Absolutely Spahhhvelous

Posts Tagged ‘massage therapy’

What is arthritis? It’s basically the inflammation of a joint. This inflammation includes redness, pain, swelling, and heat. Millions of Americans suffer from some type of arthritis. It is most common in middle age and late in life, but it does affect children, teenagers, and young adults as well.

There are over 100 different types of arthritis, although most of them are rare. (A comprehensive list of these can be found at the Arthritis Foundation’s website.) The two most common types are osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis, which is often referred to as RA.

Osteoarthritis is a degenerative joint disease. It usually only affects the major weight-bearing joints such as the hips, knees, and spine, but sometimes affects the hands and feet as well. It is the degeneration and loss of cartilage that produces pain and stiffness in the affected joint.

Rheumatoid arthritis is an autoimmune disease. What this means is that the immune system attacks a healthy part of your body, which results in inflammation. Areas commonly affected are the hands and feet, but sometimes included are the neck, jaw, elbows, shoulders, knees, and hips.

Massage therapy for arthritis sufferers was recognized as beneficial as early as the 2^nd century BC, so this is certainly nothing new. Indeed, it is an age old practice that can improve quality of life and lessen dependency on pain medications that could possibly be hazardous to your health.

Benefits of massage therapy include:

• Increased circulation
• Increased mobility
• Decreased pain and inflammation
• Relief of muscle aches and stiffness.

During a recent four-week study, patients with moderate to severe arthritis who received regular massage reported less anxiety, decreased pain, and improved mood. In individuals with arthritis in their hands, they even reported greater grip strength.  Overall, the massage therapy group showed greater improvement than the standard (pharmaceutical) treatment group on all measures.

Of course, the key to getting the most out of your therapy is are regular, repeating sessions with your therapist. You will certainly feel relief after your very first session, but in order to maintain this, it should become a regular part of your arthritis care regimen.

Contact your therapist today and schedule an appointment to discuss the many benefits of massage therapy for your unique symptoms. Your therapist is skilled in working with patients with arthritis, and knows the right techniques to use to get you back to your normal self.

Fibromyalgia is a common and very complex pain disorder. It affects sufferers physically, mentally and socially. It is classified as a syndrome rather than a disease. Unlike a disease, which has specific symptoms due to a specific cause, a syndrome is rather a collection of symptoms without a clear-cut reason for them.

Fibromyalgia is characterized by chronic, widespread pain; abnormal pain processing in the nerves; sleep disturbances; multiple points of extreme tenderness; fatigue; and often, psychological stress. Symptoms can range from mild to severe. Patients with severe symptoms find the syndrome debilitating and have trouble doing even the most basic of daily activities.

Massage therapy can help ease the symptoms of Fibromyalgia by:

• Increasing blood circulation
• Increasing flexibility
• Increasing range of motion
• Decreasing stress and anxiety
• Reducing pain, stiffness, and swelling
• And improving sleep

The Journal of Clinical Rheumatology also lists the benefits of massage for patients with Fibromyalgia symptoms.

Massage therapy helped to improve sleep patterns, decrease pain, fatigue, anxiety, depression and cortisol levels in adults with fibromyalgia. Sunshine, W., Field, T., Schanberg, S., Quintino, O., Fierro, K., Kuhn, C., Burman, I., and Schanberg, S. (1996). Fibromyalgia benefits from massage therapy and transcutaneous electrical stimulation. Journal of Clinical Rheumatology, 2, 18-22.

Fibromyalgia patients slept better, and had lower substance P levels and less pain following a month of biweekly massages. Field, T., Diego, M., Cullen, C., Hernandez-Reif, M., Sunshine, W., & Douglas, S. (2002). Fibromyalgia pain and substance P decrease and sleep improves after massage therapy. Journal of Clinical Rheumatology, 8, 72-76.

Along with regular massage, there are additional steps you can take to ease your symptoms and improve the quality of your life.

• Moderate the quantity and quality of your physical activities to match how you feel each day.
• Practice regular relaxation and stress management techniques (your massage therapist can be very helpful in instructing you on the most efficient way to do this.)
• Eat a healthy, well-balanced diet to keep your weight down.
• Utilize heating pads and warm showers for tenderness and pain.

If you have further questions, please contact your massage therapist. She can help with any concerns you may have and get you started on the road to recovery.

A gentle massage could be just what the doctor ordered if you are one of the many Americans who suffer from arthritis pain.  Massage therapy won’t cure or eliminate your arthritis, but it can help to greatly relieve inflammation and swelling around the joints; reducing your pain by relieving the muscle stiffness.  Massage increases the circulation to the joint and helps flush out stagnant fluids, bringing in fresh blood and nutrition to the area.

Gentle stretches can also help to maintain and, sometimes increase, the range of motion of a joint affected by arthritis.  When a joint is affected by arthritis, it becomes worn down and loses its proper function.  The surrounding muscles then reflexively engage to help support what the body is interpreting as an injury.  Massage is a very effective way to help those muscles relax, receive new circulation and allow proper range of motion of the joint.

The two different types of arthritis are:

Osteoarthritis, where the lining and cartilage, or cushioning, has worn down inside the joint.  Over time, this will cause pain and inflammation, and a loss of range of motion of the joint, as our bodies ‘guard’ against moving that area due to pain.  This decrease in use and movement can lead to the muscles around the joint shortening and tensing up, resulting in muscle pain. Massage therapy itself won’t repair the wear and tear, but it will help to bring new circulation and nutrition to the affected joint.  This allows the body to heal itself and possibly slow the progression of deterioration .

Rheumatoid arthritis, is a condition where deterioration of the joint lining occurs and destroys the bone and joint capsule. This usually leads to deformities of the affected joints.  As the joint deteriorates, the muscles surrounding the affected area become imbalanced, atrophied, shortened and tense, resulting in pain. Massage will not help with joint deformity, but can help relieve the pain associated with RA by helping increase circulation and encouraging balance in the muscles.

A couple of precautions should be taken when seeking massage for your arthritis pain.  Don’t get massage therapy during a flare-up. Doing so may only increase your discomfort.  Be sure to let your Therapist know about your condition and insist they use only their gentlest pressure. You should feel comfortable enough to be able to stop the session if need be. Remember, YOU are the best judge of what is going on inside your body.

Many arthritis sufferers find that regular massage therapy greatly improves their condition by reducing their pain and helping them move easier.  Massage is a great alternative to dangerous drugs and many of my clients find their relief lasts longer and their flexibility is improved when they commit to regular massage sessions.

If you suffer from the pain of arthritis and want to discover the relief regular massage therapy can give you.  Call us at Absolutely Spahhhvelous at 940-343-5667 to schedule your appointment or request an appointment online at www.sangermassagetherapy.com.