Smell the wellness

I had always assumed that its just tradition that you buy flowers for somebody that is ill.  Speaking as a woman who loves flowers, its always nice to receive flowers but I had underestimated their power.

Research completed by the American Society of Horticulture Science discovered that surgical patients exposed to flowers or plants in their recovery rooms have

  • lower blood pressure
  • lower heart rates
  • less pain
  • less anxiety
  • less fatigue

When compared to patients who whose rooms have no foliage, flowers or plants.   In fact, patients who had plants in their room even reported more positive feelings and satisfaction about their rooms than those without plants.

So clearly there is a lot of wisdom in the tradition of buying flowers for people when they are ill.

Reference

https://journals.ashs.org/horttech/view/journals/horttech/18/4/article-p563.xml

Related Posts

  • Can going to the sauna help your BP?

    I will start with a confession.  While I know the benefits of hydotherapy - basically you take a hot shower for 30 seconds then switch to freezing cold for 30 seconds, then go back to hot and repeat for 2 or 3 minutes - it has never appealed to me.  It may be fantastic for blood flow and good for your liver, but to me it seems brutal!  So in the past, I have only spent a few short minutes in a sauna and I have never been tempted to jump into the ice cold plunge pool afterwards - despite my finnish friends telling me how fantastic it is. So I was interested in the Kuopio Ischaemic Heart Disease Risk Factor Study which looked at if frequent use of a sauna has reduces the risk of high BP.  The study looked at 1,621 middle-aged men living in eastern Finland.  The study found that

    • Going to the sauna 4 to 7 times per week reduces your risk of develping High BP by 46%.
    • Going to the sauna 2 to 3 times per week reduces your risk of develpoing High BP by 24%.
    So my Finnish friends who rave about going to the sauna are wise, going regularly helps to keep your BP  in check. References F Zaccardi, T Laukkanen, P Willeit et al, Sauna Bathing and Incident Hypertension: A Prospective Cohort Study, American Journal of Hypertension, Volume 30, Issue 11, 1 November 2017, Pages 1120–1125, https://doi.org/10.1093/ajh/hpx102

  • Does owning a dog help you live longer?

    A new study has discovered that dog owners:

    • live longer
    • less likely to suffer a heart attack
    The protective effect of having a dog is increased if the dog is a hunting dog e.g. a terrier or a retriever. However it may not be owning a dog itself that helps you live longer but the lifestyle of dog owners.  This is because dog owners have to walk the dog so they are more active.  During these walks they may bump into other dog walkers and talk so there is increased social contact.  In addition the dirt the dog brings into your home changes the dog owners gut microbiome making them less susceptible to a heart attack. What ever the reason the statistics are impressive.  The risk of premature death drops by around 33% and the chances of a heart attack is reduce by 11%, according to researchers who studied the health of 3.4 million swedes of which 13% owned a dog for up to 12 years. To focus in on the benefits of dog ownership, researchers focused in on single people living alone as this is recognised risk for heart disease. One potential flaw in the is study is that people who choose to get a dog may already be more active and social and hence less likely to develop heart disease anyway. Reference https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/29150678

  • Scientific Evidence for massage reducing muscle pain

    I would say the number one reason for booking with Vitality Therapy is muscle pain in either

    • Shoulders
    • Neck
    • Lower Back
    • Knees
    • Elbows
    • Headaches
    I know that new clients often come to us because we were recommended by their colleagues; who came to us with muscle pain and found massage relieved it.  So my clinical experience is consistent with the view that massage has been traditionally used to relieve pain.  But what about the scientific evidence? Lower back pain is the most common reason for visiting your GP and hence one of the most studied areas of massage.  Several scientific studies have concluded that massage therapy is more effective than a placebo for sub acute and chronic lower back pain.  The evidence suggest that massage therapy achieved significant client satisfaction and reduction in pain levels, both in the short and long term. References
    1. Cherkin D, Sherman K, Deyo R, Shekelle P. A review of the evidence for the effectiveness, safety, and cost of acupuncture, massage therapy, and spinal manipulation for back pain. Ann Intern Med 2003; 138(11): 898-906.
    2. Chou R, Huffman L. Nonpharmacologic therapies for acute and chronic low back pain: a review of the evidence for an American Pain Society/American College of Physicians clinical practice guideline. Ann Intern Med 2007; 147(7): 492-504.
    3. Dryden T, Baskwill A, Preyde M. Massage therapy for the orthopaedic patient: a review. Orthop Nurs 2004; 23(5): 327-34.
    4. Furlan A, Brosseau L, Imamura M, Irvin E. Massage for low-back pain: a systematic review within the framework of the Cochrane Collaboration Back Review Group. Spine 2002; 27(17): 1896-910.
    5. Imamura M, Furlan A, Dryden T, Irvin E. Evidence-informed management of chronic low back pain with massage. Spine J 2008; 8(1): 121-33.
    6. Tsao J. Effectiveness of Massage Therapy for Chronic, Non-malignant Pain: A Review. Evid Based Complement Alternat Med 2007; 4(2): 165-79.
    7. van Tulder M, Furlan A, Gagnier J. Complementary and alternative therapies for lower back pain. Best Pract Res Clin Rheumatol 2005; 19(4): 639-54