Thomas J DuBois's blog

Seasonal Symptoms

Springtime is a beautiful time of year! The weather gets warmer. Our clothing gets lighter. Trees and flowers start to bloom and that ubiquitous grayness that we have gotten so used to fills with color. For a lot of us this agreeable weather and natural beauty encourages our body to relax. That is unless you are one of the many people who suffer from seasonal allergies. If you are, you are not alone. Some 35 million Americans suffer from seasonal allergies every year. Whether it is pollen in the spring or ragweed in the fall, some people's body's have a trigger finger when it comes to getting rid of these foreign substances.

So what's behind these allergic reactions? Your body has a well trained defense system. When foreign invaders enter the body your body assesses them to see whether or not they are a threat. If they are a threat, we make antibodies against them. Those antibodies are then like cops on the beat waiting behind every corner for that same foreign invader. They attach to mast cells which are like big sacks of poison. That poison is histamine. This histamine is what causes our inflammatory reactions that are commonly associated with allergies. When and if they encounter this foreign invader, they drop mast cells on them like bombs, eliminating the invader. Allergic reactions are actually your body fighting off things it thinks are dangerous. The specific antibody that is used by the body to fight off allergens and cause allergic reactions is the IgE antibody. People who have allergies in the spring often suffer because their body is producing an increased amount of IgE against things common in the spring like pollen, dust and dander. There are differing opinions as to why certain people develop more of this antibody than others. There is strong evidence that there is a dietary factor. Certain foods encourage the production of more histamine than others in the body. Many people, including myself, have been able to treat their seasonal allergies by using a diet that eliminates many of these histamine producing foods.

Since histamine is what is used by our body as ammunition against allergens, loading our body up with histamine producing foods can be looked at like stocking a whole place with gunpowder. When the littlest trigger causes a reaction, it all goes up.

The best way to alter your diet to fight against allergies is to try an elimination diet. Get yourself a list of trigger foods from a reliable source and remove them all from your diet. Then, see if your symptoms go away over the next week or so. If they do, then you have evidence that something in your diet may be triggering your allergic reactions. Even if your allergy is not to the the food, the food can be a trigger for other allergies. After this, you go ahead and add the foods back to your diet one at a time. That way you can isolate which food or foods are triggering your symptoms. If your symptoms come back just look to the foods you added back into your diet more recently.

Some common trigger foods for allergies include meats, eggs, dairy, nuts, wheat, soy and alcohol (especially fermented types like wine and beer). One can look to other proteins especially those from grains like quinoa and legumes like beans and lentils. In place of dairy one can try things like rice milk or oat milk.

For some people altering the diet is enough. Others require some more help from nature. I have always been a strong advocate of local honey for the treatment of seasonal allergies. This is kind of like a homeopathic remedy since you are using something derived from the pollen in order to treat a pollen allergy. I recommend a teaspoon of honey with grated orange peel or lemon peel in the morning. This tastes refreshing and has been effective for me.

Acupuncture has also shown to be very effective in numerous studies. In one trial one hundred percent of patients had improvements in their symptoms and in another, eighty percent improved. Acupuncture works to temper and alter the body's response to allergens. It can also have a stress relieving effect. Stress has been known to exacerbate allergies.

Massage can also help in this respect. Since massage reduces stress, it can help to reduce the intensity of allergies. It also helps to stimulate lymph flow which will bolster the immune system and help to get food triggers out of your system. Regular massage can be a valuable tool in your fight against allergies.

This spring try something natural instead of reaching for the medicine cabinet. By exercising your immune system and altering it naturally, you strengthen it and help your body to react better in the future. Replacing and quieting your immune system with drugs makes your body less efficient at handling itself. Some of these allergy medications can be damaging to your liver too. If you would like more information about an elimination diet, you can try reading "Foods that Fight Pain" by Dr. Neil Benhard. There is also an abundance of information online.

Sleep

Sleep is important. Sleep is important but most of us don't get enough of it. Recent surveys posted by the Harvard Medical School have shown that more people are not sleeping and that sleep disturbances are a problem for at least 75% of the population. Many of us are making changes in our diet and trying to get more exercise, but making sure we get enough sleep is an important ingredient to wellness. Sleep should be part of your wellness routine. The modern lifestyle all too often sacrafices sleep just to get a little more work done for the office or at home. We cut into our sleep to get more social time in or even to see our favorite late night TV shows. Some of us get into bed at a decent hour but still don't get enough sleep do to stress, stimulant intake (like caffeine or nicotine), insomnia, or sleep disturbances. Whatever the reason is that we are losing sleep, it inevitably affects our health and our vitality as a member of society.

