MLD Therapist

How Inflammation Affects Your Health

2012-02-28T19:10:00.000-08:00

Inflammation is your body's natural response to injury or infection. The typical signs of inflammation -- redness, heat, swelling and pain -- occur because of invisible processes in your body. Injured cells give off chemical signals that attract immune cells and antibodies to the injured area. Blood vessels in the area dilate, which increases blood flow. It also increases filtration -- the migration of fluid from the blood vessels into your tissues. This is what causes swelling. Increased blood flow causes the redness and heat. The pain is caused by pressure on local nerves from the excess tissue fluid.

White blood cells swarm to the injured area, make their way out of the blood vessels and into the injured tissues. The first immune cells to reach the area are neutrophils, which eat/destroy harmful cells. They are followed by monocytes and macrophages, larger and stronger than neutrophils. As the immune cells clean up the damage, fiber from the bloodstream makes its way into your tissues to start rebuilding. The lymphatic system absorbs excess tissue fluid, harmful microorganisms, white blood cells, damaged cells and more, taking it all to be cleansed in your lymph nodes.

Acute inflammation might be uncomfortable, but it is definitely beneficial to your health. It protects your body. Chronic inflammation, however, is not normal and not beneficial. Chronic inflammation eventually damages healthy tissues and organs, especially tissues such as neurons and cardiac cells that don't heal as easily as skin. Chronic inflammation occurs when the monocytes and macrophages don't give up once an injury or infection has healed. They attack healthy tissue instead. Diseases such as asthma, pneumonia, Crohn's disease, rheumatoid arthritis, tendonitis, bursitis, laryngitis, gingivitis, gastritis, otitis, diverticulitis and inflammatory bowel disease are inflammatory diseases.

Other diseases that aren't caused by inflammation can trigger chronic inflammation, such as obesity, atherosclerosis, diabetes and cancer. Belly fat in particular can cause chronic inflammation. Chronic inflammation can lead to osteoarthritis, according to the Stanford University of Medicine. Persistent irritants such as asbestos can lead to chronic inflammation and damage to your organs.

What can you do to try to prevent chronic inflammation? According to the Linus Pauling Institute, diets that are high in saturated fat and high glycemic foods stimulate inflammation. A diet rich in fruits, vegetables, beans, nuts, seeds and whole grains which includes healthy oils such as olive or walnut oil can reduce inflammation, because by its nature this diet is low in cholesterol, high in fiber, and rich in healthy fatty acids from nuts, seeds and fish, as well as antioxidants from colorful fruits and vegetables.

Other factors that can trigger chronic inflammation are smoking and excessive exercise. Exercise is important to health, but excessive exercise leads to injuries and breaks down the body, rather than building it up.

So, some of the factors that trigger chronic inflammation are within your control: weight loss if necessary, a healthy diet, moderate exercise and abandoning unhealthy habits like smoking. It isn't necessarily easy to take charge of these habits, but it is vital to your health.

University of Utah: Inflammation
http://lpi.oregonstate.edu/ss07/inflammation.html
Osteoarthritis results from inflammatory process, not just wear and tear, study suggests

Best Exercise

2012-02-22T21:33:00.002-08:00

Benefits of walking

Cardiovascular Health

Walking helps to strengthen your heart and lungs and lower the risk of cardiovascular disease. Walk fast enough to increase your heart rate but not so fast you can't talk, and keep walking briskly for at least 15 minutes. Walking also helps to stimulate lymph circulation, which improves your immune system and helps you resist disease.

Muscles and Bones

Walking every day helps to strengthen and tone all your muscles, not only the large muscles in your legs and arms, but also your core muscles that control your posture and all the muscles around your rib cage and neck that assist in breathing. This also has a benefit as you age: you are less likely to fall and less likely to have osteoporosis.

Weight Control

Being overweight puts you at risk for many different diseases, including diabetes, high blood pressure and cardiovascular disease as well as increased risk of cancer. Eating a healthy diet is vital, but only part of the solution. Getting in the habit of walking a half hour or more every day will help to keep your weight down. Not only does it use up calories, it also suppresses your appetite for a while after you walk -- as long as you walk long enough to become physically tired.

