Tag: Cancer

A General Overview on Aromatherapy Massage

The benefits of massage are known to all and sundry. They include relaxation, the improvement of blood circulation, relief of stress and pressure, lessening the effects of muscle tension, and the enhancement of both the physiological and emotional states. Of course it is necessary to include the use of the essential oils. They are known to soothe the body and mind. This is mainly the point of aromatherapy massage. It employs essential oils which are added into the base oil. When used, they are easily absorbed deep into the skin wherein they directly go towards the bloodstream. They may also enter the body when they get inhaled through the nose.

A Point Gets Strengthened
The advantages of massage are popularly known by many. Aromatherapy itself somehow strengthens the fact that massage can truly be therapeutic. The oils that are used are great additions to the effect that it poses. The aromatherapy techniques can either be done by a masseur or by an aromatherapist. Whichever is the case, you have two options too. It is either you go to a spa clinic or the specialist visits you at home.

Getting into Your Choices

The services of the aromatherapist or massage therapist always involve giving you the chance to select the essential oils or blends to be used on you. They can also blend the essential oils as per your request and they may give you what remains so you can bring it home. If you will be seeking this type of massage because you have some problems, then the practitioner will have to use a special mix to help alleviate your worries.

Aromatherapy at Home

The massage itself can be done even within the confines of your home. In fact, the massage oil can simply be prepared. If the oil is to be used to an adult, add 20 up to 25 drops of the essential oil for every two ounce of the base oil. If the oil is for a child, just add 10 up to 12 drops of the essential oil. If a baby is to be massaged, put on 5 up to 6 drops. It is as simple as that!

Available Aromatherapy Materials

Aromatherapy products are sold everywhere. Several companies are manufacturing them nowadays. After all, they are known for their pain relief, cleansing, and healing process advantages both for the mind and the body. There are also a variety of uses to which it applies. The medical arena sees it essential for lifting the depressive mood of the cancer patients. Athletes also enjoy the benefit of such in soothing their tensed muscles. At the same time, it energizes the body.

As you shop around, you will find different products being sold in the market. You will see the aromatherapy components contained in lotions, massage oils, conditioners, shampoos, candles, air diffusers, air fresheners, baby lotions, warm oil burners, laundry products, bath beads, bath salts, shower tablets, and the plug ins. There are products that are meant for both the adults and the children.

Most of the aromatherapy massage produces are safe to use. However, it is still necessary to consult your doctor prior to using any of the products in case you suffer from some special medical circumstances. You may also get in touch with a herbalist for more information on the use of the essential plant and root extracts.

MASSAGE THERAPY AS COMPLIMENTARY ALTERNATIVE MEDICINE

Massage therapy is 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 therapists fingers, hands, arms, elbows and/or feet. Occasionally, however, mechanical and electronic devices may be also used.

As a matter of fact, 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 persons 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 therapists 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

PPPPP

* (Word Count 662)

THE HEALTH BENEFITS OF MASSAGE THERAPY

In an attempt to understand how and why massage therapy is as effective as it seems to be, scientists and medical researchers from around the world have been studying it for decades. Some characteristics of massage therapy have been conclusively resolved with apparent consensus among the learned scholars, while other characteristics remain as inexplicably mysterious as ever. For instance, they all agree that when a certain amount of pressure is applied to a soft tissue such as a muscle, some changes occur within the affected muscles. They also all tend to agree that massage therapy promotes relaxation and reduces the stress which often leads to deterioration or worsening of certain physiological conditions.

Those characteristics of massage therapy which have not yet been explained by conventional science, gave rise to a number of theories and postulates. You will note that they are all prefaced with the word might to indicate uncertainty as they described possible health benefits of massage therapy:

* Might provide stimulation that may help block pain signals transmitted to the brain and this is called the gate control theory of decreasing or alleviating pain.

* Might promote better health by stimulating the lymphatic system to increase the flow of lymph, which is the secretion that carries disease fighting cells through the body.

* Might re-route the clients nervous system away from the sympathetic to the parasympathetic. In doing so, the fight-or-flight reaction of the sympathetic nervous system with its increased heart and breathing rates along with tightened muscles of distress are shunned in favor of the rest-and-digest reaction of the parasympathetic nervous system with its lowered heart rate, slowed breathing and relaxed muscles.

* Might be instrumental in effecting beneficial changes in the body by preventing fibrosis through the process of breaking up scar-like tissue

* Might arouse the body to discharge chemicals such as serotonin or endorphins which area known to give people the feelings of wellbeing.

* Might improve sleep patterns which is essential to pain control and healing processes.

* Might contribute to the overall mental and physiological health by the intimate interaction between the client and the therapist.

