Chronic Pain Relief through Nutritional Solutions
Many massage therapists in downtown Vancouver have within their arsenal of pain relief protocols various types of therapeutic massages. These techniques can include deep tissue massage. myofascial release, trigger point therapy, sports massage, and others. Although each of these advanced forms of massage therapy are effective and in many cases provide effective pain relief, there are instances where we have to think out of the box.
The basic premise behind any type of physical manipulation to injured and painful tissue is to break down fascial adhesions and improve blood flow. The result is an improved healing response by the patient thus shortening their recovery time from injury. But why is it that some recover after one massage therapy treatment and others take much longer. The obvious answer is that the severity of the injury is different between each patient. Even when this is taken into account there still exists a different healing response between each patient. So what can account for this difference?
Each of us has a unique biochemical makeup and this is a primary reason for variances in healing time. The healing process involves the complex interaction of enzymes, vitamins, minerals, alkaloids from plants and herbs, essential fatty acids, and proteins. At Coal Harbour Massage Therapy we have found that using nutritional interventions in conjunction with advanced massage therapy techniques greatly improves patients recovery time and in many cases helps resolve chronic pain syndromes.
Serrapeptase is one specific nutritional intervention that is highly effective in naturally reducing pain and inflammation. Serrapeptase is a protein digesting enzyme which breaks down non-living matter in the human body. This is particularly helpful for injuries caused by repetitive strain or other accident related trauma like a sports injury. As part of the bodies healing response inflammation occurs at the site of the injury and is responsible for tissue repair. The initial stages involve the deposit of fibrin in the damaged tissue followed by collagen formation to reinforce tissue repair. Although the body is a powerful healing machine it isn’t perfect. Too much fibrin or collagen could have been formed and this results in painful myofascial adhesions and a reduction in muscle function and movement. Serrapeptase fights excessive fibrin and collagen buildup thus improving tissue repair and function while at the same time reducing pain.
When combined with advanced massage therapy techniques such as myofascial release this powerful enzyme significantly improves healing time and reduces pain.
Biological Body Age? How Old are You?…Really!!
Oh the bliss of life. Each year we celebrate, or some of us try to forget about, our annual birthday. Yes the day we arrived into this world, as some believe, for the spirit to have a human experience. Well part of this human experience involves the way we think about life and physically treat our bodies. The stresses that come with being alive impact the biological nature of our bodies. Unless we look after ourselves the stresses of life may age us faster that our actual chronological age. In other words you may be older than you think you are…but lets think positive shall we…you could also be younger to.
So how can you find out what your biological body age is? Well I’m glad you asked. We are pleased to tell you that in 30 minutes we can give you a full report on your current Biological Body Age.
By using the state of the art Polar Tri-Fit Body Age System we can assess various health markers that include:
- Blood Pressure
- Body Bone Density
- Aerobic fitness (Sub VO2Max)
- Strength/Power
- Flexibility
- Body Composition
- Hydration Levels (your water level)
- Basal Metabolic Rate (how many calories you burn by lying on the beach)
For anyone planning an exercise routine, life changes, or optimizing their health this is a great starting point. Included in your report are ways to improve your Biological Body Age. Hey it may even be covered by your extended medical. To book your appointment with Michael just go online and choose Biological Body Age Test or call him directly. You have nothing to lose…except your age.
Trigger Points – A Game of Myofascial Hide and Seek
Over the years hundreds of clients have complained of various sensations radiating down their arm, leg, or into some other area of the body. These painful sensations are described as burning, numbness, prickly or tingly, dull ache, area affected feels heavy or weak, stiff, tight, and lets not forget the often quoted “My doctor wants me to visit a neurologist”. Now I admit that it is “better to be safe than sorry” and a visit to the neurologist is not a bad thing. But I am happy to advise the vast majority of these clients suffer from a common problem known as Myofascial Trigger Points or Myofascial Pain Syndrome. The unique aspect of trigger points is their stubborn nature. One minute you feel the pain and the next it seems to disappear. The pain you feel could be there for hours, days, or weeks, and then magically the pain is gone. The fascinating thing about trigger points is that most are not located anywhere close to where your sensation of pain is. So it is up to your therapist to play a little Sherlock Homes to find the origin of the pain. For example the tingling or numbness in your arm or hand could actually have its origin on your back.
There are multiple theories on how trigger points manifest but I won’t bore you with the technicalities. Suffice it to say that the majority of people we see have some level of myofascial tightening with resulting trigger points. So the good news is that dreaded surgery you have feared is probably not needed. A quick visit to a qualified Registered Massage Therapist could be what the doctor ordered…the only thing you have to lose is the pain.
