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Benefits of Massage as Therapy
If massage dealt with only muscles that were not influenced by anything else, such as nutrients and diet, then the odds of helping more bodies would be far greater.
There is a disturbing trend happening that I'm seeing more and more, especially in the younger population. That trend is muscles and tendons that are too elastic and giving. Tendon should be firm to hold the bones in place. The first time I witnessed this was in a 15-year old named Adam. Adam was in a wheel chair most of the time but the first time I met him, he came in with a cane holding onto his mother's arm. The disease had a name, but that didn't matter to me. Adam was in extreme pain most of the time. His tendons were elastic so the joints in his body were unstable and would pop out at any time, causing great distress. This had been going on for two years, perplexing the doctors. He had been to many doctors, including chiropractors who helped by putting his bones back in place.
When treatment was started on Adam I was unsure of how to work with the muscles in spasm. It took some time to realize the best treatment was positional release which would allow the muscles to release themselves, with little effort on my part and less pain on Adam's part. Even still, the muscles only held the release for a day or two at best.
Being devoted to gathering information on natural health issues, this was an issue I knew about. During treatment Adam and I talked a great deal. During those talks Adam gleaned a lot of information which, after a year of medications for pain which did nothing for his condition, he began putting to use. Adam took the information and acted on it, cleaning up his internal environment. Phosphates in soda being part of the problem, Adam began drinking pure water and taking nutrients and supplements to cleanse, build, and reactivate his system. His youth on his side, Adam saw considerable results within four to five months. "My releases are holding longer", he said. And they were. From two days to two weeks longer. His tendons and joint capsules no longer pulled apart so easily. His tendons were indeed getting stronger.
Remember when phosphates in clothing detergents were banned because they polluted the water-ways? Our blood is the "river" of our body, and drinking soda or "pop" as the preferred drink over water is pollution of the body and it's rivers of life. Phosphates in soda weaken the kidneys. Our kidneys are responsible for strong bones and tendons. Think of the kidneys as little tiny washing machines that wash the blood. What would your clothes feel like if you washed them in soda? Sticky. When the blood is sticky the cells don't move easily and begin to stick together. The texture of the muscles changes to an "elastic" feel when the diet is poor, full of sugar, and lacks nutrients.
Another example of soft tendons came with a 14 year-old soccer player named "Amy". Diane brought her 14 year-old soccer-playing daughter Amy for treatment after reading an article in the newspaper about massage for pain. "Massage was never brought up! Who knew anything about massage for pain?" Diane was incredulous. "Two years of watching Amy in that kind of pain! It was tearing our family apart!" According to Diane, Amy had been to many doctors, orthopods, and neurologists, had all the tests, which included MRI's, not to mention all the drugs she had been prescribed and still no one could do anything for her. Then she read the article in the paper and decided to give massage a try.
Amy's knee was very ticklish and so was her leg all the way to her hip and lower back. All I had to do was touch her and she went into fits of giggles. Amy was in big trouble. A tickle is just the other side of pain and just as bad. As the body ages a "tickle" will usually present as pain. A side-effect of getting older. The body should feel neither tickle or pain to be in optimal health. Amy's leg tendons were weak and I asked if she drank anything other than water. The answer was "yes". She drank juices and soda. Could sugar be implicated in this instance of weak ankles and tendons once again? We went on to discuss the sugar to pain connection and both she and her mother agreed to try drinking water over sugar drinks.
During treatment I addressed every tickle in every muscle in the leg. The muscle causing pain in Amy's knee was the point where the calf muscle attaches on the medial side of the knee, just below the knee. Orthobionomy is a gentle positional release, so after the giggles subsided the knee was put into position and held for release which takes about 90 seconds. Since Amy had been in pain for 2 years she was advised that her knee may be sore for about a day and to use heat alternating with ice to help it feel better. Another appointment was made.
When next Diane brought Amy she grabbed me and hugged me. Amy's knee pain was diminished by 90%. "Our whole family is rejoicing" she said. "It's amazing how something like this can make you feel so helpless. The worst thing in the world is watching someone go through this kind of thing and not be able to do anything for them. I feel I can have my family back again". Amy's giggles were not as intense the second time and the muscle at the knee released even more this time around. Since Amy was an avid soccer player she was warned about re-injury. We discussed physical therapy as an option to help her understand how she may be using her body to disadvantage in her playing and to help her to utilize her body correctly to avoid further injury. Her doctor would be able to help her find a physical therapist who would know how to treat Amy.
Amy needed more work on her low back but she opted to discontinue treatment until after soccer season. Since Amy was not on drugs or caffeine when she came to see me, the treatment held very well and I did not see her again for several months. Chemicals in the body can have an affect on how well a massage treatment "holds" which is why a thorough history is taken before treatment starts. We also discussed the many ways water works to properly hydrate the muscles.
Amy's pain went beyond "growing pains" and threw her and her family into a tailspin. None of her doctors or therapists had offered any information on massage therapy, which, for Amy, was her way out of a very painful situation. Awakening the medical professionals to the benefits and advantages of massage as a therapy should be high on the list of all who practice massage. Many people are in very painful situations that could be treated with minimal effort and expense. The problem is that people don't know what massage can do as a therapy and neither do the doctors. In these two instances massage was able to do what nothing else could.
E-mail me with any questions and I'll be glad to help you!
This information has not been evaluated by the FDA and is for information purposes only. When needed, consult a qualified health care professional.
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