Tag: chair

THE CHAIR MASSAGE

Massages in chairs or simply in sitting positions have always had their place among most ancient and traditional massage techniques around the world but the contemporary Chair massage as we know it today and as we occasionally refer to as the On-Site or Seated massage is a trend that began as recently as 1982. The Chair massage was the brainchild of David Palmer, the director of the Amma Institute of Traditional Japanese Massage at that time who is considered to be the father of Chair massage. Mr. Palmer came to realize that, whether due to the high cost or the sensual intimacy of conventional table massages, or maybe the lack of sophistication on the part of the public or perhaps due to the combination of the three in one proportion or another, there were too few people who sought such bodyworks services and, therefore, there was not enough work for all the graduates of his institute. Mr. Palmers entrepreneurial intuition and insightfulness led him to adopt a few existing old-time techniques and to renovate others to develop a modern massage technique which could be performed anywhere as it required only brief periods of time, no need for the removal of clothing and quite reasonably priced. Consequently, his Chair massages became convenient, affordable and non-threatening.

The first clients to enjoy the newly developed Chair massage were the employees and customers of the Apple Computers outlets where David Palmer and his graduates set up their makeshift workstations in 1984. That venture lasted only about twelve months and the demand at the time was not huge, but they did give up to 350 Chair massages each week and it proved to be a step in the right direction and a very good beginning. By 1986 a specially designed and structured chair to better accommodate Chair massages went into production and today, there are well over 100,000 such chairs in use within the United States as well as in many other nations around the world.

David Palmer realized that Chair massage will be truly successful only with further development of this particular niche and he opened continuing education seminars for training graduates of other massage schools. During the twelve months of 1986, he taught 24 Chair massage seminars at 24 different locations in the United States as well as in Sweden and Norway. The concept of the Chair massage was embraced with open arms when presented to the American Massage Therapy Association and as a consequence, by 1990 just about every massage school in the nation was teaching it.

The Chair massage is not officially categorized as a therapy or a treatment but rather as a minimal relaxation technique. Whether that was a deliberate marketing ploy and clever salesmanship or not, it worked to attract people who would otherwise shy away from other kinds of massage therapies and treatments. For the most part, those who took the first step and braved the process of the Chair massage, would have become more open minded about progressing and graduating into the true massage therapies.

Nowadays, chair massages are readily available in shopping malls, airport terminals, independent shops, franchises, hotel lounges, hospitals, gyms, spas, bus depots, train stations, supermarkets, community centers, eateries (particularly the new-age cafs), convention centers, beauty salons, barber shops, medical and dental offices, university campuses, corporate workplaces and even at street corners, public parks and city square throughout the United States, Europe and the United Kingdom. The Chair massage is estimated to be the fastest growing and most popular form of skilled touch, as professional massages are performed on the otherwise touch-deprived masses. It is David Palmers greatest dream to see young children performing shoulder rubs among family members and friends as part of their regular daily routine; and expressed in his own words, When we reach that point I will know that we have arrived at our goal of a world where touch is recognized as essential to the development and maintenance of healthy human beings.

PPPPP

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What Is Arthritis?

What Is Arthritis?
Michael Russell

Arthritis is probably one of the most misunderstood of all diseases.
Quite honestly if you ask the average person in the street exactly what
arthritis is you won’t get an answer that’s even close. All they know is
that something hurts but don’t have a clue as to exactly what or why.
Before I go into the types and causes of arthritis I’m just going to throw
some facts at you. All of this can be gotten at the official web site if you
look hard enough for it.
1. In 1985 about 35 million people were diagnosed with arthritis.
Twenty years later the number is up to over 65 million.
2. Arthritis is the most common disability of Americans over the age of
15. Yes, young people can get arthritis.
3. Only heart disease is a greater cause of work disability.
4. The cost for treating arthritis in the US alone is over 86 billion
dollars each year.
5. Over 300,000 children have arthritis.
6. Half the people who have arthritis think there is nothing that can be
done for the condition.
7. There are actually over 100 different diseases associated with
arthritis.
8. Woman are more affected than men. The current numbers are 26
million women and 16 million men with doctor diagnosed arthritis.
How many of us knew all this? I certainly didn’t until doing some
research. Oh I knew about the poor lady in my church who’s about to
go in for knee replacement surgery and lives on pain killers. But I had
no idea this disease was this common.
So what IS arthritis?
A book can be written on the various forms of arthritis but the most
common MYTH of what arthritis is, aches and pains associated with
getting older, needs to be dispelled with quickly if people are going to
understand the disease. As I stated earlier, arthritis has nothing to do
with age as many children get it. Yes, it is more prevalent in older
people but it is not restricted to the elderly. Arthritis is a disease of the
skeletal system, mostly the joints which is where two or more bones
meet. Joint problems include pain, stiffness, inflammation, and
damage to the joint cartilage, which is the tough, smooth tissue that
covers the ends of the bones so that they can glide against each
other. It is the deterioration of this tissue that causes the pain because
what happens is you get bone rubbing against bone. The pain can
become so bad that it can interfere with everyday activities such as
walking or even trying to stand up from a chair.
However this is only one form of arthritis and only part of the problem.
Some forms of arthritis, called Rheumatoid arthritis effects the body’s
immune system and can ultimately end up damaging the heart,
lungs, kidneys, blood vessels and skin.
This is the most serious form of arthritis.
In my next article I am going to cover various treatments for arthritis
and their side effects.