According to most survey's the average adult needs 7-8 hours of sleep a night. Getting to bed early enough to meet that quota can be hard enough, but even if we are in bed at a decent enough hour, that does not mean that we are sleeping uninterrupted. According to research, the quality of our sleep is not determined by the quantity of hours that we lay in bed. It is determined by the amount of complete sleep cycles we go through. One sleep cycle is said to last about 90 minutes and goes through five phases in those 90 minutes. The first is the transition to sleep and lasts about five minutes. The eyes move slightly under the eyelids, muscle activity slows down and you are easilly awakened. The second stage is considered light sleep and is the first real stage of sleep. Eye movement stops, your heart rate slows and your body temperature decreases. This stage lasts a bit longer. About 25-30 minutes. After that we move into a third stage which is referred to as deep sleep, wherein it is difficult for us to be awoken. If we are awoken then it is difficult for us to adjust and we are "groggy" for several minutes after waking. In stage four, we move into a more intense deep sleep where brain waves are very slow, and our blood flow is directed away from the brain and toward our muscles. This stage is essential for restoring our physical energy and goes a long way in explaining why our muscles can feel sore and stiff after getting too little sleep. Finally, if we are not interrupted, about 70 to 90 minutes after falling asleep we enter REM sleep which is the deepest stage of sleep. In this stage our eyes move rapidly underneath our eyelids (hence the acronym REM, Random Eye Movement) and our breathing is shallow. Our heart rate and blood pressure also increase and our arm and leg muscles are parylized. This is the stage where dreaming occurs.

This is why I say that it is quality of sleep and not the quantity of hours we lay in bed that is important. How good of a night's sleep we get depends on how many complete sleep cycles we go through. If these cycles are interrupted during the night, then this disturbs our quality of sleep and potentially effects us the following day and after.

There are also a lot of us who try to do without our required amount of sleep during the week and try to make up for it on the weekends. This way we normally wind up building more sleep debt than we can make up for. Sleep debt is real and it accumulates. This can leave us in a constant state of tiredness since we just never catch up. Some of us spend so much time in this state that we don't realize that we should feel another way. It becomes hard to realize how tired one actually is when there is no precedent.

Since sleep is essential and accumulated sleep loss starts to show up as symptoms. Think of it as being the same as a dietary deficiency. If you are lacking nutrients in your diet, symptoms will appear. The same is the case in a sleep deficiency. Symptoms of sleep loss effect the entire body. These can include: Decreased alertness and performance, memory and cognitive impairment, low attention span and irritability,  increased stress and inability to manage it, poor quality of life, increased perception of pain and lower immunity. These are just a few of a long list of ailments that occur due to loss of sleep. In addition to this, obesity is also of concern because lack of sleep often causes people to eat more. Injuries due to lack of alertness are also common and car accidents are frequently caused by sleep deprived drivers.

Getting enough sleep can be hard. Especially with the busy schedules that most of our modern lives demand. It's not always easy but we must make time for sleep. Getting yourself on a set bed time is the best way to do this. Most of us have more to do than time in the day allows so we must have a time of day that we stop what we are doing and go to bed. If you get to bed on time but have trouble falling asleep, then try to make your environment more conducive to sleep. A quiet, cool room is the best environment. Make sure your bed is comfortable. Avoid nicotine or caffeine in the hours before bed (avoid nicotine all together if possible). If the mind will not quiet down, then meditation or breathing exercises can be helpful.  One should avoid nightcaps like alcohol to help quiet the mind. This can diminish the quality of sleep and leave us just as groggy in the morning as having not had any sleep. The risk of dependency is also there.

Naps during the day are not a complete solution but they help. Napping for 20 minutes to an hour can give us just the energy we need to get through the day. In Spanish culture people dont eat dinner until nearly midnight, but they take cieste in the afternoon.

Massage has also been known to help with insomnia. Massage stimulates the parasympathetic nervous system, turning the mind off and decreasing some of the effects that the stress of the day has on the body. Getting a massage any time of the day can help with one's sleep schedule but getting one closer to the time you go to bed is best. If it is possible to do on the way home from work, this can be ideal.

Sleep is important. Too much of us ignore it, thinking that our million and one tasks are all more important than sleep. Be that as it may, we can often times get a lot more done in a smaller amount of time if we are well rested.  It can be hard but fitting sleep into our schedule is essential to a fully productive and healthy life.