65 Ways to Beat Holiday Stress
Enjoy and relax with these 65 ways to reduce holiday stress and relax this Holiday season. If your not up for reading scroll down and enjoy a soothing 3 minute video from You Tube.
Social Ways to Reduce Holiday Stress
Tips to reduce holiday stress include saying no, accepting yourself, and venting.
- Talk to your friends about your frustrations and joys.
- Have a glass of wine or eggnog, but don’t overdo it.
- Prioritize invitations to reduce holiday stress.
- Say no to parties, or make a brief appearance.
- Refuse to compare your appearance, lifestyle or possessions to other people’s.
Physical Ways to Reduce Holiday Stress
Tips to reduce holiday stress include physical activity, massage, and nutrition. Learning how to relax and stay health is a great way to reduce holiday stress.
- Get a massage…you can even book online with us.
- Go skating, skiing, or walking in the snow.
- Take a hot bubble bath.
- Stop eating before you’re full.
- Get enough sleep to reduce holiday stress.
- Reduce your caffeine intake.
- Take your vitamins, supplements, minerals.
- Drinks lots of water.
- Get a manicure or pedicure.
- Make love to reduce holiday stress.
Mental Ways to Reduce Holiday Stress
Tips for less holiday stress include choosing your priorities, letting go and snoozing.
- Volunteer at a food bank or special holiday dinner.
- Take downtime to snooze, read, relax.
- Play your favorite card and board games to reduce holiday stress.
- Take a crossword puzzle or Suduku break.
- Pick your battles, choose your priorities.
- Let go of the little stuff to reduce holiday stress.
- Watch your favorite TV shows or movies.
- Share your baking with homebound people or lonely neighbors.
Emotional Ways to Reduce Holiday Stress
Tips for less holiday stress include punching pillows, being alone and laughing.
- Practice gratitude.
- Have realistic expectations to reduce holiday stress.
- Laugh!
- Stay in touch with your authentic emotions.
- Cry, scream, or punch the pillow when you need to.
- Stop to take a deep breath.
- Be alone for a few minutes or hours to reduce holiday stress.
- Keep old traditions alive, but be open to new ones.
- Let yourself grieve if you’ve recently lost someone you love.
Creative Ways to Reduce Holiday Stress
Tips to reduce holiday stress include music therapy, museums, and movies.
- Paint, draw or carve your thoughts and feelings.
- Visit a museum or art gallery to reduce holiday stress.
- Go to a movie in the middle of the day by yourself.
- Listen to music that relaxes and/or energizes you.
- Go for a drive in the country; stop for hot chocolate and muffins.
- Write in your journal to reduce holiday stress.
Spiritual Ways to Reduce Holiday Stress
Tips to reduce holiday stress include praying and remembering the big picture.
- Meditate or pray often.
- Read the Bible, Torah, or other meaningful book.
- Seek the deep meaning behind church or mass services to reduce holiday stress.
- Remember that your God, Creator or Higher Power is working behind the scenes.
- Adjust your perspective to include peace, compassion, and forgiveness.
Practical Ways to Reduce Holiday Stress
Tips for less holiday stress include shopping early, organizing potlucks, and delegating.
- Use lists and calendars to stay organized
- Set attainable decorating goals to reduce holiday stress.
- Delegate chores: cooking, childcare, caring for guests, etc.
- Cook the turkey; let guests bring the rest.
- Be flexible with timing, food, and schedules to reduce holiday stress.
- Rent funny DVDs and videos to keep people occupied.
- Shop over the Internet to avoid crowds.
- Ensure your prescription medication is refilled.
- Give yourself extra time to reduce holiday stress.
- Stick to your financial budget.
- Avoid impulse buys to reduce holiday stress.
Relational Ways to Reduce Holiday Stress
Tips to reduce holiday stress include sticking with your routines and ignoring criticisms.
- Change your regular responses to aggravating family members.
- Shrug off insults, challenges, and criticisms.
- Avoid past betrayals, mistakes, failures – both yours and others’.
- Don’t expect people to change (unless you change first).
- Enlist kids’ help in baking cookies and cleaning up to reduce holiday stress.
- Stick with your kids’ routine, if possible.
- Enforce the regular rules for sharing, indoor voices, etc.
- Maintain healthy boundaries to reduce holiday stress.
RELAXING HYPNOSIS STRESS BUSTING VIDEO
Tension Myositis Syndrome Video
Take a look at this informative video by Dr Howard Schubiner, MD on the cognitive process involved with TMS. Having done over 5500 massages since 2002 I can attest to the relevance of a mind body link to chronic pain. Enjoy the video and any feedback is appreciated.
The role the brain plays in pain, The Mind Body Syndrome
Stresscare Pain Solutions
Got Pain?…Get Stresscare!