About the Author
Michael Russell provides an online guide to arthritis which includes useful articles and resources for humans and pets.

My Intralasik Experience

I wanted to investigate Lasik vision correction for myself, and found that there were several options. After talking it over with a great Lasik physician, I decided on using bladeless Lasik, or Intralasik, or Intralase. I cannot say that I decided that for any great technical reasons, mine were mainly psychological.

The advantage of Intralasik over a traditional Lasik procedure is that a laser is used to make a flap in the eye. Every Lasik procedure needs to make a flap in order for the excimer laser to be able to reshape the corner. In traditional Lasik, the flap is made with a microkeratome, which is “a very small blade, not a scalpel”. Well, maybe to you. Somehow, even though both the laser and the blade made the same flap, the idea of someone taking a sharp object to….. well, you get the picture.

In addition (though there is a lot of argument and debate over this) using a laser to make the flap might (let me emphasize might to be fair to everyone) make the Lasik procedure have less chance of getting other cells underneath the flap. I don’t really understand all of the Lasik arguments with regard to this, but I think you should discuss the various Lasik options with the physician. They do vary in cost also.

Before I talk about the procedure itself, let me give a bird’s eye view of myself as a Lasik candidate. In short, spectacular! Seriously, all of the items for a good Lasik candidate could describe me: a healthy guy in my mid-thirties, with moderate nearsightedness and slight astigmatism, with good results on all eye exam tests (thick cornea, no eye scarring or infections, etc.).

I did visit two different Lasik surgeons to get their independent opinions of me as a candidate, and also their description of their services. One of the Lasik surgeons is on the staff at the medical college in a nearby major metropolitan center, so I was pretty assured that their opinions were valid.

On the day of the Lasik surgery I came in, paid my first payment for the procedure, and had my eye prescription rechecked. I was given post-procedure instructions on eye drops, no exercising (yeah!), and to go to sleep after the Lasik procedure. I was given a relaxant, and the Lasik physician and I went to the surgery suite.

The chair has padded pillows to rest and restrict head movement, and a teddy bear to hold if I wanted it. There was a clamp to hold my eyes open, and a suction ring, and then my vision in that eye went a bit dim. The first Lasik laser made the flap, and I focused on a small light while the other laser made the cornea changes. This took less than thirty seconds, or so I was told.

Mainly I was aware of clicking noises and some pressure, but no pain or real discomfort. After the eye flaps were put back in place, I rested in a recliner for about 20 minutes. I could see more clearly immediately after the Lasik operation was over, but was told not to try and test my eyes for a number of days, and rather concentrate on getting them healthy and healed.

I am surprised and immensely pleased it went so easily, well, and pain free. I would recommend this type of Lasik procedure to anyone.

Acupuncture with Herbs

When most people think of acupuncture, they imagine someone sitting in a chair with a number of very thin needles hanging from their ears, or arms, or other parts of their bodies. This is a pretty good picture as far as it goes. The needles are usually not as large as they are imagined to be, and frequently only certain parts of the body have several needles, rather than in a number of different locations.

The purpose of the insertion of the needles is to redirect the flow of energy within the body. Once the flow of energy is restored to its proper channels, the body recovers its proper operation and the systems slowly or quickly disappear. The number of treatments in order for the symptoms to disappear depends both upon the patient and the set of symptoms that are being experienced.

The medical basis for the techniques of acupuncture were developed in China over thousands of years. Part of traditional Chinese medicine also uses a number of herbs, in conjunction with traditional acupuncture technique. In America we are used to taking vitamins and supplements, and we take them as either pills or capsules. Normally we take these supplements as a general nutritional support. The herbs recommended by an acupuncture practitioner are very specific for the symptoms being treated at the clinic. The herbs at the clinic may also be in pills or capsules. They might also be brewed with warm water and taken as a tea. This tea allows the acupuncture practitioner to mix just the right herbs for a particular person, rather than loading them up with several different pills. It is also easier to adjust the proportions in case several different herbs are used. Further, having the herbs taken as a tea makes the action of the herbs very rapid. Your acupuncture practitioner may also offer raw herbs, which have the most potency. They are also the worst tasting choice for someone not used to unusual tastes. However, once raw herbs are tried a few times, most clients prefer the raw herbs.

When your acupuncture practitioner decides on a plan of treatment, you and your practitioner should discuss the various parts of the treatment, including herbs, if any. Remember, not all treatments require herbs, and acupuncture can still be quite effective without them. Make sure that the acupuncture practitioner knows about any vitamin supplements or other nutritional foods presently being used, such as garlic pills or nutritional yeast. Generally nutritional supplements are quite compatible, but it is still important to realize any interactions between regular supplements and the herbs indicated for a particular acupuncture treatment. The same holds true for any prescription medications, even though generally the herbs are not planned to affect a particular organ’s mechanism, but rather influence a large part of the body’s system as a unit.

Finally, the acupuncture practitioner should be advised of any new symptoms if a new herbal prescription is started. Typically the only symptom might be a slight digestive upset, but if this or any new symptom is noticed, the practitioner should be notified right away. Herbs, though not a necessary part of acupuncture therapy, can be very helpful in promoting more rapid recovery and better health.