Healthy Joints

Our joints are the places where all mechanical movement happens in the body. We use dozens of our joints for every activity we do. From walking, to driving, to exercising, cooking dinner, doing the laundry, and even just sitting down to watch TV, we depend on the integrity of our joints. Healthy pain free joints allow us to be effective in our life as well as enjoy our life. Unfortunately, a large portion of our population suffers from joint pain. Actually pain, most commonly occurs in the area around a joint. This is because the increased motion in these areas causes wear and tear on the tissue around the joints and in the joints themselves. Many times our joint pain can be traced to muscle imbalances around a joint. A joint has a certain position and alignment in which it's motions can be performed best. Changes in the alignment of a joint cause decreased range of motion, weakness of motion and of course, pain around the joint. The muscles around a joint are primarily responsible for maintaining the proper alignment within the joint. When they fail to do this, the bony surfaces of the joint can rub on each other, wearing away at tissue and eventually leading to arthritis. When we have to do more vigorous activity, muscle imbalance around a joint can put unnecessary strain on some of the muscles and ligaments acting on the joint. This can cause small sprains and strains in these structures leading to pain in the area of the joint. Muscle imbalance will also cause irritation of other soft tissue structures around the joint. This is many times the basis for musculoskeletal injuries like bursitis, nerve impingemets and many sprains and strains.

One of the best things we can do to ensure the integrity of our joints is to ensure that we have the proper muscle balance acting on them. Regular exercise is essential. Using our joints in an organized manner such as that in an exercise routine helps our muscles to find their proper balance around the joints they act on. One should focus on all parts of the body and try to work most major muscle groups equally. One can work with a personal trainer, massage therapist or other health care professional to determine if any muscle groups need extra attention to acheive balance.

Massage is also very effective in achieving your proper muscle balance. Massage can help to lengthen muscles that are too tight around joints and bring awareness to our muscles, which helps them to correct themselves. Just the presence of touch alone causes an awareness in the muscles than can help them adjust. Massage can help relieve pressure on joints where arthritis is present and help create an environment conducive to the healing of torn muscles and ligaments. Minor sprains and strains resulting from prolonged muscle imbalances can be encouraged to heal properly and efficiently through the application of massage. Massage will also help to relieve pressure on nerves and bursae in the area of a joint if nerve impingements or bursitis are present.

Acupuncture is also a great source of relief for joint pain. Proper acupuncture application can help muscles to find their proper balance. According to Traditional Chinese Medicine, pain can often times be due to stagnation of blood and energy. Acupuncture encourages movement of blood and the vital energy that th traditional Chinese refer to as Qi.

Proper nutrition also helps. Not having a proper electrolyte balance or dietary deficiencies in nutrients such as calcium, magnesium or potassium can effect our muscle balance. Also, if we have a diet that is too high in saturated fats or cholesterol this can prevent proper nutrients from getting to our muscles. So balancing our diet will do a lot to help balance our muscles. Methylsulfonylmethane (MSM) will help to strengthen ligaments around a joint. For pain in the joints one can take 1500 mgs of glucosamine a day. This will provide the proper building blocks for joint repair. Chondroiton will also help prevent further damage to the joint. The recommended dosage for chondroiton is 800 mg a day. These supplements need to make themselves available in your body in order to take effect. For that reason they should be given up to two months to see the complete benefits.

 We need to take care of our joints in order to live life to the fullest. Small muscle imbalances around joints can be big painful problems later in life. Proper measures taken to preserve our joints can keep us at our highest functioning potential for a longer period of our life.

Suffer from frequent colds? Try Massage

This time of year many of us suffer from frequent infections and colds. Many of us even come down with the flu. It is flu season, after all. Actually flu season happens at different times all over the world. One thing that flu seasons world wide have in common is that they occur during the cold months. There are a number of possible reasons for this. Indoor heating spreads particles and bacteria throughout our indoor environment. Those particles are inhaled by us and we basically have an allergic reaction, producing mucous and sinus issues. The dry air from the heating also dehydrates our mucous membranes and lowers our defenses. During the winter months we also absorb little to no Vitamin D which effects our immune system. It is actually not the cold air so much that gets us sick. Going out in the cold causes our body to burn energy and work harder keeping itself warm. This lowers the immune system and when we go back into a closed in indoor environment we are more susceptible to the germs. Actually, we would all probably get a lot less sick if we went outside to breath more of that cold fresh air and spent less time in the germ filled indoors. And in general, the best thing that we can do to prevent ourselves from getting sick during cold and flu season is to keep our immune system up to snuff.

