The True Benefits of Remedial Massage Therapy
By Editors at The Massage Source
Have you ever thought what a treat and luxury it would be to get a massage? You’re not alone. Only 18% of Americans had a massage last year. That means 1 in 5 people had one massage all year. Most people understand that massage therapy has proven health benefits, so why aren’t we taking advantage of this pleasurable and beneficial form of therapy?
Massage can save you money.
Times have been admittedly tough and, historically, when the economy is down, we give up our luxury items first. If you consider massage therapy a luxury, then it’s something you’re probably avoiding, no matter how much you wish you could have one. Well, think again. Massage therapy has benefits that could actually save you money in the long run by helping you avoid chiropractors, medical visits, medications, and even mental health therapy.
Massage can improve your outlook on life.
With a down economy and the daily pressures we experience, stress, anxiety and depression have adversely affected many of us. We can do many things to combat these negative feelings, invest in expensive counseling, or we can turn to massage therapy. Through a massage, we can reduce the stress hormone, cortisol, which will raise our moods and, at the same time, help lower our blood pressure. Massage is also known to increase serotonin and dopamine levels, both of which reduce feelings of depression and anxiety.
Massage can reduce your pain.
Pain is something too many of us have accepted and learned to live with and work around. That is just plain sad and unnecessary. In many ways, massage therapy can reduce or eliminate pain. You see, our bodies react to pain by constricting muscles around injury areas. This tension is meant to decrease the injury to the area by protecting it, but it actually increases pain and inflammation. And it can become chronic. Massage can release this tension and allow better blood flow, so that areas of pain have a better chance of healing. In addition, massage therapy can increase range of motion and flexibility, which leads to better healing ability and relief from pain.
Massage can relieve your migraines.
Pain relief through massage is not limited to injuries to the body. Massage therapy has been proven to provide natural relief from migraine headaches. Regular massages for periods as short as 30 minutes reduce both the number of migraines a person experiences and the severity of migraine episodes. Massage therapy also decreases the stress, anxiety, and anger that accompany migraines.
Massage can help you sleep better and boost your immune system.
Lack of sleep or inability to fall to sleep is a major complaint for many people. Massage therapy can re-teach our bodies to naturally fall asleep by activating the delta waves that lead to deep sleep. In addition, massage therapy can help us avoid sickness by boosting our immune systems. This is not just by reducing stress; massage actually increases our white blood cells, which act as our little warriors to fight against disease and illness.
Massage can make you beautiful.
With the increase in blood flow that massage therapy provides, our hair and complexion become more radiant, and our skin plumped. Massage also boosts our lymphatic activity, which flushes toxins and allows nutrients to be better absorbed – leading to a healthier, more radiant, overall appearance.
Massage can tame your hormones.
Massage therapy has been proven to reduce or eliminate symptoms of PMS, such as bloating and severe mood swings. Massage therapy is also noted to reduce the severity of the symptoms of menopause.
The truth is: Massage therapy is not just a rich man’s luxury. It’s an investment in your health and well-being. Give yourself permission to enjoy massage therapy on a regular basis. You’ll enjoy not just the experience of the moment, but also the added health benefits that make you feel better, both mentally and physically.
http://www.themassagesource.com/articles/2013/02/the-true-benefits-of-massage-therapy/
Monday, November 18, 2013
Fibromyalgia Relief Aided by Releasing Fear
Fibromyalgia Relief Aided by Releasing Fear
By Nicole Cutler, L.Ac.
Affecting an estimated 10 million Americans, fibromyalgia is increasingly being diagnosed in those with a chronic pain disorder. Although fibromyalgia is admittedly a complex, physiological syndrome, there may also be an emotional component that keeps victims locked in a cycle of pain. Remedial Massage therapists who recognize when fibromyalgia clients fall into a harmful ‘fear avoidance’ pattern can better assist affected individuals in breaking the never-ending cycle of pain perpetuating fear, and vice versa.
About Fibromyalgia
Also referred to as fibromyalgia syndrome, fibromyositis and fibrositis, fibromyalgia is a chronic arthritis-related syndrome primarily characterized by widespread muscle pain and tenderness. Technically, two criteria must be met to qualify for a diagnosis of fibromyalgia:
Duration and all four quadrants – A history of widespread pain in all four quadrants of the body (above the waist on both sides and below the waist on both sides of the body) for three months or more.
