Talent Mash

What is massage therapy anyway? One thing we can say for sure is that it has become a fast growing profession. A couple of decades ago, you never even heard of massage therapy. But since then interest has grown tremendously. Even insurance companies understand and recognize the benefits of a skilled massage therapist.

The term massage therapy is used when talking about health and healing practices that involve touch and movement. It is a profession in which the therapist applies some manual techniques, and may apply at adjunctive therapies. These techniques when applied have the sole intention of trying to positively affect the health and well-being of the client.

So where did massage therapy come from?

The word massage is most likely to have emerged from the Greek word ‘Massein’, meaning ‘to knead’ or the Arabic word ‘mash’ meaning ‘to press softly’. Massage is really the oldest form of physical medicine known to man. It can be traced all the way back to the early Chinese medical manuscripts around 400BC. Hippocrates was known to advocate massage. And he was born in the fifth century and was also known as “the father of medicine”. It was used and written about in Roman times, with history recording Julius Caesar had received massage to help relieve neuralgia!

Massage therapy dates back thousands of years. Ancient writings of many cultures have referenced the term massage.

They included:

ancient Greek ancient Rome China Japan Egypt Indian subcontinent

In the United States massage therapy became popular for a variety of health purposes in about that mid 1800′s. Around the 1930s and 1940s massage therapy fell out of favor. This was because of scientific and technological advances in medical treatments. Massage therapy interest was revived in the 1970s. Athletes were the one who mainly used this form of therapy back then.

There are over 80 types of massage therapy. Most of the time what happens is when people find a method or two that they like, they will usually stick with their practitioner who use this form of therapy. Then there are times when people find a particular massage therapist that makes them feel comfortable and that individual will remain a loyal customer to this particular massage therapist.

The first thing that will happen is the massage therapist will review your symptoms and neeeds. They will then ask you questions about your problem and conditions.

There are a variety of massage techniques that are used to help with the following:

reduce tension and pain improve blood flow relax muscles and provide a sense of well-being and relaxation

Massage therapy is really a hands-on manipulation of soft tissues and joints of the body. The soft tissues include:

muscle skin tendon associated fascia ligaments joint capsules

Although it largely affects those muscles just under the skin, massage therapies benefits may also reach the deeper layers of muscle and possibly even the organs themselves. Massage also stimulates blood circulation and assists the lymphatic system (which runs parallel to the circulatory system), this helps to eliminate waste thoughtout the body.

The purpose of massage therapy is to prevent, develop, maintain, rehabilitate or augment physical function or relieve pain. It is also a clinically oriented health option with undeniable result in relief from an array of discomforts that include stress, muscular overuse and many other chronic pain syndromes. If employed early enough after accidents involving trauma and injury, massage therapy can greatly reduce the development of painful muscular patterning.

What the massage therapist will do is press, stroke, rub to try and manipulate the muscles and other soft tissue with particular focus on muscles and pressure points. Pressing and kneading different areas of the body to relieve pain, relax, stimulate, and tone the body. This will often happen using various pressure and movement. The therapist use their hands, fingers, forms, elbows, and sometimes feet.

With the goal to relax the soft tissues, help to increase the delivery of blood and oxygen to the massaged areas, reduce tension, relax muscles, decrease pain and provide a sense of well-being and relaxation.

Some of the popular types of massage are:

Swedish Deep tissue Trigger point Reflexology

With the popularity in “massage” today, you should only get your massage from someone who uses the title “massage” (MT). This person has completed a diploma program at a recognized school and has passed an examination. When you are out looking for a qualified therapist look for someone who uses a massage therapist (MT) or registered massage therapist (RMT) as their title.

When is a time when massage therapy is not the right treatment?

If you suffer from certain circulatory ailments (such as phlebitis), infectious diseases, certain forms of cancer, cardiac problems, certain skin conditions, or any inflamed or infected tissues, be sure to consult your physician before initiating any massage program. An experienced massage therapist will also be able to tell you when massage is not indicated.

According to the Back Association of Canada (BAG), a Toronto-based foundation established by a group of back pain sufferers and health care professionals, finding an effective program of back pain treatment in most cases calls only for knowledge of the general category (or categories) of problem to be known. “Narrowing the problem down further doesn’t usually make a whole lot of difference since the conservative treatment for each category is more or less the same,” according to BAG’S Web site, which lists the five main causes of pain as:

Sprains and strains of the muscles, ligaments, and tendons Disk problems Facet joint problems Osteoarthritis (also called degenerative arthritis, or degenerative joint disease, because it’s related to age-related changes in the bones and joints) Spinal stenosis, a narrowing of the spinal canal that can develop because of a congenital defect or as a result of osteoarthritis.
Chronic or Acute?