One great and enjoyable way to support your immune system is by recieving massage therapy treatments. Massage supports the immune system in a number of ways. Actually, massage encourages circulation in the lymphatic system, a main component of our immune system. Our lymphatic system removes illness causing toxins from our tissues and rids our body of them. Clearing out the lymphatic system can help increase one's immunity significantly. Massage also stimulates blood flow, ensuring that the cells in our body have the proper materials that they need in order to fight off disease. Many research studies have also shown the levels of lymphocytes in the blood to be higher following a massage. Lymphocytes are a main cell of the immune system. More indirectly, massage helps to boost the immune system by reducing stress. For years stress reduction has been a benefit attributed to massage. Before we knew anything else about massage it was obvious to us that it reduced stress. Stress also lowers our immune system. Whenever there is stress present, our immune system will not be functioning at it's optimal level.

Other things one can do to fortify their immune system during the winter months include making sure that we are nutritionally sound. Too many fats and sugars in the diet make blood more acidic, providing a comfortable home for cold and flu germs. Dairy fats can be particularly troublesome for colds since they increase mucous production. Trying to maintain a mostly plant based diet during the winter months is not the worst idea. Make sure to take vitamins A, E, C, B and D to help support the immune system. Another simple idea is a cap full of apple cider vinegar mixed into a glass of water. Do this once per day to obtain vital amino acids that are essential building blocks for the immune system. Exercise outside. Getting outside and moving also helps to move our blood and lymph. Breathing fresh air will also help keep our respiratory tract clear. Make sure not to over exert yourself though, as this can suppress the immune system.

The winter months are tough. Our bodies were not designed to spend half of the year in 30 degree or lower weather. Because of which we have to be a little more careful during this time of year and add a few more things to our regimen. Massage is a great way to boost the immune system and it's enjoyable at the same time!

Repetetive Strain Injuries

Repetitive Strain Injury is a prase that is repeated in the health care industry more and more in our modern world. These injuries, according to the U.S. Department of Labor, Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), are the nations most common and costly occupational health problem, affecting hundreds and thousands of american workers and costing more than $20 billion a year in worker's compensation. Repetitive strain injuries are injuries that occur in the musculoskeletal and nervous system and can be caused mainly by repetitive tasks( like typing or driving), forceful exertion (such as lifting), sustained awkward conditions (sleeping positions) or muscle contractions (carrying heavy items like bags), vibrations (driving), or mechanical compression (leaning on hard objects like a cane, or bike handles).

Sometimes, these injuries are caused by one incedent, like a muscle strain caused by lifting something that was too heavy. More commonly, these injuries are caused by activities we perform on a daily basis. Many times these are activities that are so common that we don't even think of them as injurious to us and many times the best medicine is to refrain from the activity. "If it hurts, don't do it," goes the phrase. Unfortunately in today's modern world it is not that simple. Most people who suffer from repetitive stress injuries have these conditions due to tasks they perform as part of their occupation and most people do not have the option of not doing their job. Examples of this problem can be seen in carpal tunnel syndrome, golfer's elbow and tennis elbow. These conditions all have to do with tension in the muscles that act on the wirst and hand. This tension is commonly caused in people who type frequently, drivers, hairstylists, construction workers, musicians and most other occupations that involve using the hands and fingers repetitively.

Since most of us have to work, it is necessary for us to take measures to prevent these injuries and deal with them when they occur. In many cases if one already has a condition, depending on the severity, time may need to be taken from one's occupation to allow it to heal completely. Even if this cannot be done one can take measures to prevent the condition from getting worse. Prevention, however is always the most effective. Some steps one can take on their own, to prevent injuries or prevent them from getting worse, are regular stretching and exercise. General fitness will help to ensure that your body is resiliant against the demands of life. So a general whole body fitness and stretching routine is important for anyone. One should also focus on the areas of there body that they use most often in their profession or throughout the day. We have to admit to ourselves that many of us, in our profession are like athletes. We use a few specific parts of our body and sets of muscles over the rest, in order to do a specific task all day long. No one ever wins the olympic gold medel for typing 5000 words a day but a lot of us do it. The main difference between your average worker and an athlete is the average worker doesn't warm up before our hundred word dash. If our job requires us to use our hands in such a manner we can work with our chiropractor, physical therapist, trainer, or occupational therapist and even massage therapist to determine what exercises and stretches and maintanence programs are best.

Taking small breaks during our work day is also helpful.  Every once in a while a breather alows our muscles to relax and removes the constant tension. This allows blood flow necessary for healing.

One should also take into account how you are performing your tasks. Many times a simple job can be modified and done in a way that is less strenuous on the body.