Positive tender points – Pain elicited with pressure at 11 of 18 tender point sites.
Although these criteria may appear to be straight forward, there are many complicating factors involved with fibromyalgia. A handful of those factors include:
According to the National Fibromyalgia Association, it takes an average of five years to get an accurate diagnosis of fibromyalgia.
Fibromyalgia can be a primary syndrome or it can be secondary to another autoimmune or rheumatic disease.
Severe fatigue or a sleep disorder affects an estimated 90 percent of those with fibromyalgia.
There is no blood test or X-ray that can detect fibromyalgia – and it manifests differently in each individual.
Often times, a psychological component accompanies the physical aspect of pain in clients with fibromyalgia.
What Is Fear Avoidance?
As described by Nicole Nelson in the February 2013 issue of Massage Today, fear avoidance is a psychological model that accounts for why certain clients may make the leap from acute to chronic pain. Fear avoidance suggests that it is overly fearful individuals who wind up suffering with chronic pain, to the degree that they avoid seemingly benign movement patterns so as to protect themselves from further pain.
Developing fear avoidance after enduring significant physical pain is a logical emotional response. According to John Fry, PhD, a psychologist in Newport Beach, CA and board member of the National Fibromyalgia Association, “Nobody likes pain. You know how bad it’s been in the past, you know how it’s weighed you down, how you ended up in bed. You become fearful of moving around.
You fear what it’s going to be like if it is an episode coming on.”
Study after study has repeatedly proven that exercise can relieve fibromyalgia symptoms. However, patients fearful of their pain are frequently reluctant to work out or even move around much at all, knowing that such activity could reignite their pain. The body then loses its conditioning, which results in greater pain. Thus, the patient gets stuck in a cycle of being afraid of aggravating his or her pain, which causes more pain due to inactivity – which just serves to justify the fear of pain.
Helping Affected Clients
First and foremost, compassion for those stuck in the fear-pain cycle is paramount. Because the path to fibromyalgia diagnosis often spans many years of suffering, those affected are likely to have been told their pain is all in their head. All too often, this patronizing cliché is spouted by practitioners who can’t explain the source of a patient’s pain.
Suffering from fear avoidance does not mean that a person’s pain is psychological. Instead, fear avoidance causes a de-conditioning of the body’s muscles, soft tissues and joints. The resultant inactivity is a physiological primer to musculoskeletal pain aggravation. Thankfully, helping ease clients’ fear of being active contributes to a reduction in their pain…as long as the therapist maintains respect and compassion for the client.
Here are some suggestions for helping fibromyalgia patients accept their pain (instead of fearing it):
Explain that some treatments may cause some pain in the short-term, but will lead to long-term pain relief.
Because there is no actual tissue damage with fibromyalgia, gentle, progressive exercise will not cause harm.
Give your client access to studies showing that regular exercise/movement is the most effective means for relieving fibromyalgia-related pain.
Work together on diaphragmatic breathing. Poor breathing practices can aggravate pain and contribute to fear.
Acknowledge the fear that clients will feel discomfort when increasing their levels of activity, especially if they have been sedentary. However, insist on a graded, appropriate exercise plan for eventual pain relief.
For those who remain stuck in fear avoidance, refer them to a cognitive behavioral therapist so that the client can confront their fears rather than be ruled by them.
Fibromyalgia is a complex, potentially agonizing pain syndrome. While the last thing someone with fibromyalgia needs is the additional musculoskeletal burden of being sedentary, the cycle initiated by fear avoidance can easily fuel a chronic pain cycle. Massage therapists with such clients can play an instrumental role in breaking this cycle – facilitating their freedom from fear and pain.
Fibromyalgia Relief Aided by Releasing Fear
Posted on February 6, 2013 Massage Professionals
Fibromyalgia and Fear
http://www.themassagesource.com/articles/2013/02/fibromyalgia-relief-aided-by-releasing-fear/
By Nicole Cutler, L.Ac.
Affecting an estimated 10 million Americans, fibromyalgia is increasingly being diagnosed in those with a chronic pain disorder. Although fibromyalgia is admittedly a complex, physiological syndrome, there may also be an emotional component that keeps victims locked in a cycle of pain. Remedial Massage therapists who recognize when fibromyalgia clients fall into a harmful ‘fear avoidance’ pattern can better assist affected individuals in breaking the never-ending cycle of pain perpetuating fear, and vice versa.