Reduce Stress

A nice long walk every day lets you escape the "rat race" for a while. The repetitive action of continuously walking can help induce a meditative state: your breathing becomes regular and deep, your mind stops racing, you switch out of the "fight or flight" stress cycle and switch off stress hormones in your body. You feel calmer and happier. If you walk enough every day to become physically tired you'll sleep better at night as well.

Cognition

Walking improves your cognitive abilities because it increases oxygen and blood supply to the brain, which also increases your attention span. You'll find you can focus more effectively and do better work. That also means you are less likely to develop cognitive problems as you age.

Other benefits

Walking with others encourages you to keep walking. It also allows you time to share in conversation, enjoy the scenery and feel connected to others.
It is inexpensive - walking requires no special equipment other than shoes that fit well. You don't have to join a gym or pay a coach.
Walking can help improve mood disorders, now and in your old age.

How much and how often should you walk? Start off with just ten minutes at a time, until you feel comfortable walking longer. Work up to a half hour or more of brisk walking every day. Once that is no longer a challenge, add some variety to make it more interesting and more difficult. Climb some stairs, walk up and down hill, or jog one block and walk the next, or simply walk for a longer time. Try to develop a habit of walking every day, unless the weather is simply too severe.

Other considerations

Wear comfortable clothing with layers you can put on or remove depending on the temperature. Wear shoes that fit well. Warm up by walking slowly for five minutes before you increase your pace. Cool down at the end by walking slowly for five minutes before you end your walk. Drink some water before you start walking and every ten minutes or so while you are walking. If you want to be hardcore about hydration, weigh yourself before walking and again afterward. After your walk drink a pint of water for every pound of water weight lost during the walk.

Iowa State University: Walking Facts and Benefits
Portland State University; A Review of Literature: of Walking and Bicycling
Georgetown University: The Benefits of Walking

Dangers In Your Personal Care Products

2012-02-20T19:47:00.000-08:00

Every day you apply chemicals to the largest organ of your body -- your skin. Shampoo, body wash, soap, sunscreen and lotion often contain questionable ingredients that may compromise your health. Because you use these products so much, and so often, it pays to know what ingredients are not safe so that you can read labels and select cleaner products.

The Food and Drug Administration does not review the majority of products that are sold to the public, nor does it require safety testing for most cosmetic and personal care products. Manufacturers can use any ingredient in their products without testing for safety, with the exception of color and a few ingredients considered to be over the counter drugs. Manufacturers can use words like "natural" or "organic" without having to back up those claims, so looking for those words on the label doesn't really protect you from contaminants.

According to Skin Deep, more than 500 products sold in the U.S. contain ingredients banned in Japan, Canada or the European Union. Skin Deep also reports that:

22% of all personal care products, including children's products, contain the cancer-causing impurity 1,4-dioxane
60% of sunscreens contain oxybenzone -- which disrupts hormones in your body
61% of lipsticks contain lead residue.

Other harmful ingredients in cosmetics and personal care products include phthalate plasticizers, paraben preservatives, the pesticide triclosan, synthetic musks, and sunscreens which carry risk for sperm damage, hormone disruption, cancer and more.

What Can You Do?

Here is a short list of the most risky ingredients. Carry the list in your wallet so you can check for unsafe ingredients when you are buying personal care products and cosmetics.

Bensalkonium chloride
BHA (butilated hydroxyanisole)
Coal tar derivatives
DMDM hydantoin and bronopol
Formaldehyde
Fragrances, except for pure essential oil
Hydroquinone
Methylisothiazolinone and methylchloroisothiazolinone
Oxybenzone
Parabens (Propyl, Isopropyl, Butyl, and Isobutylparabens)
PEG/Ceteareth/Polyethylene compounds
Petroleum distillates
Phthalates
Resorcinol
Retinyl palmitate and retinol
Triclosan and triclocarban

Buy fragrance-free products as the word "fragrance" on a label doesn't mean the fragrance is natural or safe. Use essential oils or essential oil blends for perfume. Use pure soap made with only lye, organic fats and essential oils. (There is no lye left once the soap has formed). Pure soap contains glycerin, usually removed from commercial brands, and glycerin is a good moisturizer for your skin. Or, learn to make your own soap. It only takes one afternoon to make enough soap for a family for six months. If you like, you can also learn to make your own moisturizers, creams and lotions. Wear a hat and long sleeves in the sun, and use zinc-oxide based sun block, or a sunscreen no higher than 30 SPF. Wash your hair less often. If you wash your hair every other day, you cut your exposure to harmful ingredients in shampoo by 50%.

