (Classical Chinese, Japanese, Tibetan, and Korean acupuncture) are practiced and taught throughout the world.” (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acupuncture)
Acupuncture and Surgical Pain Reduction
In a study released in October of 2007 researcher proposed that the use of acupuncture before and during surgery reduces patients’ post-operative pain as well as the need for pain-killing medication. According to Researchers at Duke University Medical Center in North Carolina an analysis of the results of 15 clinical trials on the effectiveness of acupuncture indicated that:
The use of acupuncture before and during surgery reduces patients’ post-operative pain as well as the need for pain-killing medication… These patients also required less morphine or other opioid pain medication after surgery, which reduced the side effects like nausea and vomiting from these types of drugs, the researchers said.
The National Institutes of Health also says that acupuncture has also been shown to reduce nausea after chemotherapy and surgery. (http://msnbc.msn.com/id/21334682/)
Scientists still don’t fully understand how acupuncture works. Some think it might help increase the levels of the body’s natural pain-killing chemicals.
Acupuncture and Improved Fertility
In a recent study released February 2008, a scientific review suggests that acupuncture might improve the success of conception if done right before or after embryos are placed in the womb using in vitro fertilization.
The analysis was led by Eric Manheimer, a researcher at the University of Maryland School of Medicine, and paid for by a federal agency, the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine. Results were published Friday in the British medical journal, BMJ.
Acupuncture is thought to increase blood flow to the uterus, relax the cervix and inhibit “fight or flight” stress hormones that can make it tougher for an embryo to implant, Manheimer said.
The analysis pools results from seven studies on 1,366 women in the United States, Germany, Australia and Denmark who are having in vitro fertilization, or IVF. It involves mixing sperm and eggs in a lab dish to create embryos that are placed in the womb.
Individually, only three of the studies found acupuncture beneficial, three found a trend toward benefit and one found no benefit. When results of these smaller studies were pooled, researchers found that the odds of conceiving went up about 65 percent for women given acupuncture. (http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/23057790/)
Acupuncture May Reduce Blood Pressure
A study published in June of 2007 showed that acupuncture was effective in reducing blood pressure.
In this study, 160 patients in Germany and China with mild to moderate hypertension were randomized to receive acupuncture (performed by Chinese physicians accredited in acupuncture. Patients underwent 22 sessions of 30 minutes each over a period of six weeks.
At the end of that time, the systolic and diastolic blood pressures in patients receiving traditional Chinese acupuncture were significantly reduced (by approximately 5 mm Hg and 3 mm Hg, respectively).
Unfortunately, when acupuncture was discontinued their blood pressures returned to baseline values within three months. (http://heartdisease.about.com/od/hypertension/a/acupunctureBP.htm)
I would expect that future studies should continue to find reasons to include acupuncture as a complimentary treatment, particularly when done by professionals. Like other medical treatments there will be examples of the limitations of acupuncture as well.
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