What is Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA) is a chronic, unrelenting systemic inflammation disease of joint and connective tissue. It affects women more than men (3:1 ratio). This disease can occur at any stage in life, but prevalence increase with age. Peak incidence is among women aged 40-60.

• While idiopathic, RA is thought to be autoimmune in origin. 70% to 80% of RA suffers test positive for Rheumatoid (RH) factor – an auto-antibody.
• RH factor combines with IgG to form immune complexes.
• These immune complexes and complement components are found in the synovium, synovial fluid, and extra-articular lesions of persons with RA.
• The immune system attacks these complexes, and release enzymes that destroy articular cartilage.

There are 4 stages of RA

1. Synovitis – There is inflammatory of the synovial membrane and joint effusion.
2. Pannus formation – An abnormal form of granulation tissue. An extensive network of new blood vessels form in the synovium. This contributes to the inflammation. Pannus formation extends to the joint margins. Enzymes are released that destroy articular cartilage and bone.
3. Fibrosis – Intra-articular adhesions form as a result of the inflammation. These will lead to decrease Range Of Motion ( ROM ) of associated joints.
4. Bony ankylosis – Calcification of the panni and fibrous tissue. This leads to joint fusion (ankylosis). This leads to deformity and disuse atrophy.

Follow our Oakville Massage clinic for the next blog, we will talk how massage can help to reduce some of the RA symptom.

Frozen shoulder has another name which is Adhesive capsulitis. Frozen Shoulder is an inflammation and thickening of the shoulder capsule.

Characteristics

• Dense adhesions
• Capsular thickening/ capsular restrictions, leading to restrictions in the GlenoHumeral joint (GH) that effects the range of motion.
• Capsular folds in the axillary recess lose the ability to stretch, insidious onset usually between ages 40 – 60 yrs.

Primary reason for Frozen Shoulder

• Underlying cause is unknown.
• May be due to chronic inflammation in contractile or synovial tissues (such as Biceps tendons, rotator cuff of joint capsule)
• It is common to assess faulty posture and muscle imbalance with primary frozen shoulder, this can predispose the subacromial space to impingement syndrome.

Secondary reason for Frozen Shoulder

• Develops due to another condition, such as OA, RA, and Trauma followed y e period of immobilization.
• Associated with conditions such as Diabetes and Hyper kyphosis.

The GH has a capsular patter which means some movement will get restricted first followed by others. First will get restricted external rotation followed by Abduction followed by Internal rotation.

Call our massage therapy 289 233 3667 to find out how RMT in Oakville can help you with Frozen Shoulder problems.

Sometimes referred to as fibrocytic Headache ( HA ).

• The Most common type of HA.
• Occurrence in female is greater than in man.
• Usually not sever enough to affect daily life activity.
• Massage, along with NSAIDS, are common treatments.
• Trigger points are often a cause of HA, increase in Muscle resting tension can cause of compression of blood vessels, nerves, and other cervical structures.

Symptoms and Characteristics that people may experience along Tension type of HA:

• Dull, aching, diffuse pain, often worse at the end of the day, or first thing in the morning.
• Often has a discernible cause ( e.g. poor posture ).
• Normally does not involve nausea or vomiting.
• Often alleviate by physical activity.
• Severity and duration is very individual.
• May be frequent, episodic, or chronic.
• Deep moist heat and stretch can often reduce the pain – “ good self care “.

Our Oakville Massage Therapy can help you with Tension Headache!

Many people suffer from headaches ( HA ). For some, it is an unusual occurrence, and is often associated with certain activities ( E.g. hangover). For others, it is more common, and associated with stress. Some clients will have chronic HA with idiopathic or pathological origins. It is important to understand the mechanism of most HA in order to decide upon the appropriate treatment or referral.

