Arthritis and How Massage Can Help
As I continue to get older (29 + shipping & handling…lots of shipping and handling), I have noticed that my body doesn’t respond and heal as well as it once did. It really doesn’t matter how much I DON’T want this to happen, Father Time marches on.
The one thing that has been particularly bothersome is the aches, pains and swelling of arthritis. When I was younger, if anyone mentioned arthritis, I envisioned people way older than I am now, sitting in their rocking chairs or walking around with their walker or cane. Certainly, I am way too young for arthritis, however, that isn’t the case.
After doing some research, I found out that arthritis attacks more than 70 million Americans or nearly 1 out of every 3. It attacks men, women and children.1 Arthritis isn’t just for the elderly, however, they do seem to be the hardest hit.
WHAT EXACTLY IS ARTHRITIS?
Arthritis is an acute or chronic inflammation of a joint often accompanied by pain and stiffness. Also, it is more than just one disease, there are at least 100 variations of arthritis. Osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis and gout are just a few of the arthritis heavy hitters.1 However, for this newsletter, I am going to focus on the most common type of arthritis, osteoarthritis, or commonly just called arthritis.
HOW DOES ARTHRITIS HAPPEN?
This type of arthritis is often associated with wear and tear on the body and/or joint. It is degenerative and is mostly caused by a deterioration/breakdown of the joint cartilage. This results in pain, loss of movement and swelling. Also, it doesn’t necessarily need to be all 3 symptoms to be classified as arthritis. For me, I had no pain but I did have swelling which then caused loss of movement.
Not only that, but then there are the issues of protecting the joint (because it hurts or is swollen). When the swelling in my left knee occurred, even though it didn’t hurt, I started limping and keeping weight off of it because I didn’t know, at that time, why it was swollen. In protecting my left knee, I was putting a tremendous amount of pressure on the rest of my body to compensate for the “injury”.
HOW MASSAGE CAN HELP
For me, once I found out there was no major issues with my knee, other than arthritis, I immediately turned to massage to help with the loss of movement in my leg.
However, most arthritis sufferers probably wouldn’t think to use massage as a way to help with the pain and loss of movement. Plus, like many people who have chronic pain, they may not want to be touched because they don’t want to risk more pain or inflammation.
Although, massage cannot “heal” a joint nor make the arthritis go away, it can help by relaxing the nearby muscles, which, in turn, reduces pain. Research has shown that massage can lower the body’s production of the stress hormone cortisol, and boost production of serotonin, which can improve mood. Additionally, massage can lower production of the neurotransmitter substance P, often linked to pain and improve sleep as a result.2
Massage not only can help an arthritis sufferer with reduction in pain, it also helps lower their stress levels. When you are in pain, anything that helps your body relax and calms your mind (even for only 1/2 hour) can work wonders on your stress levels.
Receiving massage on a regular basis can help your body with everyday stress levels and also help ease the pain and loss of movement around an arthritic joint. So it’s a win-win situation all around!
If you or someone you may know, suffers from arthritis, please contact me and we can set up a 1/2 hour targeted treatment session, so they can experience the benefits of massage for their arthritis but also for their overall stress.
References:
1 Seeking Alternatives for Arthritis Sufferers. By Karrie Osborn. Massage Bodywork Magazine, June/July 2005.
2 Benefits of Massage Therapy for Arthritis. By Susan Bernstein. Benefits of Massage Therapy for Arthritis