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PaperclipPerfector  10mo ago (text post)   2429 thread views

Wellness Wednesday for July 5, 2023

The Wednesday Wellness threads are meant to encourage users to ask for and provide advice and motivation to improve their lives. It isn't intended as a 'containment thread' and any content which could go here could instead be posted in its own thread. You could post:

  • Requests for advice and / or encouragement. On basically any topic and for any scale of problem.

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  • Advice. This can be in response to a request for advice or just something that you think could be generally useful for many people here.

  • Encouragement. Probably best directed at specific users, but if you feel like just encouraging people in general I don't think anyone is going to object. I don't think I really need to say this, but just to be clear; encouragement should have a generally positive tone and not shame people (if people feel that shame might be an effective tool for motivating people, please discuss this so we can form a group consensus on how to use it rather than just trying it).

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Blackpill or whitepill me on massage. I don’t particularly like heavy (sports, I guess) massages, but a lot of people I know including my partner swear by them. Osteopaths Love Him (etc etc).

Is there any health-based reason to visit a masseuse or osteopath that amounts to more than it being a pleasurable experience for people who enjoy it?

This is a great article written by a really thorough pain researcher who goes through the positives and negatives. Keep in mind he's a physical therapist so somewhat biased, but I really do trust his research and methodologies. Here's the gist:

It has some plausible medical benefits, even if they are inconsistent and unproven. More importantly, the emotional value of touch and the effects on mood and mental health are so profound that patients really just cannot lose — good quality massage therapy is a worthwhile service for anyone who can afford it whether it “works” as a treatment or not.

So I'd say - no real physical benefits at all, but hey it makes you feel nice. Personally I just self massage with oils/tennis balls and stretch and I've been much better off. You also have to consider that bad massages can really mess you up, especially if you have chronic pain issues or if the person is inexperienced/dumb and uses too much force.

Thanks, this was very interesting.

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