Major surgery or minor surgery, a painful experience is likely to be expected.  The body reacts either positively or negatively to the surgery, maybe even somewhere in between. Regardless, after anesthesia wears off, the agonizing pain is a full reality.  Massage therapy is recognized more and more by medical practitioners as an important part of healing.

So how does Massage Therapy help with post surgery recovery?  It’s no secret that massage feels amazing, but massage therapy is not a luxury treatment just for relaxation. Reduction in pain, swelling, increased blood and oxygen flow, and lowered amounts of  chemicals that aid in stress and anxiety; All of this is evident from thousands of years of practice.

Surgery, big or small is scary.  Going under the knife as some say does not inspire confidence, right?  No matter how skilled or experienced the surgeon, your body will react to trauma and injury, which surgery must entail.  The British Journal of Anesthesia’s article on the stress response to trauma and injury by J. P. Desborough outlines the extensive research and study devoted to how they body reacts to surgery.  Strenuous efforts have been made to inhibit the stress responses to surgery and evaluate the outcome.  As this article explains, surgeons enthusiastically apply regional anesthesia, and conclude that the bodies response to surgery is ‘unnecessary’.  Not very comforting. Western medicine and practice is very fond of drug and chemicals to alleviate symptoms.  I can not think of a FDA or DEA approved medication that doesn’t have a paragraph of potential side effects.  Not to say don’t take your medication, but take into consideration what else you can do to heal.

Massage therapy is as old as the human race.  A comforting rub from a friend to a practitioner working on a diagnosed problem. Massage therapy as I have extensively written is a wonderful addition to your personal healing and overall health.

Pain relief through massage therapy is achieved through working tight muscles, soothing inflammation, and easing overall stress and anxiety in patients.  A 2012 study among cardiac surgery patients found that massage therapy significantly reduced the pain, anxiety, and muscular tension and improves relaxation and satisfaction.  This study’s objective was to determine whether massage significantly reduces anxiety, pain, and muscular tension and enhances relaxation compared with an equivalent period of rest time after cardiac surgery. The feasibility of delivering the treatment, effects on heart rate, blood pressure, and respiratory rate, and patient satisfaction. (PudMed).

The method of how this study was conducted was; elective cardiac surgery patients were randomized to receive massage or rest time at 2 points after surgery.  Visual analog scales were used to measure pain, anxiety, relaxation, muscular tension, and satisfaction.  Heart rate, respiratory rate, and blood pressure were measured before and after treatment.  Focus groups and feedback were used to collect qualitative data.

Through the outcome of this study it was concluded that Massage therapy was extremely effective at reducing, pain, swelling, anxiety, muscular tension and allowing enhanced relaxation.  Massage therapy has also been linked to prevention of excess scar tissue.  By breaking up and preventing excess scar tissue through massage therapy patients find a quicker post-op time.  Internal and external scaring are reduced by the practice of massage therapy after surgery.

Through yet another study conducted on spinal surgery patients it was concluded:  Massage therapy does appear to have positive effects in the reduction of disability.  This study is beneficial for understanding the relationship between massage therapy and clients who have undergone spinal decompression and fusion. The reduction of disability is a powerful statement.  Post op recovery is debilitating enough but the fear of being forever affected is very real.

Treatment for pain just within the United States has 100 million sufferers according to the Institute of Medicine of The National Academies.  Prescription drugs are the second-most abused category of drugs in the United States, following cannabis.  However being in Colorado, cannabis is not an illegal drug.  Studies and the evident Medical Marijuana industry prove that cannabis is utilized to alleviate pain, as well as many more ailments.

Yelena at Yeden Massage Studio in Colorado Springs is taking Massage Therapy and CBD (the non psychoactive ingredient in cannabis) and applying them to patients.  CBD is taking the medical world by storm, and CBD unlike THC and cannabis is legal in all 50 states.  You can purchase and ship CBD products any where within the US. But what does Massage Therapy with CBD infused oil look like?  The ultimate relaxation experience, in my own personal opinion, but also that of others.  Soothing pain, swelling, stress, and anxiety at the source with CBD in the hands of a professional Massage Therapist is the most effective way in my and many others minds.

Surgery is scary.  Recovering is scary and painful, do your self justice and seek all the knowledge and help you can.  Massage Therapy is a wonderful addition to your post op plan and can shorten your recovery time, reduce excess scaring, alleviate pain, stress, swelling, and anxiety.  CBD added to those benefits can double them.  Take your healing into your hands and seek treatment in many forms.  Try massage therapy today!

Sitting, standing, exercising, and even pregnancy can result in pinched nerves. Pinched nerves are not uncommon, in fact, I’m suffering from my own nerve compression issues. So what does a pinched nerve look and feel like?