Regular massage is very helpful in that it helps to reduce and prevent tension from building up in our muscles. Some of the most common RSI's are sprains and strains that result from overuse of our muscles. This overuse creates small tears in our ligaments and tendons where our muscles attacth to bone. Even carpal tunnel syndrome is often caused and perpetuated by the tension in the flexor muscles that work on our hands. Keeping the muscles we use most often in a relaxed state and proper tone will help these muscles to resist injury when increased demands are placed on them.

Massage also helps to reduce scar tissue. Scar tissue build up accounts for many of the symptoms of Carpal tunnel syndrome and proper healing from sprains and strains is prevented by scar tissue. Scar tissue also decreases flexibility and range of motion. Massage helps to break up scar tissue and encourage proper formation of tissue in the site of an injury.

Massage also encourages blood flow to the site of an injury. Sprains and strains often take years to completely heal. Someone may have a case of tennis elbow come back to haunt them year after year because it hasnt healed correctly. This is normally due to scar tissue build up at the site of the injury and lack of blood flow. Again, these common sprains and strains occur in ligaments and tendons which do not naturally recieve a large amount of blood flow. Massage encourages blood flow bringing the proper nurtrients for healing available.

Including massage in our schedule can help to fend off RSI's and to deal with them once they occur. There are many health care experts who claim that a combination of exercise, stretching, massage and rest is the most effective treatment for strains and sprains. We may not be able to change the demands that life puts on us, but we may be able to take steps to reduce the toll that they take on our body.

 

Massage and The Reduction of Stress

Lets face it. We live in a stressed out world. Our modern day lifestyle places numerous demands on us that require us to constantly remain mentally active and alert, trying to beat the deadline. Whatever the deadline be, our  school project, a job, managing our finances, making sure our children don't starve or just getting our coffee made in time to leave for work in the morning, we are constantly on the go. We have stress for a reason, though. It goes back to our basic means of survival. Stress raises our cortisol levels (a stress hormone produced by the adrenal glands) in order to tighten our blood vessels so we lose less blood in the case of injury. I always use the basic example of seeing a tiger in the woods. We see the tiger so our cortisol levels increase (this temporarily raises our blood pressure). This way we lose less blood when he bites us. Our epinephrine and nor-epinephrine (also hormones produced by the adrenal glands) levels are going to increase along with adrenaline and noradrenaline levels to give us stamina to run and provide a natural pain killing effect in our body and muscles. Our body focuses primarily on functioning as opposed to digesting food, healing itself or building tissue. All of this will be put to the side until we get away from the tiger.

Most of us don't realize the amount of stress that we are under on a daily basis. What we fail to realize is that in today's world, our fast paced lifestyle is the tiger. And we never get away from it. We are constantly on the go. Constantly running. So our body functions of sustaining ourselves for the long term such as digesting our food, generation of tissue and healing are constantly being compromised. Constantly put to the side. Essentially, these functions are never given the attention they deserve. The prolonged exposure to high levels cortisol raises our blood pressure, compromises our ability to monitor blood sugar and effects our immune system. It also decreases our amounts of epinephrine and nor-epinephrine causing us to fatigue easily. Most of us go to work early in the morning only to go home and do more work in one form or another. Our bodies were not intended to be continually on the go without a break. We need time to repair ourselves physically and ground ourselves mentally.

Stress has an accumulative effect on our body. Stress hormones build up until balance is encouraged. Unless we are allowing ourselves time for our hormones to balance, our ability to cope with stress and recover from it is continually being diminished. This means we always have less ability to tackle the next task and simple chores can seem like mountains of work.

Recently I posted an article to our Caress Bodyworks Facebook page by Dani Veracity regarding adrenal fatigue. This is a very common condition that is caused by constant exposure to stress. Our adrenal glands sit on our kidneys and produce cortisol, epinephrine, nor-epinephine, adrenaline, noradrenaline amongst over 50 other hormones essential for maintaining the proper balance in our body. Constant exposure to stress causes us to produce more cortisol which weakens our immune system and raises our blood pressure. It also impairs our ability to monitor blood sugar. This may be why stress and high cortisol levels have been linked to diabetes and the ability to manage it. Actually there are many people who have been able to lower their insulin levels simply through diet, exercise and stress reduction. All of which encourage a balancing of our hormones. More mild examples of adrenal fatigue include symptoms that we all know too well. These include morning fatigue, afternoon lows of energy, not feeling awake until evening, increased PMS symptoms, decreased ability to handle stress, decreased sex drive, mild depression and overall lack of energy. Unfortunately for many people this just seems like life as we know it due to the fact that adrenal fatigue is very common but rarely diagnosed. In the article, Dani gives a variety of effective lifestyle changes and activities that one can observe in order to overcome renal fatigue. These include lying down during work breaks, sleeping in when possible, avoiding stress, meditation, exercise and eating regular meals amongst many others that can be found in the link on our Facebook page.