There is some Classification of Headaches

• Primary HA – The HA is primary concern. They include Migraine, Cluster HA, and Tension Type HA.
• Secondary HA – The HA is result of a complication to a primary pathological process. This may arise from head or neck trauma, Cranial or Cervical vascular disorder, or non-vascular inter-cranial disorder . Drug use or withdrawal may also cause secondary HA

Types of Headaches

• Migraine
• Migraine HA in Children
• Cluster HA,
• Hypoglycemic HA
• Drug Rebound HA
• Chronic Daily HA,
• Sinus HA
• Temperomandibular Joint pain
• Cervicogenic HA
• Tension Type HA

How Massage Treatment may help to manage the symptoms of Headaches

• Decreasing stress may decrease the occurrence of HA ( Migraine, Tension ) in some people.
• Decreasing high muscle resting tension, eliminating Tr.P, and increasing joint mobility are all possible goals.
• Addressing posture imbalance, and education on a good posture may also be part of the treatment and self care routine.

Fibromyalgia is a chronic pain disorder, non-inflammatory, non-articular condition of at least 3 months duration. It is characterized by widespread aches general soft tissue pain in at least half the body, including specific tender points in at least 11 of 18 prescribed location on the body. Sleep is nonresorative, exercise tolerable is diminished and morning stiffness is present.
Client experience a range of symptoms of varying intensities that wax and wane over time.
Causes:

• Idiopathic
• Neuroendocrine dysfunction

• Pain amplification disorder. Fibromyalgia clients may have changes in the working of their central nervous system that lead to an amplified experience of pain, Hence, individual with fibromyalgia experience nociceptive signal differently and experience more tenderness to a given pressure than a healthy individual.

Characteristic of Fibromyalgia:

• Can occur at any age, usually between 30-50 years.

• 90% are women

• With 30% of those diagnosed, the symptoms develop after a physical trauma, or a viral infectin.

• Pain is described as generalized musculoskeletal pain and stiffness predominantly in the shoulders and head and neck.

• Fluctuation in symptoms-people report days being pain free to other days having intense pain.

• Unpredictable course, may be chronic, go into remission, or have cycles of acute flare-up and remission.

• Specific prescribed tender points.

• Non-inflammatory, non-degenerative and non-progressive.
• May or may not have a severe impact with activities of daily living.

Medical Treatment:
May include low dosage of anti-depressant may increase deep sleep, decrease pain and improve serotonin levels, analgesics, sleeping pills, muscle relaxants, must rule out conditions ( RA, Lupus, other systematic conditions that can have a similar presentation to FM).
But if you are choosing to try massage in Oakville to help yourself to manage this symptoms you should consider some key point in your treatment:

• Be knowledgeable about the condition

• Find the balance between activity and rest.

• Provide pain relief

• Treatment should have a relaxation component

• Consider decreasing treatment time to prevent fatiguing.
• Set up a realistic goals.

And many other key point that you may ask your therapist to assist you with.

Carpal tunnel is located at the beginning of your wrist and it contains 3 different muscles and one nerve called the Median Nerve, all of this area covers by retinaculum, which is a band around tendons that holds them in place. It is not part of any muscle. Its function is mostly to stabilize a tendon and to hold them in place.
Carpal Tunnel Syndrome is a compression of the Median Nerve in the Carpal Tunnel resulting in numbness and or tingling in the median nerve distribution area. This compression of the median nerve as it passes through the carpal tunnel generally happens 2 ways:

1. The size of the tunnel decease so gets smaller.
2. The size of the contents passing through the tunnel increases.

Sometimes a combination of both scenario may present or occur. For example, a Rheumatoid Arthritis can cause bony changes in the carpal bones as well as lead to an increase in fluid due to swelling within the tunnel itself.
Causes:

• Repetitive wrist movement primary flexion and Extension leads to edema, fibrosis and thickening of the tendons .
• Thickening of the retinaculum.
• Systemic condition that result in edema, fluid retention, or connective tissue degeneration such as Diabetes, Rheumatoid Arthritis and Pregnancy.
• Bony changes that occur within Arthritis.
• Medical intervention is often includes NSAIDS, splinting the wrist in neutral position, corticosteroid and surgery.

But did you know that Massage Therapists are in high risk to have Carpal Tunnel, and due to this fact we are well educated how to take of our self to try to avoid this type of condition. By some hydrotherapy and regular stretching and proper strengthening of the muscle you can help to decrease the symptoms, prevent or manage the symptoms of Carpal Tunnel. But we are also well educated how to treat this type of condition.

