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Free chair massage offered at Health 1st For information on massage therapy and to receive a free chair massage, visit the Wellness Wednesday booth from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Nov. 7 in the Children’s Hospital lobby. Massage Today reports that about 90 percent of all visits to primary care physicians are for stress-related complaints and has been shown to contribute to problems such as heart disease, memory loss and decreased immune function.   Stress is the No. 1 cause of disability and up to 80 percent of industrial accidents are due to stress. However, stress doesn’t just contribute to physical problems. Stress can take away an individual’s energy leaving them with unexplainable fatigue and anxiety making a person less likely to enjoy relationships and leisure activities.   According to the Mitchum Report on Stress, 14 percent of workers say stress caused them to quit or change jobs in the previous two years showing that today’s job market places strenuous demands on our bodies and on our minds. The physical demands of long hours at the computer and the high stress of a hospital have made all forms of work stress reduction increasingly necessary.   A good chair massage reduces fatigue and tension for greater productivity and safety. Massage can help boost the immune system which helps prevent absenteeism and those massaged are more alert, perform better and are less stressed than those who aren’t massaged. There are fewer days lost to sickness and injury because a relaxed worker has a better functioning immune system and is more alert and, therefore, less likely to get sick or injure themselves. Through extensive research, massage therapy has been proven to consistently improve performance and productivity in the work place, as well as decrease the amount of job related accidents.   Studies on stress related to massage therapy from The Touch Research Institute include: Reduces anxiety An estimated 20 million Americans suffer from depression. A review of more than a dozen massage studies concluded that massage therapy helps relieve depression and anxiety by affecting the body’s biochemistry. In the studies reviewed, researchers measured the stress hormone cortisol in participants before and immediately after massage and found that the therapy lowered levels by up to 53 percent. Massage also increased serotonin and dopamine, and neurotransmitters that help reduce depression. Job performance/stress Massaged adults showed 1) decreased frontal EEG alpha and beta power and increased delta power consistent with enhanced alertness; 2) math problems were completed in significantly less time with significantly fewer errors after the massage; and 3) anxiety, cortisol (stress hormone) and job stress levels were lower at the end of the five-week period.   Stop by the Health 1st Wellness Wednesday table Nov. 7 to learn more on how stress can be reduced through chair massage and receive a free chair massage. Weekly tips from the Healthy S.C. Challenge Healthy S.C. Challenge is a results-oriented initiative created by Gov. Mark Sanford and first lady Jenny Sanford to motivate people to start making choices that can improve health and well-being. Visit http://www.healthysc.gov. Physical activity A structured exercise session consists of a warm-up, aerobic phase, cool down and strength training. Editor's note: The preceding column was brought to you on behalf of Health 1st. Striving to bring various topics and representing numerous employee wellness organizations and committees on campus, this weekly column seeks to provide MUSC, MUHA and UMA employees with current and helpful information concerning all aspects of health.     Friday, Nov. 2, 2007 Catalyst Online is published weekly, updated as needed and improved from time to time by the MUSC Office of Public Relations for the faculty, employees and students of the Medical University of South Carolina. Catalyst Online editor, Kim Draughn, can be reached at 792-4107 or by email, catalyst@musc.edu. Editorial copy can be submitted to Catalyst Online and to The Catalyst in print by fax, 792-6723, or by email to catalyst@musc.edu. To place an ad in The Catalyst hardcopy, call Island Publications at 849-1778, ext. 201.