One thing that Dani forgets to mention is regular massage. Massage has a very profound effect on the stress levels in our body. Research documented by the Touch Research Institute at the University of Medicine in Miami has shown that massage, in addition to being generally relaxing, actually has a balancing effect on our stress hormones. Just fifteen minutes of massage has been shown to lower cortisol levels, balance epinephrine and nor-epinephrine (explaining some of the analgesic pain killing effects), and increase available levels of adrenaline and noradrenaline. In addition to this massage has been shown to naturally raise our growth hormone levels and allow our body to focus on repair. It has also demonstrated the ability to produce serotonin and dopamine encouraging a more relaxed and positive outlook, which is essential to overcoming stress.

Because of it's ability to balance the hormonal functions in the body I believe that regular massage can be a very valuable tool in overcoming the effects that stress has on our body. We may not be able to avoid our responsibilities and deadlines, but we can do something to minimize the effects they have on our body. In doing so we make ourselves more productive in the long term by always having the "umf" we need to handle the next task.

Why Massage Helps Ease Our Pain

More and more people are taking advantage of the benefits of massage every year. According to a survey conducted by the American Massage Therapy Association (AMTA), thirty two percent of adult Americans had received massage for medical or health reasons and nineteen percent of adult Americans had received massage for pain relief. People seek out massage for all different reasons. Some people receive massage to reduce stress. Others receive massage frequently and regularly as part of their wellness and exercise routine. In fact, most traditional societies around the world have incorporated massage into the lives of their people since ancient times. There are those who consider massage to be a necessary part of an optimally healthy life along with proper nutrition and exercise. There are some who receive massage to reduce swelling after surgical procedures and many of us who use massage in order to increase our flexibility and range of motion. Pregnant mothers use massage to ease the discomforts of pregnancy and even to aid in labor. Massage of infants helps to enhance neurological and sensory development. Perhaps most widely recognized is the ability that massage has to reduce pain and discomfort. Especially that associated with musculoskeletal injury and dysfunction. Also according to the AMTA thirty two million Americans (18 percent) had discussed massage with their health care providers in 2009. That is up from 13 percent in 2008.   As massage becomes more popular and massage therapists see more people and more conditions, we are continually gaining more of an understanding as to why massage eases our pain. As we see more people, more research is conducted and we gain more of an understanding, our massage treatments and techniques only become more effective at achieving this end.

So why does massage help to ease pain. This is a broad question to which there is no one answer. Infact the answer more or less lies in the myriad effects that occur both mechanically and reflexively simply by the body's awareness of another being's presence on it's surface. Although thoroughly explaining why massage eases pain would take up much more space than practical for these purposes, I will focus on a few of the more widely recognized reasons.

For one, let's start with stress reduction. Massage stimulates the parasympathetic nervous system. This is the aspect of the autonomic nervous system that allows your body to relax and repair itself from all of the trauma you put it through just by living your day to day life. Stress makes any pain we have worse. Stress causes the blood vessels to clamp down and also thickens the viscosity of the blood by building up byproducts of stress called catecholamines. This raises the blood pressure which limits blood flow to our tissues. Tissues that don't receive enough blood flow are deprived of oxygen and prone to tension. Also, most of the everyday aches and pains in our body come from minor sprains and strains in the ligaments and tendons of our body. These injured tissues need blood flow to bring the nutrients necessary for rebuilding the tissue. Without proper blood flow, these minor sprains and strains often times turn into chronic pain syndromes and more serious dysfunction. Massage has not only been shown to reduce catecholamines in the blood but also to encourage blood flow to the soft tissues of our body.

When those sprains and strains are more severe, such as in sports injuries, massage plays a vital and essential role in the proper rehabilitation process. Tendons and Ligaments, when injured take a long time to heal on their own. This is because these tissues receive relatively little blood flow as it is. The blood flow that is present is not sufficient to heal these injuries completely. This is why someone who has tennis elbow will often times experience times of relief only to be followed by a reawakening of the injury when they go through the "wrong" motion. Skilled application of specific massage techniques encourages the proper amount of blood flow to the tissue for reconstruction. According to massage researcher Whitney Lowe, friction massage combined with stretching and rehabilitative exercise is the most effective approach to treating these soft tissue injuries.