Look for brands that don't contain harmful ingredients. You can find lists of safer cosmetic brands on the Skin Deep website as well as:

What is a Healing Crisis?

2012-02-15T22:52:00.000-08:00

"Healing crisis" is not a scientific term. It refers to an experience that many -- but not all -- people have when attempting to improve their health through diet, herbs and exercise. Some feel a temporary increase in their symptoms, or the symptoms are temporarily exaggerated, after they start cleaning up their diet, taking more exercise, meditating and so forth. You just feel a little worse before feeling better.

In alternative health practices, a healing crisis is generally seen as a good thing, proving that the improved diet, supplements, massage, exercise and so on are working. Generally the healing crisis is short-lived. If you experience mild flu symptoms, fatigue, vague achiness and perhaps nausea, treat yourself as though you are really sick. Get more rest, make sure you are hydrated, eat easy-to-digest foods.

If the symptoms last longer than a day or two, you may really be ill. Sometimes that can happen, too, not due to the changes you are making in your life, but to exposure to someone else who is ill. In that case, see your doctor if the symptoms worsen or don't resolve within a few days.

If you do come down with some minor illness after starting a healthier lifestyle, don't give up. The illness is only temporary, but the beneficial changes you are making will last for the rest of your life.

If you are going through a period of detoxification, as described in the previous article (Safe, Sane Detoxifying That Works), discuss your symptoms with your therapist. You may want to skip your massage for a day, reduce your exercise, change what you are eating for a day or two. Your therapist can help you with some ideas to help the healing crisis end quickly.

Safe, Sane Detoxifying That Works

2012-02-05T23:42:00.000-08:00

If you are feeling stressed, burned out, toxic and unwell, if you've been working too hard, too long, burning the candle at both ends, drinking too much and even doing too many drugs, you may feel you need to detoxify. And you would be right.

However, before you decide to go to a spa where you will fast, purge, cleanse and have colonics, it's important to understand a physiological fact. Your body repairs itself during rest. Healing takes place during rest.

If your body is toxic and you feel the need to detoxify, assaulting it with herbal cleanses, purges, and colonics while you starve it of nutrition is counter-productive. Over more than 20 years of helping people detoxify and repair their systems, I have learned that there is a safe, sane way to detoxify, using your body's own defenses, and it really works.

Here is what I would recommend:

Give your body a vacation from work. Get out of town and don't take your work with you. The reason so many people come to the Palm Springs area for detox is that the air is clean, the water is pure, there are wide open spaces and plenty of sunshine. Take a week off out here in the desert, and stay at a condo or timeshare or vacation rental where you have a swimming pool and your own kitchen.

Feed your body nutritious food. While you are out here for a week, give up restaurant food with all its salt and fat, and fast food and processed food. There are several natural food markets, so plan to eat a healthy organic diet for a week.

All the pretty colors in fruit and vegetables come from antioxidants that can help your body repair and defend itself. Eat five servings of fruit and five servings of vegetables every day, in as many colors as possible.
Also, eat at least 1/2 cup of cooked whole grains per meal, such as oatmeal, brown rice or mixed grains. Eat at least 1/2 cup of cooked beans or lentils every day, and one large serving of deeply colored starchy vegetable such as sweet potato, beets or squash, in addition to the other five vegetables.
Have a small glass of non-fat milk with breakfast, some non-fat yogurt with lunch and one ounce of low-fat cheese with supper. It doesn't need to be made from cow's milk, you can try dairy products made from goats and sheep if you like.
Eat one ounce of raw nuts every day, such as walnuts or almonds.
Look at meat as medicine, rather than food. If you eat meat during this week, eat lean organic meat and limit the amount to 2 or 3 ounces per day.
For this week, give up most of your favorite drinks and just drink water or tea. It doesn't matter whether it is black, green or herbal tea.

These foods will give your body a vacation from chemicals and additives, as well as give you the nutrients necessary to repair your body. They contain all the fiber needed to cleanse your intestines, without herbal purges or colonics.

