Kiss.

From the Author

It might seem strange to title a professionally oriented piece "KISS," but this was necessary to convey the article's message. I will also explain what KISS stands for, and I hope you understand that my intention is solely to support the message of my writing.

Approximately 18 years ago, a hypertension patient whom I had successfully treated and helped to sustain normal blood pressure referred another patient to me. This new patient suffered from uncontrollable hypertension, a very difficult case. For a long time, he was sent to the ER at least once a week due to hypertensive crises, with blood pressure reaching 220/140. A combination of medications did not work at all. He was medically managed by a group of cardiologists and nephrologists, all UCLA clinicians and researchers. If you click this link, you will find a letter from Professor Gang describing this case.

https://www.medicalmassage-edu.com/products/ceu-volume-16.htm#video_only

Ten years ago, Dr.Gang recommended including me as a consultant in the research and development of hypertensive medications. My role was to treat hypertension patients while scientists tested changes secondary to my treatment. The principal investigator of this study demanded my participation in a weekly discussion group. Six groups participated in the research, with the principal investigator assigning different research plans to each group, which then reported back to him for analysis. I made a great friend, who was the head of one group and considered a genius by other scientists. I would like to provide some information about her to give you a better picture of her character. She graduated high school at 16 years old, was accepted to Harvard undergrad with two majors, attended Harvard Dental School, and then went to medical school to become an oral surgeon. After practicing for several years, she pursued a PhD in pharmacology. She painted her hair using three different colors and had a body covered in tattoos. English is not my first language, and she taught me many English bad words that she herself used. Despite her rough exterior, she had a big heart and was compassionate toward people. She had a very low tolerance for what she called "bla, bla, bla" talks. Everyone loved her, and everyone was afraid to argue with her. Luckily, she loved me. LOL. Often, the principal investigator asked me to speak.

My general position was that if essential hypertension is secondary to the compromised vertebral artery by tense muscles, you have to find a way to produce medications that can control normal muscle tone. Otherwise, irritation of the sympathetic plexus won't allow you to control hypertension. In such cases, no medication could work. Additionally, by providing repeated treatments, I increased the threshold of baroreceptors, which is necessary to sustain normal blood pressure. You have to develop medications that can increase the threshold of baroreceptors. During these meetings, different group leaders would present using PowerPoint presentations, etc. Numerous times, I would hear the principal investigator say "KISS," and everyone would laugh. I understood this as an internal joke. One day, a fellow was presenting and spent an inordinate amount of time referencing other studies. Even I understood that he was not getting to the point. He probably exceeded the threshold of my friend, and she screamed, "KISS," followed by a bad word.

After the meeting, I asked her what this joke about KISS was. She was surprised that I didn't know. She said KISS stands for "Keep It Simple, Stupid." I started laughing, and then we had a serious talk about modern science. She asked if I noticed how many references to other studies he offered and if I believed he had read them all. She said many of these guys are not capable of reading research papers. I was doubtful and asked if she was serious. She said yes, many are too lazy to read, and not everyone is capable of analyzing scientific data. They copy from each other, and with sincere sadness, she said this is why most research data cannot be reproduced.

My dear friends, let's be honest. Most of us don't have scientific degrees, and most of us are not informed enough to search for and read research reports, let alone analyze them. The main question is, what for? To distract yourself from developing hands-on skills to help people who are suffering? We all know the Internet is full of garbage pretending to sound scientific, like this one: PubMed Article. Regrettably, many members of the massage community praised this “research paper,” and some got confused. Read the response here.

We should focus on learning from clinical experiences and, if necessary, the science of massage. Clinically experienced therapists would never believe such nonsense claims like massage disturbing blood supply. If we were causing this dysfunction, we would be making millions of people sick. The fact is, we are helping millions of people get their lives back.

Discussions make us informed. Being informed is powerful, especially in protecting ourselves from the influence of garbage science and research papers. As always, I invite you to post comments, agreements, or disagreements.

Best wishes.