Hypertension – Can massage help?

A recent randomised control trail looked at the impact of on acupressure on people with chronic lower back pain.  Researchers randomly assigned 67 participants with chronic low back pain into three groups

1. relaxing acupressure
2. stimulating acupressure
3. usual care

Participants in the acupressure groups were trained to administer acupressure to certain parts of the body for 30 minutes daily over 6 weeks.  Stimulating acupressure consisted of six acupoints, with four of the acupoints performed on both the left and the right sides of the body (total of 10 points). The acupoints were Du 20, Ren 6 (Ren 6), Large Intestine 4 (LI4), Stomach 36 (ST36), Spleen 6 (SP6), and Kidney 3 (K3). Participants in usual care group were told to continue with whatever treatments they were currently receiving. Researchers found that compared to the usual care group those who performed stimulating acupressure experienced pain and fatigue improvement. So if you have been strugling with chronic lower back pain why not book one of our deep tissue massages? Reserach https://academic.oup.com/painmedicine/article/20/12/2588/5522931

The stomach is the body's food processor.  It takes about 4 hours for a moderate meal to be processed.  It takes 7 seconds for food to travel from your mouth to your stomach.  Your stomach can hold 1.5 litres of food and drink. Chew each mouthful at least 20 times Chewing produces saliva which start the digestive process efficiently, enabling the food to the broken down thoroughly.  Eating to quickly often means you don't chew each mouthful enough and causes problems such as heartburn and indigestion.  Swallowing large lumps of food causes problems for the gut as undigested food ferments, creating toxins and gases that irritate the stomach lining; it also prevents absorption of nutrients and creates digestive problems. Digestive enzymes Digestive enzymes help to minimize indigestion, acide reflux, bloating and gas.  There are three main clasifications of digestive enzymes:

• Amylases: which break down carbohydrates
• Lipases: which break down fats
• Proteases: which break down protiens

All three types are naturally found in raw fruits, vegatables, sprouted seeds, raw nuts and whole grains.  Most digestive enzyme supplements will contain all three plus some additional supporting enzymes. Ulcers For ulcers take deglycyrrhizinated liquorice (DLG) in a chewable form not a capsule as saliva makes it work more effectively. Reference https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1552833/    

One of the most common questions I get asked, by my clients is "is my back pain sciatica?".  So I would like take some time to explain what sciatica or piriformis syndrome is. Sciatica is the irritation of inflammation of the sciatic nerve, which runs from L3 down through your legs and feet to your toes, so its the longest (and widest) nerve in the human body.  The reason sciatica is called piriformis syndrome is that the piriformis muscle (which is in your bum) can compress the sciatic nerve.  Because in most people approximately  87% the sciatic nerve passes below the piriformis muscle, in approximately 13% people the sciatic nerve passes in part or entirely though the piriformis muscle.  So tightness in the piriformis muscle is a major cause of sciatica and this tightness can be exasperated by prolonged sitting.  Other notable causes are trauma to your lower back or your pelvis, a history of herniated disc in your lower back and some systemic diseases e.g. diabetes. So how can you tell if you have sciatica or lower back pain?  Sciatic is characterised by the presence of one or more of the following symptoms:

• Constant pain in one side of the buttock or back of one leg.
• Sharp or burning pain or tingling radiating down the back of your thigh.
• Pain is worse when sitting for long periods of time.
• Pain may be aggravated by sneezing, stooping or straining.
• You feel that you want to slouch away from the effected side.
• Possible pins and needles or parasthesia (numbness) down leg.

Sciatic pain can begin abruptly or can come on gradually and may vary from infrequent and irritating to constant and incapacitating.  While symptoms can be very painful, it is rare that permanent sciatic nerve damage (tissue damage) will result. The vast majority of people who experience sciatica get better within a few weeks or months and find pain relief with non-surgical sciatica treatment including massage. For others, however, sciatica pain from a pinched nerve can be severe and debilitating. There are a few symptoms that may require immediate medical, and possibly surgical, intervention, such as progressive neurological symptoms (e.g. leg weakness) and/or bowel or bladder dysfunction.