Chiropractic beliefs vs Massage Therapist and Exercise Specialist beliefs

Chiropractors will have you believe that it's your vertebrae or bones causing you pain because one: You're out of alignment for whatever reason or two: You have a pinched nerve because of a bone obstructing it. Also that fixing your bones will improve the nervous system, which will cure your sickness, sinuses or allergies, etc. They're not doctors, granted they're holistic like I am. They also think they're orthopedics, when they're not. They're in their own little world, even ask a real orthopedic surgeon. I'm already in an agreement with them. Muscle pulls on bone, soon as you have bad posture or fatigued muscles, they'll pull your vertebrae either direction. Pull you out of whack, tilt your neck to one side, etc. It's not your bones moving out of place! Need to stretch the muscles and get regular massages more than chiropractic. It's not healthy to keep having your bones cracked/adjusted. You get more sore.

Example 1 would be: They'll say you have sciatica with the nerve being pinched. That L5 or S1 is pinching it. First of all the sciatic nerve runs from L5 and down the sacrum, and down the hamstrings and calves, but the sacrum are all fused together into one. When we were babies, we had S1-S5 along with our coccyx bone: 1-4, but both structures fused together. Besides the L5 pinching the nerve, it'll be the piriformis muscle deep behind your butt (gluteus maximal). In the pictures you'll notice all these. 

Example 2: They'll say hip pain is caused by the psoas major muscle. We got many hip flexor muscles causing hip pain. They only pay attention to one muscle at a time when it's more than that. They learned the anatomy and everything the same way I did but were taught to treat the bones alone, to improve posture and the nervous system/immunity. Again in the pictures you'll see the hip flexors that flex our hips. It's not shown but the pectineus is another muscle included, five muscles, just like five adductor muscles.  Where you can see the psoas major, it fights the quadratus lumborum in the back. That's what alters our posture if we don't watch. Look up quadratus lumborum. 

Hip flexors that flex the hip, pectineus not shown. 

Piriformis and other muscles, piriformis affecting the sciatic nerve

         

The piriformis is the one that pinches the nerve as well, called piriformis syndrome. If you Google stretches for it, you'll find all kinds using a chair to being on the floor

Headaches due to muscles

These  pictures demonstrate why people get muscle pain, on any part of their body as well as headaches. Blood flow and nutrients are blocked by muscle knots. Thick tissue that needs massaged out because it's starved. Not even chiropractic adjustments can help the muscles. It only helps the spine & nerves. It’s your trapezius muscles that knot up.. 

And people just go on with their day with the same chronic issue not knowing it's the cause! Try practicing better posture whether you sit a lot or as well as standing/walking. And be careful with “text neck.” Neck posture from texting.. Even try avoiding excessive so much Omega-6 acids from the fattening foods & sweets out there, which increase inflammation in the body in general. Instead, focus on Omega-3s such as in Salmon oil capsules. Make sure you buy dark ones with lots of oil in them. Not clear fish oil pills, they're not strong enough. I have experience taking Salmoon oil and it helps my mood, let alone any hint else. Take anything to get your blood flowing also like L-Arginine, one of 10 essential  amino acids needed. 

Massage and Carpel Tunnel Syndrome

Massage and Carpel Tunnel Syndrome

For anybody who's forearm muscles get really puffy or built up from the type of work you're doing, you could be on a road to carpel tunnel syndrome, just be careful! Massaging the forearms and stretching both arms in different directions and stretching the wrists all can help you prevent carpel tunnel and loosen up your forearm muscles.. Come see me if u have carpel tunnel diagnosed by your doctor or if your muscles are very tense. Or go find a therapist right now.. The inflamed muscles can squeeze or entrap the median nerve, which is what carpel tunnel is.. The narrow part of your forearm closer or proximal to your wrist is your tunnel, and the nerve or nerves become entrapped by tight muscle tissue.. Prevent from spending money on surgery because it may not be carpel tunnel syndrome, and you'll regret the scar tissue on your wrist.

Hold on! Read about what else could cause numbness or pain down your arm! 

Besides the forearm muscles being all tight, the tissues entrapping the median nerve at the wrist, or a bony structure may compress any of all the nerves, which are of the brachial plexus (group of nerves) being pinched. The brachial plexus stems from the neck to under the clavicle area. above the shoulder.. You could go get the neck, the shoulder and/or the pecs massaged out, and it may help relieve your symptoms.. The pectoralis minor or a scalene neck muscle, or both may squeeze on those brachial nerves or it could be an extra rib up around the clavical compressing on the nerves.. Go to an orthopedic doctor who can X-ray you or give you an MRI, or both, and can better help you. It's always good to get it checked out, rather than just go on muscle relaxers or pain pills.. You want to get at the root of your pain!

Massage and epilepsy/seizures

Massage and epilepsy/seizures 

If anybody out there or u know someone who has epilepsy, massage may help that as well. But here's the deal, if the person is on medicine for their seizures and it's controlled I guess, then massage is okay. Tonic seizures need to be taken into precaution, but atonic seizure people can handle massage. Massage therapy obviously relaxes u, it relaxes the nerves thru the body and brain. It also stimulates the nerves besides relaxing them.. The muscles may be ridged from the effects of the nervous system including the brain, and not of muscle tension. So it's different than normal muscle tension.. Always research like I do on health topics. Find good evidence off of health sites that are legit! It helps you make a better judgement or opinion. 