Take some mild exercise every day in the sunshine. You don't need to train as if you were going to compete in the Olympics. Simply take a long walk every day, in the sunshine, and then swim for half an hour or so.

Rest. Every day sit somewhere beautiful and drink some tea while you vegetate and think about nothing. Turn off your phone and your other electronics. Don't watch the news. Go to bed when the sky is dark and get up at sunrise or soon after. Take a nap if you want to.

Get a massage every day. If you are detoxing for a whole week, have three to five lymph drainage massages during the week to stimulate your immune system. The lymphatic system is a microscopic sewer system, it cleans toxins -- harmful microorganisms, harmful chemicals and microscopic particles -- out of your entire body. LDM stimulates lymph circulation. Also, have an abdominal massage to gently stimulate your intestinal organs to self-cleanse. Finally have a massage that concentrates on your breathing muscles. When you've been stressed, overworking and playing too hard, there's a tendency to develop tightness in all your breathing muscles. Your massage therapist can work on your diaphragm as well as muscles between the ribs, and in your upper back, chest and neck that assist in breathing when you are stressed. When you can take a fuller breath you get more oxygen and have more energy.

If you want to create a detox week for yourself, based on these principles, contact me. I would be happy to make suggestions, and to schedule as many massages as you need. I can recommend natural food stores and restaurants, and I can go with you on some local hikes.

At the end of a week like this, feeding your body well, letting it rest, getting gentle exercise and getting plenty of expert massage, you will feel wonderful!

Can Massage Help Sciatica?

2012-01-29T22:25:00.000-08:00

Sciatica is low back pain that radiates down through the buttock and back of the leg, often on only one side of the body. It is due to impingement of the sciatic nerve, the largest nerve in the body. The sciatic nerve forms from nerve roots in the lumbar spine, your low back. There are two sciatic nerves, one for each leg, and they travel down through the buttocks and the back of the leg to your feet.

The nerve can be compressed or pinched in the spine or further down the length of the nerve. Conditions such as a herniated vertebral disk, spinal arthritis, uneven pressure on the vertebrae from imbalanced muscles or other disease conditions in the spine can narrow the space around the nerve, causing swelling, pain and irritation. However, often the symptoms of sciatica are caused by muscle impingement, specifically by the piriformis muscle which is located deep in the buttock.

The piriformis muscle connects the sacrum to the upper leg, across the back of the hip joint. The sciatic nerve usually is trapped on the deep side of the piriformis, but in some people the nerve actually pierces the muscle, making nerve compression even more likely to happen. The piriformis muscle is a lateral rotator, and when it tightens it rolls your leg outward. If you sit in a chair, raise one leg straight out in front of you and then roll the entire leg outward so that your toes point to the outside, you can feel the piriformis tighten in your backside. Overuse, such as standing too long, exercising too much, sitting too much, climbing stairs or doing exercises such as squats, can all make the piriformis too tight, so that it pinches or compresses the sciatic nerve.

A simple test is just to try to reproduce the symptoms you experience by doing a piriformis stretch. Lie on your back, bring your knee to your chest and then press it to the opposite shoulder with your hands. If you experience the usual sciatic pain, it's likely that your problem is piriformis syndrome. Your massage therapist can gradually stretch out the piriformis muscles and can balance all your muscles from low back and abdomen to the legs and feet. Stretching exercises can help, as can ice packs or hot packs. If your sciatic pain is due to muscle spasm you should experience relief after a few massage sessions.

If massage doesn't help, you may have a more serious problem such as a herniated disk or spinal arthritis, and you should get an evaluation from your doctor. A final note: something as simple as sitting on your wallet or on a lumpy car seat can compress the sciatic nerve and cause severe pain.

Back Pain and Sciatica
Picture of Sciatic Nerve
Ohio State University Medical Center: Sciatica
Piriformis Syndrome
Low Back, Piriformis and SI Joint Pain By Erik Dalton, PhD
Assessing Sciatic Pain

Thoracic Outlet Syndrome -- Can Massage Help?

2012-01-21T22:12:00.000-08:00

The thoracic outlet is a space between the clavicle -- or collarbone -- and the first rib, one on each side of the neck. A vein, an artery and a bundle of nerves travel from the neck through the thoracic outlet toward the arm. Thoracic outlet syndrome is a collection of symptoms that develop when this opening is narrowed, compressing the vessels and nerves. The symptoms include numbness and tingling in the arms and hands, coldness in the chest or arms, weakness, pain and fatigue in the arms. The problem can be on one side only or bilateral.