Not only can it be difficult to tell where the back pain is coming from – it can even be hard to tell whether the pain is acute or chronic, and that can affect treatment.

In general, acute pain is the initial pain people feel after an injury. In most cases, the body will begin healing itself, and the patient’s job is simply to relieve the pain and keep the injured area safe until fully recovered. If the pain lasts longer than expected – which, for back pain, is usually considered to be about six weeks at most – or is due to an ongoing condition such as arthritis, it is considered chronic, and a different treatment plan comes into play.

Although chronic back pain is, in most cases, not directly caused by injury, the source of the pain can bring about an injury that then appears to be the culprit. For instance, poor muscle tone deprives the spine of necessary support, puts stress upon the joints, and leaves the back more susceptible to injury.

Some schools of thought hold that chronic pain is the end of a chain of nervous system events that starts in the brain and ends with pain in the back. In its most basic form, for instance, emotional stress can lead to physical muscle tension, which can lead to pain (and injury, which, in our stressed state, we’re more likely to become victim to). Because the nervous system is connected to the mind and the emotions, the theory goes, healing is best directed there.

Categorizing your pain as acute or chronic can be a subjective call. Are those intermittent episodes of acute pain you’re experiencing, or is it a series of recurrent episodes stemming from the same source? Does the pain never seem to leave, becoming only relatively better and worse?

Find Out How to Reduce and Eliminate Chronic Back Pain Using Non-Traditional Therapy

Complementary therapy is concerned with health and wellness from a mind, body and spirit approach. As a past sufferer of back pain resulting from injury and a congenital disorder, I understand how challenging it can be to live with back pain.

The GOOD news is you don*t have to. Studies actually suggest that most chronic back pain can be relieved in just six short weeks.

Among the essential strategies for eliminating back pain include exercise and movement. A progressive exercise program that incorporates stretching and balance can help reduce and even eliminate back pain.

When an exercise program is followed in conjunction with routine complementary therapy, the prognosis for back pain sufferers is exceptional.

Complementary Therapy

So what exactly is complementary therapy and how do you use it to resolve back pain?

Complementary therapy is any type of treatment that does not involve medication and surgery, which aims to reduce or eliminate imbalances in the body through a mind, body and spirit approach. There are many effective complementary therapies available for chronic back pain sufferers.

Three of the most common are discussed below.

Chiropractic

This is usually the most popular complementary therapy sought out by back pain sufferers. Chiropractic treatment involves the use of spinal manipulation to relieve acute and chronic back pain. There is a large body of research that supports the efficacy of chiropractic therapy in conjunction with a strengthening program. In fact, many doctors actually recommend Chiropractic care over traditional care for back pain.

Massage

Massage therapy is a relaxing and invigorating complementary therapy that does wonders for the entire mind, body and spirit of back pain sufferers. Massage therapy can help improve a person*s flexibility and ability to carry out daily functions by improving blood flow to the limbs. Massage also provides an added mental benefit of being calming and relaxing.

Acupuncture

Acupuncture is less commonly used to treat lower back pain, but fans of acupuncture therapies will tell you that it is an effective treatment for eliminating pain. Acupuncture treatment relies on the insertion of thin needles into certain energy points on the body. Many people report relief from lower back pain after a series of acupuncture treatments. There are many proven benefits of acupuncture treatment that have been cited, and most recent studies suggest that it is a good complementary therapy for low back pain.

There are several other complementary therapies that are beneficial for back pain sufferers including magnetic therapy. Regardless of which you choose, you are bound to realize positive results if you combine complementary therapy with a regular strength and conditioning program. No one should suffer chronic back pain. There are healing options available if you know where to turn.

Do You Have a Citric Acid Allergy?

There is some debate on the internet about whether such a thing as an allergy to citric acid is a known medical condition or not. Some people, including many M.D.s and other doctors (such as naturopaths) suggest that there is no such thing as an allergy to citric acid, instead calling it a “food sensitivity”, a “food intolerance” or even a “non-allergic food hypersensitivity”.

Regardless of the terms currently used, the fact is that some of us have adverse reactions when we eat citric acid, and sometimes when we put it on our skin.

