Nursing Care Company Pitches Benefits of Massage to Seniors

by Aaron Kraut, Staff Writer, Montgomery County Gazette, April 4, 2012

A Silver Spring nursing care company recently partnered with Maplewood Park Place senior living community in Bethesda to bring therapeutic massage to senior residents.

Family & Nursing Care, which provides in-home care to older adults, launched the program on March 28 with a grand opening celebration at Maplewood. As massage becomes more popular, there’s been an increase in scientific research on its health benefits, including at the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine, part of the National Institutes of Health.

"Pain management is such a prevalent issue for older adults,” said Family & Nursing Care President Neal Kursban. “There are just incredible benefits to massage - reducing stress, easing people's mood and anxiety level."

At the event last week, Maplewood residents received free massages and learned of potential benefits. A 2010 Emory University School of Medicine study found a 45-minute Swedish massage reduced the level of stress hormones and cytokine proteins related to inflammation and allergic reactions.

Family & Nursing Care now is offering the service to all of its clients.

"It’s a natural extension," Kursban said.

(c) 2012 Post-Newsweek Media, Inc./Gazette.Net