If you look at a good picture of the anatomy in that area, such as this drawing here on the UCLA School of Medicine website, it's easy to see that there are three places where the compression can occur: between the anterior and medial scalene muscles, between the clavicle and first rib, and where the vessels pass between the pectoralis minor muscle and the first rib.

Compression in these areas can be due to an injury, such as a fractured clavicle, or to repetitive movement, such as repetitive exercises that require you to lift your arms over your head, or exercises that tighten the scalene and pectoralis minor muscles. It can also be congenital, due to a malformation of the clavicle and/or the first rib.

The scalene muscles and the pectoralis minor not only stabilize the neck and shoulder area, they are also secondary breathing muscles. They can become overdeveloped due to asthma or to constant exercise that forces you to breathe very deeply to catch your breath. If they are tight and overdeveloped, they squeeze the nerves, veins and artery.

If your symptoms are due to tightening of these muscles, massage can help by releasing them and balancing your shoulder and neck muscles. However, because of the presence of delicate nerves and blood vessels between the scalene muscles, only an experienced massage therapist with an excellent knowledge of anatomy should massage that area.

If your symptoms are due to an injury to the clavicle or the first rib, you'll need to see an orthopedic physician for an evaluation. If the clavicle is broken, massage is not advisable. If the clavicle has healed incorrectly so that it is pressing on the nerves and vessels in the thoracic outlet, surgery may be necessary.

There is another important consideration: sometimes compression on the veins can cause thrombosis -- a blood clot. Massage is definitely contraindicated if there is a blood clot, as dislodging the clot is very risky. So, if you develop the symptoms of thoracic outlet syndrome, see a physician to rule out damage to the bones or a blood clot. Once you are sure there is no risk of blood clot, your massage therapist can certainly help you with the muscles involved in thoracic outlet syndrome.

Thoracic Outlet Syndrome
Thoracic Outlet Syndrome

What is the Purpose of Different Kinds of Massage?

2012-01-15T21:48:00.000-08:00

Swedish massage is the basic European style massage with oil, lotion or cream. The pressure is light to medium, and the basic strokes are long sweeping effleurage and the more focused kneading. The purpose is to increase circulation of blood and lymph as well as relax muscles. It is probably the most relaxing and luxurious massage, and even though the pressure used is moderate, it definitely improves your muscles, posture and movement. It isn't generally necessary to have a deep, painful massage to get good results.

Some of the techniques of Swedish massage are used in sports massage. Massage therapists use different techniques for athletes depending on their need: during training, before or after competition, off-season and to treat common injuries such as muscle strain or spasm. Lymph drainage massage is used to reduce swelling and pain, and to speed the healing of injuries. Techniques such as cross-fiber friction are used to reduce spasm and increase the flexibility and tone of injured muscles.

Reflexology and acupressure are similar techniques, but they developed from different sources. Acupressure is a generic term for the kinds of massage that developed in Asia and that use pressure on energy points. Originally these techniques -- such as the Japanese shiatsu -- all developed in China. Besides massaging energy points, acupressurists use muscle massage -- without oil -- and joint movements to help you relax, reduce pain and improve your flexibility.

Reflexology involves massaging tender points on the feet, hands and ears that are said to reflect and treat blocked areas in the rest of the body. While there is no scientific evidence to prove that the theories of reflexology are true, it is definitely a beneficial and pleasant massage. There's something really luxurious about an hour-long, detailed foot massage.

Aromatherapy massage is any kind of massage with the addition of essential oils. Essential oils are produced through steam distillation, which dissolves the fragrant volatile compounds in plants. There is an art to choosing the best essential oils for each individual, based partly on tradition and partly on modern scientific information. Besides smelling wonderful, essential oils contain antioxidants that stimulate your immune system, pain relieving compounds, antiseptic compounds and emollients to soothe your skin.

Benefits of Dry Skin Brushing

2012-01-10T19:09:00.000-08:00

Dry skin brushing is a simple and inexpensive technique that can improve the appearance of your skin and stimulate the circulation of lymph, improving your immune system. This gentle technique exfoliates your skin, helping to remove the outer layer of dry skin cells and reveal healthier living cells in your skin. It makes the skin look and feel smoother.