The following are specific cases and their reported benefits whether they are understood or merely observed with bewilderment:

* Students at a New Jersey Medical School who were given massage therapy before an exam displayed less anxiety, lower respiratory rates, a substantial increase in white blood cells and an enhanced immune system.

* Cancer patients at the James Cancer Hospital and Research Institute in Columbus, Ohio experienced less pain and decreased anxiety after receiving massage therapies than those who did not get such treatments.

* Studies at the University of South Carolina show that women who recently lost a child were less depressed after massage therapy.

* The National Institutes of Health (NIH) found that massage therapy improved weight gain in infants who were premature or those who were exposed to HIV. They also determined that massage therapy expedites recovery in patients who had abdominal surgery.

* Researchers at the University of the Miami School of Medicines Touch Research Institute discovered that massage therapy decreases high blood pressure, relieves migraine headaches, and generally increases alertness and performance in the workforce.

* Many additional studies confirm that massage therapy reduces heart rates, lowers blood pressure; increases blood circulation and lymph flow; relaxes stiffened and tense muscles while stimulating weak and inactive muscles to compensate for lack of movement due to an illness or an injury; speeds up the healing process after surgeries, disease and injuries; improves the range of vision; increases endorphins; reduces anxiety, tension, depression, pain and itching in burn patients; and Autistic children exhibit calmer and more predictable behavior.

So, is massage therapy beneficial? Yes! Massage therapy is beneficial on, oh, so many levels. The mechanics of the process may not be clear just yet, but the outcomes are undeniable by anyones standards.

PPPPP

(Word Count 654)

RISKS OF MASSAGE THERAPY

By and large, massage therapy that is performed by a properly schooled and well experienced massage therapist who practices his or her art prudently and with due caution, is risk free to its recipients health and wellbeing. For that reason along, if for no other, massage therapists must be selected very carefully as credentials and licenses are scrutinized meticulously, references are checked with diligence and questions are asked relentlessly. Regardless of how it is phrased or worded, one question which must always be asked of a potential massage therapist is the following, Which health conditions would you consider preclusive of massage therapy and why? And the correct answer, whether stated in exactly those words or different ones, should be, There are certain health conditions which must rule out massage therapy and those are And he or she must name the following:

* Cancer. Massage therapy comes in different forms which affect the body differently. There are also many different types of cancers and patients may be at different stages and receiving different treatments. In some cases and certain types of massage therapy may lead to life threatening results while in other cases with another type of massage therapy the results may be extraordinarily beneficial. Because of such complexity, it is essential to consult with the medical provider who knows the particulars of the case in question before proceeding with a massage therapy of any kind.

The potential risks involved in performing massage therapy on cancer patients do not inevitably discard the entire concept of massage therapy but it does mean that extra caution must be practiced and, perhaps, moderate to extreme alteration of the treatment is in order. And the health risks are the following:

– Fractures of bones. Certain forms of cancer and their treatments weaken bones to the extent that they can easily break under pressure.

– Bleeding. Many cancer patients have the tendency to bleed easily. Deep tissue massage can cause dangerous internal bleeding.

– Spreading of cancerous tumors. There is an ongoing debate about the effects of massage therapy on tumors. Some claim that applying vigorous pressure to the area where the tumor is present will cause it to metastasis (break down and to spread or to increase its rate of growth). Others, however, deny that claim as unsubstantiated and untrue. It is best to play it safe and not massage the tumor region or its surrounding soft tissues.

– Lymphedema (the buildup of lymph in soft tissue which leads to swelling of the limbs). Certain types of massage therapy in patients who have had their lymph nodes removed due to cancer may lead to lymphedema.

– Flu-like symptoms. Patients who are going through chemotherapy can often develop symptoms which look and feel like the flu after having been treated to certain types of massage therapy.

– Pain. Cancer patients frequently suffer a great deal of pain and most massage therapy techniques can result in some temporary pain immediately after the treatment. That may translate to added pain when too much of it is already present and that can be quite literally unbearable.

* Post-surgery. Shortly after surgery, the wound is still in the process of healing visually on the surface of the skin as well as internally. Applying pressure to the site may cause a series of risky health problems such as reopening the incision, trigger internal and/or external bleeding or blood clotting, and so on.

* Skin conditions. Areas where the skin is infected, inflamed or covered with rashes or sores should not be massaged as it can lead to worsening of the condition.

Even when taking into account all the risks which have been mentioned above, massage therapy can still be very beneficial to most people in most situations. Rather than discounting it completely due to specific concerns, I would advise consulting a physician.

PPPPP

(Word Count 646)