Another reason that massage is effective at easing pain can be attributed to the breakdown of scar tissue. If you have pain in your body, you have scar tissue. Scar tissue is the body's response to injury. Minor or severe. Scar tissue starts being formed within minutes of an injury. Scar tissue is a "quick fix" by the body. The body just lays down fibers in an unorganized fashion in order to "patch up" the injury. Because these fibers are laid down in an unorganized fashion, this limits motion, decreases flexibility and causes soreness. Scar tissue causes us to feel stiff and sore. Massage helps to break down the scar tissue and encourages proper organization of the fibers.

One more effect that I will touch on is the hormonal response. Massage stimulates the release and production of various, natural pain killing hormones. Massage increases levels of dopamine, serotonin, endorphins, epinephrine and norepinephrin in the body. These hormones help to reduce pain, encourage feelings of well-being and positivity and decrease stress. Massage also decreases the amounts of stress hormones such as cortisol in the blood.

 These are only a few positive effects that massage has on one's pain. Depending on the application of massage and the style, the pain relieving effects can seem endless. In the past we had looked at these effects as being an overall package of benefits that one receives from a simple massage. As I had stated earlier, the more people massage therapists see and the more conditions we see, we are learning to be more specific and intentional with these effects. The result is, work that is already effective at relieving pain becomes more effective, along with a population that is pain free and inevitably more productive

Healthy is a State Mind

As a massage therapist I work with people who are in pain. The work that i do helps to relieve muscle tension, decrease adhesion in muscles and restore range of motion and flexibility. Skilled massage takes pressure off of vertebral discs that is maintained by muscle tension, and off of arthritic joints, around which the muscles have become tight and fibrous. People frequently experience great amounts of relief following their massage treatments, but those who put effort into their own wellness outside of the treatment session, normally fare much better and get much better results out of the massage treatments. Last week I posted a blog about how important diet is in controlling pain. There are many things in our diets that create inflammation or increase pain by reducing blood flow to injuries that are trying to heal. There are also many things we can supplement our diet with to help control pain.

Regular exercise helps to promote proper muscle tone and control of the muscles. May times, when people are in pain, this causes the muscles around a joint to lose there proper balance. Muscles on one side of a joint become too tight, while muscles on another side become too weak. This causes more pain because now we use the joint in the wrong way and put inappropriate pressure on it's surfaces. Regular exercise encourages the proper balance of our muscles around our joints. This is more effective when combined with massage.

Relax. The average person in our modern society is way too stressed out. Stress can account for a vast majority of the illness today. Stress raises blood pressure, interferes with digestion and lowers the immunity. It also increases inflammation and muscle tension in the body, contributing to any pain that is already present. Stress sets us up for disease. Massage is an excellent way to de stress. People go into what is known as parasympathetic arousal while receiving massage. Parasympathetic arousal is a very relaxed state in which the body can focus on healing itself and nourishing itself. Many people retain that relaxed state for hours after the massage. Massage also works to decrease the secondary effects of stress such as blood pressure and muscle tension.

Sleep. The average person does not get enough sleep. We need between 6 to 8 hours of sleep per night. If you are not getting this your body can not do the job of healing itself from the wear and tear of the day. Sleep is necessary for this to happen. If you don't get enough sleep, your body is not healing properly or completely. This said, little wears and tears accumulate and turn into big injuries or painful syndromes.

Avoid bad habits. Smoking and excessive drinking put toxins into the body that increase pain and inflammation in the body. They also decrease your body's ability to deal with pain.

When I make exercise, dietary or lifestyle suggestions to individuals, they often reply with, "wow it sure takes a lot of work to be healthy." Many people claim that they feel like they have to change their entire life to be healthy. Well, health is a lifestyle. Your body is the most important thing you have. Everything else in life is useless without your body. So maybe more of our life should be focused on living. Our lifestyle should encourage health, because that is necessary for everything else.

Fighting Pain with your choice of grain

Most of us know that our diet can be detrimental to our cardiovascular health and digestive health, but less of us think of our diet as the source for our bodily aches and pains. Did you know that components in the diet can trigger pain within the body, and altering ones diet correctly can significantly reduce the amount of pain that one regularly experiences. Especially those who suffer from arthritic conditions. Many common complaints like arthritis, fibromyalgia, chronic headaches, low back pain and premenstrual syndrome have been shown to have dietary implications.

In his book Foods that Fight Pain by Neil Berhnard MD, he explains how many foods, especially animal products which are high in saturated fat increase the amount of inflammation within the body. Inflammation contributes to most of the pain associated with arthritis. He states that dairy and heavy meats especially seem to feul this fire. This would go a long way in expaining why it is that vegetarians and vegans seem to have significantly less problems with arthritis. Actually many people have noticed a decrease in their arthritic symptoms just by cutting dairy out of their diet. The fats in dairy seem to spread inflammation like a wildfire. According to an article by Elizabeth Walling, they also disrupt the body's ability to eliminate toxins. The accumulation of toxins within the joints is another factor contributing to arthritic pain. Wheat for many people is also a trigger for arthritic pain because the gluten seems to be very inflammatory as well. This is especially true of unbleached white flour. Other foods that have been shown to take a toll on those suffering from arthritic pains include nightshade vegetables, alcoholic beverages, especially fermented ones such as beer and wine, and processed sugars.

