Absolutely Spahhhvelous

Posts Tagged ‘massage’

Could you be Suffering from Frozen Shoulder?

What is Frozen Shoulder?
If you are experiencing stiffness and loss of movement in your shoulder joint, you may be suffering from frozen shoulder, also known as Adhesive Capsulitis.  This condition is very different from a rotator cuff injury or tendonitis, because the joint capsule is the area affected.  The other two conditions stem from issues with the muscles and tendons of the shoulder joint.

What Makes up the Shoulder Joint?
The shoulder joint is a very complicated area of the body. It contains a varied combination of bone, muscle and tendonous tissue and provides extensive range of motion for your arm. The fact that this joint is so moveable presents a downside – it is a very unstable joint.  This instability makes the shoulder joint an area that is easily injured.

There are three bones in the shoulder, the collar bone, upper arm bone, shoulder blade.  This joint is also made up of the tendons of four of the main shoulder muscles that attach to these bones enabling us to move our arm in a complete circle.

Frozen shoulder can develop in the area where the upper arm bone fits into the shoulder socket.  When this condition occurs, you get stiffness and lose your range of motion because of inflammation of the tissues.

What Causes Frozen Shoulder?
There is no known single cause of frozen shoulder.  However this condition usually begins after an injury to the joint, the development of arthritis in the joint, or from issues related to surgery on the shoulder joint.  Having poor posture can lead to this condition by creating a shortening of the ligaments and tissues around the shoulder. Other theories on specific causes that can lead to this condition are hormonal imbalances, which have led some doctors to label this as ‘menopausal frozen shoulder’.

What are the Symptoms of Frozen Shoulder?
Pain and stiffness are the most common reported symptoms of frozen shoulder. Pain is usually described as a persistent, dull ache and sufferers experience problems in taking the shoulder and arm through its full range of motion.  People with this condition have difficulty lifting their arm above their head or away from their bodies at all.  They also experience problems with inward rotation of their arm.

Frozen shoulder normally is said to have three stages.

Stage one, is the development of mild pain and stiffness in the shoulder. This stage can last from a few weeks to a few months and is usually known as the freezing stage.
Stage two, stiffness remains but the pain begins to subside. This stage can last from a few months to nearly a year and is known as the frozen stage.
Stage three, the shoulder and arm begin to regain movement and more normal range of motion. This stage can also last a few months and is knows as the thawing stage.

Recovery can happen within 4 to 6 months, but some cases have lasted for several years.

Treatment
Treatment for this condition consists of pain reduction and some sort of manual tissue manipulation like massage.  In the more progressed stages, physical therapy may be needed to help regain movement in the joint.  Anti-inflammatory medication is usually given at the start and during manual treatment to make it bearable for the sufferer.  Heat is also helpful to loosen the muscles and encourages new circulation to the joint, bringing in nutrition to the tissues.

One of the best ways to increase circulation to an injured area is massage therapy. Massage is also a good way to reduce scar tissue that can often result from injury to tissues.

Some doctors will tell their patients to stop moving.  This approach can actually aggravate and encourage this condition.  Gently moving the joint will help to keep good circulation to the affected area.  Don’t move in a way that causes pain, but don’t completely stop moving.  There are some specific exercises and stretches that can be done to help keep the joint lose and accelerate the healing process.

How Can I Prevent Frozen Shoulder?
Preventing injury in the first place is a great strategy.  The better condition your shoulder joint is in, the less likely you will become injured.  Two great ways to ensure healthy shoulder joints are stretching and strengthening the muscles and other tissues of the shoulder joint. The prevention of frozen shoulder and other shoulder injuries comes down the conditioning of the shoulder muscles, tendons and ligaments, which ultimately involves both stretching and strengthening of the shoulder.  A good rule to follow is to always warm up your muscles properly before strenuous activity.  Following are two stretches that are good for the shoulder area.

Warm up your muscles first with some gently movement and only take the stretch movements to a comfortable level, don’t cause yourself pain while doing these.

Shoulder Stretches

#1  Stand upright and clasp you hands behind your back. Keep your arms straight and slowly lift your hands upwards. Hold this stretch for about 15 to 20 seconds and then repeat it 3 to 4 times.