- Advanced Therapeutic Massage
- Orthomolecular Nutrition
- Personal Pain Coaching
- CD based Hypnotherapy
- Micro Current Therapy
- Therapeutic Exercise
- Bowen Therapy
- Polar Tri-Fit Body Age Test – this tells us how old your body is.
- Digital Postural Assessment – shows your structural imbalances
- Comprehensive Nutritional Assessment
- Comprehensive Stress Assessment
You are provided the results in a personalized solutions based report which you can take home with you. The Health Evaluation Report includes:
- Results of your Body Age Test and Postural Assessment
- Nutritional Advice including dietary planning and supplement recommendations
- Therapeutic Exercise Program
- Specific therapy options for correcting any pain you are feeling
- Stress Relief CD
Tension Myositis Syndrome
Pain to most people represents a physical sensation caused by a direct injury/ trauma to soft tissue or muscle tension caused by stress. But what about prolonged lingering chronic pain? Why is it that some people struggle with constant neck or back pain and others don’t? We all suffer from some form of stress don’t we?
You may be interested to know it may all be in the mind. The sensation of chronic pain in most cases is caused by reduced oxygenation in the soft tissues of the body. The standard models of pain are being challenged by the findings of Dr John Sarno who for the past 30 years has uncovered the origins of lingering unexplained pain. The answer…repressed emotions in the subconscious mind. A radical concept yes but his clinical results are irrefutable. The term used to describe this condition if Tension Myositis Syndrome. (TMS)
According to Dr Sarno the primary emotion we repress is anger. This primitive emotion was critical for our evolutionary survival as a species but could you imagine your life today if everyone freely expressed their displeasure. In our current society the free expression of anger is not socially acceptable and usually result in a backlash of negativity from those around you. The one exception to this is road rage…there is something about the isolation of driving that makes us feel safe to vent our outrage towards other drivers. Imagine this happening at the office…anarchy would ensue.
So in order to maintain our socially accepted norms our mind bundles up all our little frustrations and stuffs them into our subconscious mind. Over time these build up like a pressure cooker but our rational conscious mind understands that the free expression of this pent up frustration may do more harm than good in our social network. The solution for the mind? Distraction!
The area in the brain that anger resides is in the limbic system of the brain. It is also in this area that our autonomic nervous system intersects. One purpose of the autonomic nervous system is to control our fight or flight response. Over the eons this has served us well when danger was present as it helped shunt blood to and from specific muscles to assist us in physically dealing with a threat. But now we have no real physical threat…just an emotion we know can’t be let out of the cage. In order to keep itself from the repressed emotion the mind creates physical distractions in the body by reducing blood flow in specific areas. The result…PAIN!
Fascinating yet true…anything bothering you today?
Natural Solutions for Healing
Dean Ornish talks about simple, low-tech and low-cost ways to take advantage of the body’s natural desire to heal itself. Hope you enjoy the video. Try and incorporate some of the solutions to help transform how you feel.
Pay It Forward
Given we live in a society of abundance here in Canada and Coal Harbour Massage Therapy has been blessed with a vibrant and growing client base we thought we would share our abundance. Each week we will be helping others around the world by providing micro loans through Kiva. For anyone interested we will be adding a link to our Home page soon so you can keep track of how our international entrepeneurs are doing.
http://www.kiva.org/lender/michael6621
How Massage Reduces Stress
photo by Bhernandez
With each passing day it seems like we give less time to ourselves and more time to the long list of tasks that scream for our attention.
It is a self-perpetuating cycle. As we accumulate stress in our bodies, we are less able to heal and regenerate and get rid of the accumulation. We become less effective in all that we do, leading to more stress!
Message therapy can rejuvenate your body and the leave you feeling lighter and better able to deal with an ever growing list of things that just have to be done!
Massage therapy sessions help to relax your entire body. You will be better able to achieve a deep sleep which further enhances body healing system. After a good sleep, your relaxed state of mind and regenerated muscles help in reducing overall anxiety and brings down your respiratory rate. This assists in reducing your blood pressure and builds up your bodies immune system. The immune system works with better efficiency when body is relaxed because there in an increase white blood cells in the body.
Regular massage sessions also help with certain medical conditions, especially those related to muscles, tendons or ligaments. Regular massage helps in decreasing the level of pain which helps to develop a state of well-being. Constant nagging pain in tendons or ligaments leads to feelings of stress and depression. So a relaxing massage can also act as a great anti-depressant.
Though massage therapy is not an ultimate cure to many medical conditions, it can help alleviate the stress, tension and chronic pain that contribute to disabling symptoms. When you work with one of the highly trained and certified message therapists at the Coal Harbour Massage Center, we develop a program specifically suited for your physical condition and stress level.
You will be amazed at what Massage Therapy can do for you!