Dry skin brushing also stimulates the circulation of blood and lymph, bringing fresh nutrients to your skin cells and removing metabolic waste, which keeps your cells healthy. Beneath the skin you have a rich layer of lymph vessels, which are concentrated near the skin more than any other area in the body. These lymph vessels absorb fluid from your skin and other tissues, along with metabolic waste and toxins such as harmful organisms, microscopic particles and harmful chemicals. The light pressure of dry skin brushing causes the lymph vessels to contract, pumping lymph fluid through the vessels toward the lymph nodes. In the lymph nodes lymph fluid is purified by white blood cells, which destroy anything harmful to your health.

How To Do Dry Skin Brushing

Use a soft brush, a dry loofah pad or terry cloth. Hold the brush in your hand, or hold it by the handle if it has one. If you are using a loofah pad, slide your hand between the strap on the back and the loofah itself. If you are using dry terry cloth, place it over your palm. Use your other hand to grasp the corners of the terry cloth around the back of your hand, then twist them into a handle. You'll hold the handle with one hand and use the other hand for polishing your skin, with the flat palm covered by the terry cloth.

Brush lightly in one direction, from the feet up to the lymph nodes in your groin, from the hands to the lymph nodes in your armpits, and on the trunk from the bottom up toward the lymph nodes in your neck. Use a long-handled brush for your back or ask your massage therapist to do dry brushing on your back before a massage. It's all right to alternate light circles with the lengthwise strokes.

Use light pressure, and repeat the strokes several times in each area. Using heavy pressure -- scrubbing your skin -- causes irritation and invisible scratches that can be susceptible to infection. To avoid dryness, follow the dry skin brushing with an application of oil, cream or lotion. For a really relaxing experience, ask your massage therapist to give you a dry brush treatment before a massage.

Does Exercise Help Your Immune System?

2012-01-02T20:04:00.000-08:00

Exercise is beneficial in so many ways -- stronger lungs and heart, stronger muscles, better balance, increased stamina and endurance. It also impacts your lymphatic system on several levels, resulting in better health and immunity.

Most of your lymphatic vessels, a mesh of microscopic pathways like veins, are located just under the skin, to protect you from external disease-causing organisms that might penetrate your body and cause disease. This network of lymphatic vessels is surrounded by fibrous connective tissue which connects the lymphatics to your skin and muscles. Regular, low-intensity movement such as walking at a gentle pace makes your skin move, and this pulls on the connective tissue surrounding the lymphatics -- causing small windows in the lymphatics to open so that tissue fluid can enter. Fluid that enters the lymphatics at this level is processed in your lymph nodes where white blood cells destroy anything that might cause harm.

More intensive exercise also affects the lymphatics, at the deep level in the abdomen and chest. When you exercise with more intensity, you breathe deeply, completely filling and emptying your lungs with each breath. The largest lymphatic vessel -- the thoracic duct -- arises in the abdomen and is located in the chest. Each breath squeezes the thoracic duct, causing it to empty into veins near the neck. Then when you exhale, more lymph is pulled into the thoracic duct from the lymphatic trunks located deep in the chest and abdomen.

When you inhale deeply, during intensive exercise, for instance, your diaphragm presses down on your abdominal organs, moving them downward and forward in the abdomen.. When you exhale, the pressure relaxes and the organs move back into their resting places. This constant movement is a kind of innate organ massage and it stimulates lymph circulation in the organs and in the abdominal cavity.

However, extremely intense exercise, for instance the kind of workout a high-level athlete might perform to get ready for competition, can actually suppress your immune system for a few hours after the workout. Unless you are at that level of competition, try to work at about 75 percent of your full capacity rather than pushing yourself to the point of exhaustion. If you do work out that hard, be aware that for a few hours afterward you will be more susceptible to minor illnesses like the common cold.

Breathing

2011-12-24T23:44:00.000-08:00

Without your being aware of it mostof the time, your internal organs are constantly moving. Much of the movementis due to the mechanics of breathing.

The diaphragm is themost important breathing muscle. It is a dome-shaped muscle that sits acrossthe middle of your trunk, dividing the chest from the abdomen. The outside edgeof the diaphragm -- circular in shape -- attaches to the bottom of the ribs. Inthe center of the diaphragm is a tendon that attaches to the lower spine.

