Issue link: https://www.massageandbodyworkdigital.com/i/72343
news notes COMPILED BY JED HENEBERRY SESSION The World Massage Conference will take place November 14–16 as an online conference. Considered the largest event in the massage profession, the spring event had more than 13,000 massage professionals participating from around the globe. Experts will present on a variety of topics through live broadcasts, panel discussions, and streaming video. Participants can send questions and chat directly with educators and attendees throughout the event, and all sessions will be recorded and available for on- demand replay after the end of the conference. For more information or to register for the conference, go to www. worldmassageconference.com. WMC HOSTS FALL Massage Eases Fibromyalgia A Spanish study found that patients severely affected by fibromyalgia showed improvement in activity levels, grip strength, social functioning, and vitality after an eight-week program that included massage therapy, aerobic exercise, ischemic pressure on tender points, and thermal therapy. In addition to the regular medical treatment that the control group also received, the multidisciplinary treatment program produced an improvement of more than 30 percent above the control group in a quarter of the patients studied, with benefits lasting for at least one month after treatment. The results will be published in an upcoming volume of Rheumatology International and are available at www.springerlink.com/ content/u31k188v302387n7/abstract. Consumers and health-care professionals are being warned not to use the device, which has sold nearly 12,000 units since 2003. FDA Warning About Massage Device According to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the ShoulderFlex Massager, a self-massage device from King International, can cause strangulation or other serious injury. Several incidents of clothing, hair, or jewelry being caught in the rotating device have been reported, including one death. Consumers and health-care professionals are being warned not to use the device, which has sold nearly 12,000 units since 2003. The FDA encourages anyone with the machine to simply dispose of it in a way that it cannot be reassembled. 16 massage & bodywork november/december 2011