Citric acid is frequently made from corn, and I believe that often a reaction to corn is actually a reaction to the citric acid that is in the corn. Citric acid is found in MANY foods naturally, and not just citrus fruits and most people think.

It is also used as a cleaner and descaler in concentrations around 6% to remove hard water stains from surfaces, and it is also used to slow the rate at which concrete sets, so you can see it has many industrial and household uses.

In food, citric acid frequently used as a preservative, and many vegetable and fruits are washed in a mild citric acid solution to prevent them going brown (and looking less appealing to shoppers) by reacting to oxygen in the air (oxidization).

It is also used as a flavoring to make foods taste tart, and is sometimes used in place of lemon juice by food manufacturers. You’ll see it on the ingredients list of many canned drinks, including many colas and root-beers.

How Much in the World?

In 2007 there was an estimated 1,700,000 tons (that’s 3,400,000,000 or three point four BILLION pounds) of citric acid produced, most of it made in China. Where did all this go?

Here is the breakdown:

Half of it was added to drinks, 20% as food additives, another 20% added to cleaners and the last 10% is estimated to be added to cosmetics, like shampoos and soaps.

As you can see, it isn’t just something quite rare tat you find in a few things, but rather is extremely common.

The Difference Between Allergies and Intolerances

So what exactly IS the difference between an allergy and an intolerance? Well, here is what I have managed to gather from my studies.

To be an allergy, technically, your immune system has to be involved. That is, something has made your immune system start to do its job and try to protect you. The problem with allergies is that too often, your immune system seems to start doing its job when it doesn’t need to, because it reacts to things that aren’t really very harmful to you, such as pollen.

A food intolerance (or food sensitivity) on the other hand, is a body’s inability to digest certain compounds in food, but does NOT involve the immune system. The reasons that this happens seems to be caused by several factors, and more research needs to be done to determine what all of these factors are.

Important

It’s vitally important to determine whether or not you do indeed have an allergy or intolerance, and the only way to do this is to see a licensed doctor, preferably an allergist or other specialist in that field.

Allergies can be life threatening (hence me saying it’s VITALLY important) and many people are now prescribed “epi-pens” which are syringes full of epinephrine, which they must administer to themselves (or have others do it for them) if an attack happens when you aren’t near a physician (which is most of the time of course).

Other Food Intolerances

There are several common food intolerances, including the following:

Lactose Intolerance – which means you can’t drink milk or eat milk derived products

Gluten Intolerance – which means you can’t eat breads or any products made with wheat

Carbohydrate Intolerance – which means you can’t eat many vegetables

Citric Acid

I’ve spoken with several doctors and citric acid intolerance (often called citric acid allergy) seems to be new to many of them. While this probably isn’t a life threatening condition, because of its symptoms, it can be very debilitating, and quite often very embarrassing.

The physician usually suggests sinus surgery when sinus infection is too recurrent or is non -reactive to medications for sinus relief. Sinus surgery is suggested to patients who are suffering from chronic sinusitis. There are innumerable medications available in the market along with the popular home medicines that is a matter of common knowledge for sinus relief, but when these fail to get the desired respite sinus surgery comes into light as the last yet not lost resort.

The two most obvious question that one might ask regarding sinus surgery:

Why a surgery when one can simply get relief one way or the other? Or Is sinus surgery painful?

Well then the answers are:

If chronic sinusitis is not treated on time then there is a strong possibility of damage in the sinuses or cheekbones that would need a surgery to repair these damaged parts and after all a ‘stitch in time saves nine’.

With new developments in technology at aid “surgery” would in fact be too big a term to be used for this simple procedure performed more often than not by an E.N.T (ear, nose, throat) specialist. The latest of the operations performed for sinus relief is very simple, not painful yet effective. The primary motive of this sinus surgery is to enable the flow of liquid or mucus freely that is clogged in the sinuses because of inflammation or any other reason that is not allowing the draining of these unwanted substances by making this passage broad. Depending on the type of sinusitis i.e., frontal, ethmoid or maxillary the surgery would be performed under, behind the eyebrow, next to the nose or scalp or inside the nose itself, upper lip respectively.

There are different types of sinus surgeries:

Functional endoscopic sinus surgery (FESS): This is done with an endoscope to remove the unwanted and dead tissues. Image guided surgery: This is performed with the help of a three-dimensional mapping system etc., which becomes a must in a little complicated cases of severe chronic sinusitis. Caldwell Luc operation: This technique is used to treat maxillary sinus i.e., the one of the cavities under the eye by which a passage is made to connect the maxillary sinus with the nose.