Edema in elderly people,what it is, the causes and treatments, including massage therapy!

All these facts are coming from that link at the bottom of this blog post. Click on it and read everything if you choose!

Edema

Introduction:

Edema (also known as dropsy or fluid retention) is swelling caused by the accumulation of abnormally large amounts of fluid in the spaces between the body's cells or in the circulatory system. It is most common in feet, ankles, and legs. It can also affect the face and hands. Pregnant women and older adults often get edema, but it can happen to anyone. Edema is a symptom, not a disease or disorder. Widespread, long-term edema can indicate a serious underlying health problem.

Signs and Symptoms:

These will vary and may include the following:

• Swollen limbs (possibly accompanied by pain, redness, heat)
• Facial puffiness
• Abdominal bloating
• Shortness of breath, extreme difficulty breathing, coughing up blood
• Sudden change in mental state or coma
• Muscle aches and pains

What Causes It?

Some of the following factors may cause edema:

• Sitting or standing for long periods
• Certain medications
• Hormonal changes during menstruation and pregnancy
• Infection or injury to a blood vessel, blood clots, or varicose veins
• Blocked lymph channels (lymphedema)
• Allergies to food or insect bites
• Kidney, heart, liver, or thyroid disease
• High or low blood pressure
• Eating salty foods
• Brain tumor or head injury
• Exposure to high altitudes or heat, especially when combined with heavy physical exertion

Nutrition and Supplements

Following these nutritional tips may help reduce symptoms:

• Eliminate suspected food allergens, such as dairy (milk, cheese, and ice cream), wheat (gluten), soy, corn, preservatives, and chemical food additives. Your health care provider may want to test you for food allergies.
• Reduce salt intake.
• Eat foods high in B-vitamins and iron, such as whole grains (if no allergy), dark leafy greens (such as spinach and kale), and sea vegetables.
• Natural diuretic vegetables include asparagus, parsley, beets, grapes, green beans, leafy greens, pineapple, pumpkin, onion, leeks, and garlic.
• Eat antioxidant foods, including fruits (such as blueberries, cherries, and tomatoes), and vegetables (such as squash and bell peppers).
• Avoid refined foods, such as white breads, pastas, and sugar.
• Eat fewer red meats and more lean meats, cold water fish, tofu (soy, if no allergy), or beans for protein.
• Use healthy cooking oils, such as olive oil or vegetable oil.
• Reduce or eliminate trans fatty acids, found in commercially baked goods such as cookies, crackers, cakes, French fries, onion rings, donuts, processed foods, and margarine.
• Avoid alcohol, and tobacco.
• Exercise lightly, if possible, 5 days a week.

You may address nutritional deficiencies with the following supplements:

• A multivitamin daily, containing the antioxidant vitamins A, C, E, the B-complex vitamins, and trace minerals, such as magnesium, calcium, zinc, and selenium.
• Omega-3 fatty acids, such as fish oil, 1 - 2 capsules or 1 - 2 tbs. of oil daily, to help decrease inflammation and help with immunity.
• Vitamin C, 500 - 1,000 mg daily, as an antioxidant.
• Alpha-lipoic acid, 25 - 50 mg twice daily, for antioxidant support.
• If you use diuretics, your doctor may have you supplement with potassium aspartate (20 mg per day), since diuretics flush out potassium from the body and cause a deficiency. Do not take extra potassium without informing your doctor. Some diuretics do the opposite and cause potassium to accumulate in the body.
• Magnesium, 400 - 600 mg daily, for nutrient support.

Herbs

Herbs are generally a safe way to strengthen and tone the body's systems. As with any therapy, you should work with your doctor to determine the best and safest herbal therapies for your case before starting any treatment. If you are pregnant or nursing, do not use herbs except under the supervision of a physician knowledgeable in herbal therapies. You may use herbs as dried extracts (capsules, powders, teas), glycerites (glycerine extracts), or tinctures (alcohol extracts). Unless otherwise indicated, make teas with 1 tsp. herb per cup of hot water. Steep covered 5 - 10 minutes for leaf or flowers, and 10 - 20 minutes for roots. Drink 2 - 4 cups per day. You may use tinctures alone or in combination as noted.

• Bilberry (Vaccinium myrtillus) standardized extract, 80 - 100 mg 3 times per day for antioxidant support. Do not use Bilberry if you are on blood thinning medications.
• Dandelion (Taraxacum officinale ), 4 - 10 g of dried leaf steeped in one cup hot water. Strain and cool. However, Dandelion leaf is itself a diuretic so it should not be used while taking diuretic medications. Speak with your doctor. Do not use andelion if you have gall bladder disease, take blood thinning medications, or have allergies to many plants.
• Grape seed extract (Vitis vinifera), standardized extract, 360 mg 2 times daily, for antioxidant support. Evidence suggests that using grape seed extract may improve chronic venous insufficiency, which causes swelling when blood pools in the legs.

            Acupuncture

• Acupuncture may improve fluid balance.

Massage

·         Therapeutic massage can help lymph nodes drain.

Source: Edema http://www.umm.edu/altmed/articles/edema-000055.htm#ixzz2WDUC0Lt0 
University of Maryland Medical Center 
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