#2  Place one arm across your body, keeping it parallel to the ground. Then slowly pull your elbow towards your body. As above hold this stretch for about 15 to 20 seconds and then repeat it 3 to 4 times.

Stretching is a very effective technique that can help prevent injuries and improve athletic performance.  To help you improve your flexibility quickly and safely, you can’t go wrong with The Stretching Handbook & DVD.   In these helpful guides you can see step by step how to do each stretch correctly.  To see four great exercises to help strengthen the shoulder joint muscles, check out http://familydoctor.org/handouts/265.html.

Quality sleep is as important as being active as far as staying healthy goes.  Without enough quality sleep, we cannot function optimally in our daily life.  We need good quality sleep to help rebuild our body and recharge our brain.  When we experience quality sleep, our bodies go through all the phases of sleep: drifting off, light sleep, REM and deep sleep.

Why is quality sleep so important?  During the deeper phases of sleep, our body carries out vital functions necessary for good health.  We produce enzymes which allows us to absorb much needed nutrients from the food we have consumed throughout the day.  Our tissues, nerve cells and other biochemicals regenerate and our brain uses this time to recover energy used in our daily conscious state.  Our immune system is also engaged to help combat illness.  That is why we are encouraged to sleep as much as we can when we are sick.  During deep sleep, we process emotions and stresses of the day and our brain develops our days experiences into memory.

Severe consequences can arise from lack of good quality sleep.  Poor immunity, higher stress levels, irritability, weight gain and more seriously, falling asleep while driving or operating equipment, which can lead to loss of life.

Tips for Better Sleep

1.  Get out in the sun – this will help improve your body’s natural sleep cycle.  Be sure to apply adequate sunscreen.

2.  Cut down or eliminate caffeine.

3.  Grab a cat nap during the day, if you feel sleepy.

4.  Set a regular wake/sleep schedule and stick to it

5.  Darken your bedroom or wear an eye mask at night.

6.  If your mind just can’t stop working, schedule regular massage therapy sessions to help calm both your mind and body.

Massage therapy is a powerful tool for improving the quality of your sleep.  It improves circulation to help nourish the muscles, relieving muscle tension, so they can properly relax.  It works on the nervous system to calm the mind down and relieve anxiety.  We all need good quality sleep to properly function in our day to day lives.  There is nothing better than waking in the morning feeling rested, relaxed and renewed!

Call us at Absolutely Spahhhvelous to schedule your next session and sleep like a baby tonight!  940-343-5667

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.

Massage…A Headache Sufferers’ Salvation!

Do you suffer from chronic, painful, tension headaches? If so, you are definitely not alone. It is estimated that there are approximately 45 million Americans who suffer from chronic tension headache pain. Research is showing that a large part of this suffering public is turning to more natural ways to manage or even eliminate their unbearable pain.

Massage therapy is proving to be a very powerful and effective treatment option and is helping millions of people end their suffering. According to a survey by the National Headache Foundation, 69% of the respondents to their online questionnaire have used massage therapy to help reduce or eliminate their pain.

Massage therapy is effective and successful at treating headache pain because it not only helps the person relax; it also addresses the most common cause of the pain – severe muscle dysfunction and spasm. Unlike conventional medicine, where a patient is prescribed dangerous drugs and painkillers, massage therapy treats the root cause and works to correct the problem, not mask the symptoms.

Most tension headaches are cause by muscle dysfunction – the muscle has become ‘stuck’ in a spasm response to a stimuli. By addressing key muscles and ‘points’ along these muscles, massage helps ‘reset’ the muscles response to the cause and allows it to ‘let go’ and function normally again. Massage therapy works to restore the muscle to its proper function, thus lessening or even preventing headaches from reoccurring.

Massage and Trigger Point therapy can significantly reduce the length, frequency and severity of chronic tension headaches. This allows clients to avoid or reduce the amount of harmful drugs and in severe cases, even avoid surgery.

If you are one of the many Americans who are searching for an end to your suffering, help is just a phone call away. Give us a call at Absolutely Spahhhvelous and make an appointment to start your journey to a headache-free life! 940-343-5667.