For me, I had just started working out this week. After the first day at the gym (arm day), I was very sore. Not a big deal, however that evening while getting a shoulder rub, my left hand went numb. Scary right? But the fun didn’t stop there, that night I woke up several times with terrible joint pain in my pinky and ring finger of my left hand. In the morning I became even more concerned when I looked at my hands; swelling had developed in my fingers.

Concerned not only for the pain in my hands but also for the numbness, I contacted a massage therapist. Nerve compression is a form of nerve damage. Nerve damage is inevitable as people age, however, it can be helped along. Repetitive motion injuries usually involve pinched nerves, bad posture, weight gain, exercise and sports injuries and even pregnancy.

Nerves as some of us know are a network similar to tree roots that exist all throughout the body. From the spine, nerves spread out through our arms, legs, and every part of our body. So the pain and discomfort I and many others feel in specific areas could be caused by nerve damage further up the line. It is important to understand the symptoms of a pinched nerve or nerve damage before seeking treatment. These symptoms may include numbness throughout specific body parts, tingling sensations, burning or hot/cold sensations, muscular spasms, and overall weakness or loss of sensation.

A pinched nerve can be a temporary condition. However, if the pain and sensation do not stop within a couple days it is cause for concern. The risk of permanent nerve damage is not to be taken lightly. A nerve that is compressed or crushed over a long period of time will become permanently damaged.

Early diagnosis of nerve pain and damage enables you to take action. In the early stages, massage therapy and acupuncture can be used to relieve your pain and discomfort. Unlike acupuncture, deep tissue massage addresses the affected area head-on: Relaxing tight muscles and resolving knots allows for increased blood flow and room in the body. Similar to acupuncture, massage therapy locates and stimulates trigger points inside muscles that cause pain in other regions of the body.

Massage therapy aimed at the source can flush out the cause. Consult your doctor about any pain you experience for more than 2 days. It is important to think about your daily habits, like sitting or repetitive motions. In the early stages of nerve damage, your healthcare practitioner may recommend massage therapy. Or if you already know and cope with nerve damage, it is never a bad idea to seek comfort and release from painful symptoms.

For myself, I have since consulted Yelena at Yeden. Professional Massage therapy supplemented with high CBD infused oil has alleviated my symptoms quicker than I imagined, and nightly at home massage of my affected areas taught to me by a massage therapist has also been beneficial between therapist visits. I can sleep again, wake up without the fear of painful pinched nerve symptoms, and I’m still going strong at the gym! See how beneficial massage therapy can be for the relief for your symptoms today!

-HEIDI LYNNE

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Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) is not reserved solely for those who have seen combat; 70% of adults in the US have experienced a trauma severe enough to result in PTSD. Modern medicine has taken huge steps in recognizing and treating PTSD but many still suffer. Not long ago PTSD was not even recognized as a disorder or as something warranting treatment. People with PTSD are unable to ‘let go’ of the traumatic event they witness or experience, causing them to relive it again and again. Common symptoms of PTSD include flashbacks, nightmares, trouble sleeping, chronic pain, fatigue, and feelings of detachment or distance

A constant attack is what PTSD can feel like. Reliving traumatic events puts the body into a Fight or Flight response. The body is flooded with stress hormones that cause not only emotional but physical pain. Symptoms of PTSD step from resulting imbalances in chemicals in the brain triggering emotional stress. Chemicals including serotonin, affect behavior, feelings and thought process. Reliving a traumatic event creates a heightened state of anxiety, depression, and feelings of helplessness.

Breaking the cycle of PTSD involves and usually requires the affected to be able to relax. A safe environment where the patient can relax their body and ease their mind in turn. Massage therapy is a common front-runner in PTSD treatment. Working the bodies, muscles and circulatory system provides the environment for a potential break in the cycle of PTSD patients. Improved sleep patterns, improved and regulated mood, and the ease of physical pain are all achievable with massage therapy. A relaxed and well-rested patient is more open to other treatments such as talk therapy.

A safe and healing space is not always reached through verbal communication. When the pain roots its self in the subconscious as well as conscious mind a patient needs to seek healing through some of the most basic remedies. Peaceful sleep, a clear head, and physical relaxation. The healing space created by massage therapists goes beyond the verbal explanations of feelings. Massage therapy is for feeling, body-mind, and spirit.