About Fibromyalgia
Also referred to as fibromyalgia syndrome, fibromyositis and fibrositis, fibromyalgia is a chronic arthritis-related syndrome primarily characterized by widespread muscle pain and tenderness. Technically, two criteria must be met to qualify for a diagnosis of fibromyalgia:
Duration and all four quadrants – A history of widespread pain in all four quadrants of the body (above the waist on both sides and below the waist on both sides of the body) for three months or more.
Positive tender points – Pain elicited with pressure at 11 of 18 tender point sites.
Although these criteria may appear to be straight forward, there are many complicating factors involved with fibromyalgia. A handful of those factors include:
According to the National Fibromyalgia Association, it takes an average of five years to get an accurate diagnosis of fibromyalgia.
Fibromyalgia can be a primary syndrome or it can be secondary to another autoimmune or rheumatic disease.
Severe fatigue or a sleep disorder affects an estimated 90 percent of those with fibromyalgia.
There is no blood test or X-ray that can detect fibromyalgia – and it manifests differently in each individual.
Often times, a psychological component accompanies the physical aspect of pain in clients with fibromyalgia.
What Is Fear Avoidance?
As described by Nicole Nelson in the February 2013 issue of Massage Today, fear avoidance is a psychological model that accounts for why certain clients may make the leap from acute to chronic pain. Fear avoidance suggests that it is overly fearful individuals who wind up suffering with chronic pain, to the degree that they avoid seemingly benign movement patterns so as to protect themselves from further pain.
Developing fear avoidance after enduring significant physical pain is a logical emotional response. According to John Fry, PhD, a psychologist in Newport Beach, CA and board member of the National Fibromyalgia Association, “Nobody likes pain. You know how bad it’s been in the past, you know how it’s weighed you down, how you ended up in bed. You become fearful of moving around.
You fear what it’s going to be like if it is an episode coming on.”
Study after study has repeatedly proven that exercise can relieve fibromyalgia symptoms. However, patients fearful of their pain are frequently reluctant to work out or even move around much at all, knowing that such activity could reignite their pain. The body then loses its conditioning, which results in greater pain. Thus, the patient gets stuck in a cycle of being afraid of aggravating his or her pain, which causes more pain due to inactivity – which just serves to justify the fear of pain.
Helping Affected Clients
First and foremost, compassion for those stuck in the fear-pain cycle is paramount. Because the path to fibromyalgia diagnosis often spans many years of suffering, those affected are likely to have been told their pain is all in their head. All too often, this patronizing cliché is spouted by practitioners who can’t explain the source of a patient’s pain.
Suffering from fear avoidance does not mean that a person’s pain is psychological. Instead, fear avoidance causes a de-conditioning of the body’s muscles, soft tissues and joints. The resultant inactivity is a physiological primer to musculoskeletal pain aggravation. Thankfully, helping ease clients’ fear of being active contributes to a reduction in their pain…as long as the therapist maintains respect and compassion for the client.
Here are some suggestions for helping fibromyalgia patients accept their pain (instead of fearing it):
Explain that some treatments may cause some pain in the short-term, but will lead to long-term pain relief.
Because there is no actual tissue damage with fibromyalgia, gentle, progressive exercise will not cause harm.
Give your client access to studies showing that regular exercise/movement is the most effective means for relieving fibromyalgia-related pain.
Work together on diaphragmatic breathing. Poor breathing practices can aggravate pain and contribute to fear.
Acknowledge the fear that clients will feel discomfort when increasing their levels of activity, especially if they have been sedentary. However, insist on a graded, appropriate exercise plan for eventual pain relief.
For those who remain stuck in fear avoidance, refer them to a cognitive behavioral therapist so that the client can confront their fears rather than be ruled by them.
Fibromyalgia is a complex, potentially agonizing pain syndrome. While the last thing someone with fibromyalgia needs is the additional musculoskeletal burden of being sedentary, the cycle initiated by fear avoidance can easily fuel a chronic pain cycle. Massage therapists with such clients can play an instrumental role in breaking this cycle – facilitating their freedom from fear and pain.
Fibromyalgia Relief Aided by Releasing Fear
Posted on February 6, 2013 Massage Professionals
Fibromyalgia and Fear
http://www.themassagesource.com/articles/2013/02/fibromyalgia-relief-aided-by-releasing-fear/
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