I will start out by saying that I live my life on the cheap side of the street. I consider many things that other people cannot seem to live without silly luxuries. For example, I would rather have the peace of mind brought by a little extra cushion in the bank than a designer purse hanging from my arm. I say that to say this, if you suffer from Rheumatoid or Osteoarthritis—massage therapy is not in…any way, shape, fashion or form…a luxury. In fact, I would even venture to say it is one of life’s bare necessities!

Perhaps not every week or even every month, but there are times in every arthritis sufferer’s life when it just plain hurts to be you, this could be triggered by activity level, changes in the weather, worry and stress that lead to greater tensing of your musculature, or just your particular condition; but on those days and times—exercise therapy can literally be a saving grace.

It it makes you feel better about it, think of it as a spoonful of sugared medicine and ask your doctor to prescribe it, or if you are strong willed or truly sensible enough to not play the martyr, think of it as a gift you give yourself to help ease the physical burdens so often imposed on the life of an arthritic sufferer.

True, massage therapy sounds like an expensive luxury that brings up visions of mud baths and spas, however it is actually a broad term that encompasses a wide variety of procedures and methods of pressing, rubbing and manipulating muscles and other soft body tissues such as tendons, ligaments, skin and connective tissues. The main objective of massage therapy is to relax the soft tissues while promoting an increased delivery of blood and oxygen to the areas being massages and, therefore, to decrease tightness and pain. Massage therapy is most often accomplished by utilizing the massage therapist’s fingers, hands, arms, elbows and/or feet. Occasionally, however, mechanical and electronic devices may be also used.

Also I just want to note here that recently I was watching the show Dirty Jobs hosted by Mike Rowe, and one of his dirty jobs was preparing a hot mud bath which he then immersed his entire body in…and I have to say that ever since that show I have been fascinated by the idea of a hot mud bath, and I assure you it has very little to do with Mike’s impressively handsome naked chest :)  I really want to try a hot mud bath myself, I imagine it would be better than a hot bubble bath on steroids!  Now that might be considered an expensive luxury, but that is something I am willing to risk. Anyway, all jokes and wistful thinking aside. I do have a home model hot paraffin bath that allows me to immerse my hands into heated wax and I cannot recommend this home therapy enough. It makes my arthritic hands feel wonderful, and it makes my mother’s hands and nails, which dry and crack from age feel even more so. (Just make darn sure you use a special heating unit that will not heat the was too hot! Do not just heat the wax in a pot on your stove top.)

Now, back to massage therapy. There are more than eighty official types of massage therapy treatments but some of the most widely known are the following:

* The Deep Tissue Massage. This technique uses a combination of strokes and deep finger pressure applied way down under the skin and into the muscles at the painful sites in order to breakup knots and loosen tightness.

* The Trigger Point Massage. This procedure is also known as the Pressure Point Massage and it is more focused on specific myofascial trigger points with a stronger force than the Deep Tissue Massage. The goal here is to dissolve the painful knots that were formed in the muscles as well as to relieve additional symptoms in more remote areas of the body.

* The Swedish Massage. This system utilizes oblong smooth strokes, kneading and friction of the muscles as well as movement of the joints to increase their range of motion and flexibility.

* The Shiatsu Massage. Using altering rhythmic pressure, tapping, squeezing and rubbing along the meridian and on various other parts of the body, the main objective of this Eastern massage therapy is to enhance the flow of a fundamentally important energy called gi. And this energy, in the ancient Chinese medicine is believed to be the life force that regulates a person’s spiritual, emotional, mental and physical wellness that is easily affected when subjected to the rival forces of yin and yang.

Whether the four most often practiced massage therapies I mentioned above are used as complimentary alternative medicine (also known as CAM) or any one of the other recognized eighty which are available to a lesser or greater extent, there are important points to be considered:

* No massage therapy should ever be used in place of regular or ongoing medical care.

* Massage therapy should not be the cause or the excuse to postpone visiting a medical professional for existing medical issues.

* The massage therapist’s schooling and credentials must be verified as well as his or her experience with specific health and medical conditions.

* Any additional complimentary alternative medicine (CAM) such as herbs, supplements, special diets or other treatments which are suggested by the massage therapist must first be reviewed with a medical professional.

* Although the subject of massage therapy (how it works and why) has been studied for many years and continues to be studies, much of it still remains within the realm of a mystery.

* If and when massage therapy is performed by a well training and experienced professional, few risks are involved and the worst of them may be temporary pain or discomfort, bruising, swelling or an allergic reaction to the massage oils. The small number of serious injuries which have been reported were triggered by untrained hands that were not aware that certain medical conditions should not be massaged. It is, therefore, essential to consult a medical professional before undergoing massage therapy, particularly under the following circumstances:

* Deep vein thrombosis

* A bleeding disorder or when taking blood thinners

* Damaged blood vessels

* Weakened bones from osteoporosis, a recent fracture or cancer

* The presence of high body temperature

* Open or healing wounds, tumors, damaged nerves, an infection, a severe inflammation or fragile skin

* Pregnancy

* Heart problems

* Dermatomyositis or any other skin disease

* History of physical abuse

So there you have it, sometimes in life we owe it to ourselves to treat ourselves, and one of the most commonsensical luxurious ways for a Rheumatoid or Osteoarthritis sufferer to treat themselves is with an occasional massage. Try it! You’ll thank me and you’ll thank yourself.

Smiles and Good Health,

Teresa Thomas Bohannon

PS Be sure to visit us daily to check out all the latest news and information on living with Arthritis and Rheumatoid Arthritis.

This entry was posted on Monday, March 30th, 2009 at 11:08 am and is filed under rheumatoid arthritis. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.