Studies recorded by the International Journal of Neuroscience give us a deeper look into how exactly massage therapy affects the brains chemical make up. The positive effects of massage therapy on biochemistry include decreased levels of cortisol, a stress hormone, and increased levels of serotonin and dopamine. These studies also researched depression, pain syndromes, immune studies, and studies on reduction of stress. In studies in which cortisol was measured throughout massage therapy, treatment researchers saw an average of 31% decrease in cortisol. Serotonin and dopamine resulted in an average increase of 28% for serotonin and 31% for dopamine while patients received massage therapy regularly. These studies combined suggest and prove the stress-alleviating effects (decreased cortisol) and the activating effects (increased serotonin and dopamine) of massage therapy on a variety of medical conditions and stressful/traumatic experiences.

Closer to home in the United States, sixty grade-school children who showed classroom behavior problems following Hurricane Andrew were given massage therapy as a treatment. Scores recorded from these students on the PTSD Reaction Index suggest that they were experiences severe post-traumatic stress. Compared to a video attention control group, the children who were treated with massage therapy reported being happier and less anxious and lower cortisol levels after the therapy. These positive effects were promising given the persistent PTSD symptoms occurring for children who have not received intervention following traumatic events such as hurricanes.

PTSD is an unseen wound many may carry, with or without knowing. When the thought of speaking to a health care professional, family or even friends seems too much, remember there is always another step to take before facing something so hard. Massage therapy has been proven and utilized to treat the symptoms of PTSD so patients can seek treatment on a physical and chemical level. The days of ‘just let it go’ and ‘why aren’t you over it yet?’ are done. Through the power of massage, healing can begin from the inside out and can liberate a patient from the pain and symptoms of PTSD.

-HEIDI LYNNE

Pregnancy is no simple journey as many of us know. The process of creating new life and carrying that life is beautiful but also taxing on an expecting mothers body. Not every pregnancy is the same but there are common symptoms; morning sickness, first trimester fatigue, blossoming breasts, relaxing joints, weight gain, stretching ligaments and contractions. There are of course many more symptoms but ill focus on these for the time being.

Massage therapy has forever been and will in the future be used to alleviate many discomforts during pregnancy. According to the American Pregnancy Association, studies indicate that massage therapy performed during pregnancy can reduce anxiety, decrease symptoms of depression, relieve muscle aches and joint pains, and improve labor outcomes and newborn health. Not a bad wrap right? The ever evolving and ever changing practice has begun to utilize different techniques that address different needs. For Example, Swedish massage aims to relax muscle tension and improve lymphatic and blood circulations through mild pressure applied to different muscle groups of the body. Swedish massage reinvigorates the skeletal and circulatory systems and is therefore used to alleviate hormone shifts in these areas.

It’s no secret hormone regulation is off the charts while a woman is pregnant. Over the past 10 years, studies conducted on the out come massage therapy during pregnancy has shown amazing results. Hormone levels associated with relaxation and stress are significantly improved when massage therapy is incorporated into prenatal care, leading to mood regulation and improved cardiovascular health.

Studies conducted with women receiving bi-weekly massages for only five weeks again showed amazing results. Norepinephrine and cortisol (hormones associated with stress) were reduced greatly, dopamine and serotonin levels were increased combating depression and anxiety. Not only is the expecting mother benefiting from improved mood and regulated hormone levels, but also fewer complications during birth and fewer instances of newborn complications such as low birth weight.

Another possible issue during pregnancy, Edema, or swelling of the joints, is often a very discomforting symptom. Swelling of these joints is caused by reduced circulation and increased pressure on the major blood vessels. Massage therapy stimulates soft tissues to reduce the collection of fluids in swollen joints. Through this process massage therapy also improves the removal of tissue waste carried by the body’s lymph system.

Late in pregnancy the body begins to really feel the weight of new life about to enter the world. As the uterus rests on muscles of the pelvic floor and lower back, the pressure of the uterus causes tension in the muscles of the upper and lower legs. As the body tries to cope with this tension swelling occurs in the legs and creates nerve pain. Sciatic nerve pain is experienced by many women late in pregnancy. Massage therapy addresses inflamed nerves by releasing tension in nearby muscles and joints. Many women experience a significant reduction in sciatic nerve pain during pregnancy through massage therapy.

At any point, massage therapy during pregnancy can be a wonderful supplement to the emotional and physical health of expecting mothers. Massage therapy has been shown to improve pregnancy outcome and maternal health. Seeing a therapist who is experienced and trained in prenatal massage is important and gives piece of mind to women. Yeden is a full service massage studio and provides prenatal massage among much more. Yelena, the owner and founder of Yeden, is currently an expecting mother and fully understands all the ups and downs of pregnancy, as well as all the ways massage can alleviate even the worst symptoms of pregnancy. Are you expecting? Get in touch with Yeden, you’ll be happy you did!

– HEIDI LYNNE