A myofascial trigger point is a hyper irritable spot in skeletal muscle that is associated with a hypersensitive, palpable nodule in a taut band. The spot is painful on compression, and can rise to characteristic referred pain, referred tenderness, motor dysfunction and autonomic phenomena.
A Trigger point develops when group of sarcomeres become stuck in a shortened position. The next mechanism by which this happen is not completely understood. However, some hypothesis suggest that dysfunction at motor endplates causes continuous release of calcium from the sarcoplasmic retinaculum. This causes sustained shortening of sarcomeres in the region of the trigger point. The sustained shortening of sarcomeres can increase the metabolic demand of the tissue, while also causing localized ischemia. This can give rise to the pain associated trigger points.

How can this happen?

Direct cause:
• Acute overload, such as heavy lifting or whiplash
• Over work fatigue, such as sustaining a work position for a long time.
• Direct trauma from falls and contusions.
Indirect trauma:
• Other Tr.P.
• Emotional distress, or other stress factors that increase sympathetic nervous system activity.
Onset may be rapid or gradual depending on the cause. (e.g. whiplash injury may cause rapid onset, while work posture may cause gradual). Trigger point are extremely common. They are non-inflammatory. While they contribute to a high resting tone of a muscle, they are not a spasm.
Symptoms are pain, limited range of motion of a joint, weakness, mood disturbance, sleep disturbance Etc..
Massage Therapist are very successful and very knowledgeable in treating and finding the Trigger Points within their practice. When you are going to your massage and if you are experiencing any of those symptoms that are mentioned above, so by just telling to your massage therapist the referral pain or just the pattern of the pain that you may present with, your therapist can determine and treat the exact trigger point that may causes this symptoms and to reduce or to eliminate the pain.

Cupping Massage brings in the ancient art of cupping to the modern day massage therapy practice. This modality allows for a unique approach to the Fascia and body fluids. Cupping has an ability to affect deeper tissue, remove Fascial restrictions, and increase range of motion.
Cupping is a technique whereby a vacuum is created in a cup, drawing the skin up into the cup and separating the layers of the Fascia. The suction draws the blood to the level of the skin, creating a vacuum below the skin. This new blood to rush in below, removing stagnation.
Cupping therapy good for Fascial adhesion, scar, frozen shoulder, limitation in a range of motion of a joint, tight muscle, rheumatoid arthritis, etc..

Come to our Massage Clinic in Oakville and try the cupping therapy on yourself.

What you need to know about the Fascia.

A fascia is a band or sheet of connective tissue, primarily collagen, beneath the skin that attaches, stabilizes, encloses, and separates muscles and other internal organs. Fascia is classified by layer, as superficial fascia, deep fascia, and visceral or parietal fascia, or by its function and anatomical location.

Like ligaments, aponeuroses, and tendons, fascia is made up of fibrous connective tissue containing closely packed bundles of collagen fibers oriented in a wavy pattern parallel to the direction of pull. Fascia is consequently flexible and is able to resist great unidirectional tension forces until the wavy pattern of fibers has been straightened out by the pulling force. These collagen fibers are produced by fibroblasts located within the fascia.

Fasciae are similar to ligaments and tendons as they have collagen as their major component. They differ in their location and function: ligaments join one bone to another bone, tendons join muscle to bone, and fasciae surround muscles or other structures.

Therefore fascial adhesions are the adhesions of one fascial layer to another, they may create pain, discomfort, they may even lead to loss of fluid in between the fascial layers. Fascial restriction may be caused by trauma, inflammation, compensatory mechanism, postural dis balance and postural pain. All of these symptoms may occur at a distance from the restriction and may result in impaired cellular metabolism, nutrition and even lymphatic flow.

But did you know that massage therapist are very good and very successful in finding and treating those adhesion and address any fascial restriction by specific facial tech, soft tissue manipulation and other different modalities that massage therapist learning in there practice like Hydrotherapy, Cupping treatment, traditional Swedish techniques and all other direct fascial manipulations. Call 289 233 3667 to make an apportionment at our Massage Therapy clinic in Oakville.