The connective tissueof the diaphragm attaches to the connective tissue of your lungs. When thediaphragm contracts and flattens, it pulls on the lungs making more room forair, and you automatically inhale. When the diaphragm relaxes and moves uptoward the lungs, it forces air out of your lungs and you exhale.

At the same time, thediaphragm forces all the abdominal organs -- not only the intestines but alsothe stomach, spleen, liver and gallbladder -- to move. Your organs are coveredin a layer of connective tissue which is lubricated by tissue fluid. Because ofthe tissue fluid, your organs can slide against each other smoothly. When youinhale, the diaphragm forces your abdominal organs down and forward. When youexhale, the diaphragm moves up allowing the organs to move easily back into theirresting position. This constant movement massages the organs, helps them function as they should, and stimulates the deep circulation of lymph in the abdomen.

Adhesions -- scartissue between layers of connective tissue -- can prevent that freedom ofmovement between the organs, which can cause pain and other abdominal symptoms.If your organs are “stuck” due to adhesions, it affects your breathing. If yourbreathing is shallow or constricted, it affects your organs. Massage can help release adhesions in theabdomen, restoring freedom of movement to the organs and improving your abilityto breathe, AND massage can free up your breathing muscles, not only thediaphragm but also all the other muscles that affect breathing, so that youbreathe deeply and more easily, and empty your lungs completely with eachexhalation.

Abdominal Massage

2011-12-22T22:31:00.000-08:00

Abdominal massage, as the name indicates, is massage that focuses on the abdomen. Generally it is a slow, careful and detailed massage with the therapist working gently through all the layers of the abdomen, from the skin and superficial muscles to the intestines, other abdominal organs and the deep muscles.

The purpose of abdominal massage is to release cramped muscles, improve lymph circulation on both the superficial and deep levels, remove adhesions and contractures and stimulate peristalsis in the intestines.

The muscles of the abdomen are considered to be the core muscles of the body. They contribute to both balance and movement, and connect the lower limbs to the hips and spine. If the muscles of the abdomen are relaxed and toned, your posture is better, you have greater freedom of movement and more stability. Tight muscles in the abdomen cause low back pain, awkward balance and more stress on the hips, knees and back.

Superficial and deep lymph circulation meet in the abdomen. Most of your lymphatic vessels are superficial, just under the skin, and help to protect you from invasive disease-causing organisms. At two important locations -- in the nodes located in the neck and in the abdomen -- superficial lymph vessels connect to deep lymph vessels, which also drain the internal organs. Abdominal lymph massage helps to stimulate movement of lymph through both levels and helps to empty lymph out of the largest lymph vessel -- the thoracic duct -- back into the blood stream.

Layers of tissue in the abdomen -- muscles, connective tissue and organs -- are lubricated and meant to slide easily against each other. An adhesion is scar tissue between two layers, preventing them from moving easily. Adhesions are due to infection, dehydration, injury, surgery or radiation. Abdominal massage helps to release adhesions and to help abdominal tissues slide freely against each other again.

An important benefit of abdominal massage is that it stimulates peristalsis. Peristalsis is the rhythmic contraction of smooth muscle cells in the walls of vessels and intestines. On the microscopic level abdominal massage helps to stimulate lymphatic peristalsis, which is also called the lymphatic pump. This gets lymph vessels to working on their own, moving lymph fluid through the nodes and back into circulation. On a larger level, abdominal massage helps to stimulate intestinal peristalsis, which can help if you have constipation or intestinal spasms.

Immune-Supporting Herbs

2011-12-17T21:52:00.000-08:00

Can herbs help stimulate your immune system? Herbalists have long said so, and now in many cases scientific research is validating the herbal tradition.

For instance, Dr. L Sheng and colleagues, authors of a report in a 2010 journal "Applied Biochemistry and Biotechnology," confirm that cordyceps sinensis, a medicinal mushroom, does strengthen cells in your immune system. (1) In a 2010 article in "Pharmaceutical Biology," the authors reported that trichosanthin, extracted from tianhua, a traditional Chinese medicine, helped to prevent growth of lung cancer cells. (2)

Authors of an article published in the "Journal of Ethnopharmacology" in 2010 report that bupleurum root increases the ability of macrophages -- immune cells -- to destroy disease-causing organisms. (3) There are many more medicinal herbs that can stimulate your immune system, and much scientific research to validate the herbs.