For arthritis, I am a strong advocate of an elimination diet. An elimination diet consists of eliminating all pain triggering foods from the diet for a period of time and seeing if your pain dissipates. If it does than this strongly suggests something in your diet may be triggering your pain. After that, you gradually start adding these foods back into your diet, one week at a time and if your pain returns, you have a much easier time identifying your trigger food or foods. Information on an elimination diet can be easily found on-line or in Neil Berhnard's book, Foods that Fight Pain.

Aside from eliminating foods from the diet, there are many things that one can add to their diet to help reduce inflammation and pain associated with arthritis. Legumes like beans and lentils have high amounts of ALA (Alpha Lypoic Acid) and GLA (Gamma Lypoic Acid) which have been shown to reduce inflammation in the body. Supplementing the diet with regular intake of these foods may be beneficial in fighting arthritic pain. Do give it some time though. If these have not been a regular part of your diet in the past it may take time to build up the levels of ALA and GLA in the body. Evening primrose oil and borage oil also have high levels of ALA and GLA and many people have noticed relief from arthritic pain by taking oral supplements of either. Whole grain intake has also been shown to reduce inflammation. Another benefit of whole grain intake is the high fiber content which encourages elimination of toxins from the body. I can also suggest apple cider vinegar for arthritic pains. Apple cider vinegar contains a rich supply of proteins which help to restore nutrients to the the joint surfaces and facilitates the removal of pain causing toxins from the body. One should take one to two teaspoons mixed in a cup of water three times daily. I find this to be a refreshing drink by itself but one can also sweeten it with honey if desired.

I believe there is no one cure for arthritic pains, however by adjusting one's lifestyle, diet and recieving regular massage treatments one can drastically reduce the effect it has on your life.

Weathering the Cold

Now that the cold weather is upon us, a lot more people start seeing their bodyworkers on a much more frequent basis. I work with a lot of people that only start coming back to see me when the weather gets cold. This is because people with chronic pain, especially those with arthritis, tend to hurt more in the cold. There are a number of reasons that our body tends to give us the cold shoulder when the temperature drops. One fact that this can be attributed to is the fact that when our body experiences cold on the surface it draws the majority of blood flow away from our extremities and concentrates the flow to our internal organs. This is done for protection of the internal organs. Your body makes a compromise. Your body decides that "if I am going to be experiencing this cold for an extended period of time, then I can afford to freeze my fingers and feet off but I have to protect my vital organs. Those I cannot do without." So, when our bodies are exposed to low temperatures for an entire season, the rest of our extremities receive less blood flow than they do in the warmer weather. When there is a decrease in blood flow there is subsequently a decrease in valuable nutrients which are essential for regeneration of damaged cartilage in arthritic joints. This is one reason that those who suffer from arthritis may suffer more in the winter. Also, as a reaction to the cold our muscles contract. These sustained contractions cause our muscles to fatigue becoming sore faster and also increase the pressure on certain the joints surrounded by those muscles. If you had a disc injury in your lower back, your symptoms may become worse in the cold weather because the tightened muscles in your lower back will increase the pressure on the disc. If you had a nerve entrapment anywhere in your body, the pressure on the nerve may be increased by the tightening of the muscles around it. If joints are already arthritic this pressure caused by tightened muscles only increases your problems.

Massage helps to encourage blood flow to all parts of the body. Receiving regular massage along with exercise and a proper diet can help ensure that the joints in your extremities are getting the nutrients that they need to keep themselves healthy and pain free. This increased blood flow also warms our muscles, encouraging them to relax, which helps to take pressure off of our joints. A regular massage routine very often helps those who suffer from arthritis and chronic pain weather the cold months.

Another reason that people may often times experience pain in the colder months is due to a lack of Vitamin D that we would normally receive from an adequate supply of sunlight. This lack of vitamin D will slow calcium absorption and depress the nervous system causing depression, postural issues and muscle soreness amongst many other things. In the winter we spend a longer amount of time inside and in some areas the angle of the sun may not be direct enough to supply us with enough vitamin D. In addition to Massage and exercise, it may be advisable to take Vitamin D supplements when dealing with chronic pain in the winter months.