The primary aim of the sinus surgery let it be of any type is to make the passage broader or to clear the dead tissues that bock the passage and create discomfort and all other symptoms of sinus.

Prostate cancer is a disease that occurs in the male reproductive system. This cancer is very popular as the most causes of death in the United States.

The prostate itself is responsible for production of semen. Anatomically, the prostate gland is located between the bladder and rectum, so sometimes in diagnosed the disease we need finger rectal examination besides PSA blood test.

Symptoms

early symptoms of prostate cancer nearly often overlooked, because it is usually without symptoms. This is one answer for the question why this most often found in men aged fifty years and the most frequently diagnosed in the seventies. Indeed in line with the age, symptom that was not visible will be visible. a common complaint expressed by people with the disease is pain, especially when you urinate, sometimes you will found bleeding in urination, and the presence of erectile dysfunction.

Examination and Diagnosis

The diagnosis of prostate cancer is taken through physical examination or with a blood test named PSA. This Prostate Specific Antigen, is the antigen if it contained in someone`s blood, the doctor will suspect him suffer the cancer. Later the suspicions of prostate specific antigen will be confirmed by taking a tissue biopsy.

Prostate Cancer Treatment options

Appropriate treatment for prostate cancer is still under debate. Treatment options vary, depending on the stage. In the early stages can be used prostatectomy (removal of prostate) and radiation therapy. If prostate cancer has spread, hormonal manipulation can be done (reduce testosterone levels through the removal of drugs or the testis) or chemotherapy.

Surgery:

1. Radical prostatectomy (removal of the prostate gland).

Often performed on stage cancer A and B. The procedure is long and is usually performed under general anesthesia or spinal. An incision is made in the abdomen or perineal area, and the patient had to undergo hospital treatment for 5-7 days. Complications that can happen is that impotence and incontinence uri. In patients who are still active sex life, can be done Potency-sparing radical prostatectomy.

2. Orkiektomi (removal of the testes, castration).

Appointment of two testes have decreased testosterone levels, but this procedure causes physical and psychological effects that can not be tolerated by the patients. Orkiektomi is an effective treatment, does not require re-treatment, compared to cheaper drugs and after undergoing orkiektomi patient did not need hospital treatment. Orkiektomi usually done on the cancer that had spread.

Radiation Therapy:

Radiation therapy used primarily to treat cancer of A, B and C. Usually if the risk of surgery is too high, then do radiation therapy. Radiation therapy to the prostate gland can be done in several ways:

1. External radiation therapy performed in hospitals without the need to undergo hospitalization. Side effects such as decreased appetite, fatigue, skin reactions (such as redness and irritation), injury or burns to the rectum, diarrhea, cystitis (bladder infection) and hematuria. External radiation therapy is usually done as much as five times / week for 6-8 weeks.

2. Transplant iodine beads, gold or iridium radioactive directly on prostate tissue through a small incision. The advantage of this form of radiation therapy is that radiation is directed directly to the prostate with tissue damage in the surrounding smaller.

Drugs:

1. Hormonal manipulation

The goal is to reduce the level of testosterone. Decrease in testosterone levels are often very effective in preventing the growth and spread of cancer. Hormonal manipulation is mainly used to alleviate symptoms without curing prostate cancer, namely cancer in patients who have been spreading.

Synthetic drug whose function resembles luteinizing hormone Releasing Hormone (LHRH), the more widely used to treat advanced prostate cancer. An example is the lupron or zoladeks.

These drugs suppress the formation of stimulating the testes to testosterone (this is called chemical castration because it has the same result with the removal of the testes). Drugs given in the form of injections, usually every three months. The side effects are nausea and vomiting, flushed face, anemia, osteoporosis and impotence.

Other drugs used for hormonal therapy is androgen inhibitor (eg flutamid), which function to prevent the attachment of testosterone on prostate cells. The side effects are impotence, liver disorders, diarrhea, and gynecomastia (enlarged breasts).

2. Chemotherapy

Chemotherapy is often used to treat symptoms of prostate cancer is resistant to hormonal therapy. Usually given a single drug or combination of several drugs to destroy cancer cells.

Drugs that can used to treat prostate cancer is:

* Mitoxantronx
* Prednisone
* Paclitaxel
* Dosetaxel
* Estramustin
* Adriamycin

The side effects vary and depend on the drugs given. You should carefully consider the benefits and side effects of both treatments to find the best prostate cancer treatment options that suit with you.