However, there are some concerns you should consider before taking medicinal herbs, including quality control and standardized doses in the production of herb supplements, interactions with other medications and allergies. Herbal supplements come in widely different strengths and are prepared in different ways by different companies. Standardized doses help you to choose an effective dose without overdosing.

Interactions with prescribed or over-the-counter medications as well as with other herbs can cause serious health problems. For instance, capsicum can increase the absorption of certain asthma medications, sedatives and antidepressants, as well as ACE inhibitors used for high blood pressure and heart or kidney failure. Don quai and Co-Q-10 can increase your risk of bleeding if you take blood thinning medications. Echinacea combined with certain common medications can cause liver damage.(4)

Research herbs before taking them. Find out the correct way to take the herb ( for example, tea, extract, powdered herb, internally, externally) and the correct dose. Learn whether there are any dangerous interactions with other medications or other herbs. Treat herbal supplements as you would prescribed medications. If you are pregnant or nursing or have a serious or chronic illness, talk to your doctor about which herbs might help you and how you should take them.

How Often Should I have Massage?

2011-12-11T21:49:00.000-08:00

The answer varies depending on your reason for having massage. If you are having massage to relax, reduce stress and refresh your spirits, schedule a massage whenever it is convenient for you, as often as you like.

If you are having deep tissue massage, wait at least three days before having the same kind of massage on the same area of the body. Light to moderate pressure massage styles such as Swedish massage or lymph drainage massage are safe every day.

If you are having a therapeutic massage -- for pain or swelling, for instance -- you'll need to talk with your therapist about how long the results last. If you feel better for three days and then the pain comes back, schedule another massage. You'll be able to spread out the time between massages longer and longer as you heal. If you are getting lymph drainage massage for a condition such as lymphedema disease, you'll want to have a massage every day until the results last a full 24 hours. Then you can schedule every other day, until the results last 48 hours, and so on. Conditions such as lymphedema disease respond more slowly than ordinary edema or pain.

Can MLD Be Harmful?

2011-12-11T21:41:00.000-08:00

For the most part lymphatic drainage massage is safe. However as with all massage therapies there are some contraindications. For lymphatic massage specifically, these include acute inflammation, malignant tumors, thrombosis and major heart problems. However, it is safe and beneficial for many other serious health problems, including cancer. Consult your doctor for specific concerns, and discuss your concerns with your massage therapist as well. For instance, your doctor may tell you lymph massage is beneficial during radiation therapy but may want you to hold off during chemotherapy. You, your doctor and your therapist should work as a team if you have a serious illness.

Who Benefits from Lymph Drainage Massage?

2011-12-11T21:38:00.001-08:00

There are many health problems that may result from congested and stagnant lymph drainage. Here is partial list of conditions that may improve with increased lymph flow: arthritis, post-breast-cancer lymphedema, cellulite, chronic fatigue syndrome, depression, fibromyalgia, HIV, sinus problems, sluggishness, frequent colds or flu, congested lungs, wrinkles, vertigo, edema, toxin accumulation, migraines, irritable bowel syndrome, kidney problems, lupus, lymphedema, neck & shoulder stiffness, premenstrual syndrome, polyps, skin disorders and stress.

MLD promotes the healing of fractures, torn ligaments, sprains and lessens the pain, promotes healing of wounds and burns and improves the appearance of old scars minimizes or reduces stretch marks. Lymphatic drainage massage can help to stimulate the immune system and metabolism for healthy weight loss. The lymphatic system plays a crucial role in the body's ability to heal from injury and to ward off disease.

What is Manual Lymph Drainage Massage

2011-12-11T21:37:00.001-08:00

Manual Lymph Drainage (MLD) is a gentle manual technique used to help increase lymph flow. It is a very relaxing, non oiled massage modality. Some would say that MLD is not a massage at all, but rather a gentle skin stretching technique used to mimic the Lymphatic system's natural movement. The movement is relaxing to the point of being almost hypnotic. The body switches into parasympathetic nervous system which is extremely relaxing as well as where our bodies go to do our own healing and resting.