57,356 victims died in 2005 according to The American Heart Association. It is now estimated that 70 million people in the U.S. now have hypertension or high blood pressure.

We've come a long way in applying materials to the skin while doing massage therapy.  Hog's lard, powder, olive oil, and liniment are just a few of the materials that have been used in massage. Olive oil was believed to ease pain. Liniment was used to increase circulation. I'm not certain what the lard did other than being used to oil the skin. Some of these, such as powder, are still being used today.

Well, it's that time of the year and "something" is going around.  Chills, headaches, runny nose, fever, watery eyes, cough, sneezing ...you catch my drift.