Day Spa News: If someone's in pain, give him a hand. Or two hands. Or an elbow

In fact, at hospitals around the U.S., a good rubdown is considered just as effective in pain relief as any medication. The UCLA Center for East-West Medicine in Santa Monica, Calif., uses massage to treat patients with such chronic conditions as fibromyalgia, spinal stenosis and osteoarthritis. At John C. Lincoln Hospital in Phoenix, patients receive massage for stress relief and to aide in physical therapy.

Day Spa News: As Sun Safety Grows, So Do The Benefits of Sunless Tanning

The popularity of self-tanning products is surging, showing that Americans are wising up about sun safety. They're putting their money where their skin is.

Self-tanning products, also called ''sunless'' tanning lotions, contain dihydroxyacetone (DHA), a colorless sugar that interacts with dead surface cells in the epidermis, staining the skin darker. The effect is temporary, because as the dead cells naturally slough off, the color fades, disappearing within a week unless the lotion has been reapplied.

Day Spa News: General Wellness: About Melanoma

What is melanoma?

The answer to the question asked by patients, their families, and other concerned people is that melanoma is the most serious form of skin cancer. To reach a more complete understanding, it is necessary to learn how the cells in the body become malignant.