Arthritis

Arthritis is inflammation of one or more joints, causing pain and stiffness that can worsen with age. Although massage therapy can help it cannot get rid of the condition.

Symptoms may come and go. They can be mild, moderate or severe. They may stay about the same for years, but also may progress or get worse over time.

Common arthritis joint symptoms include:

Swelling     |     Pain     |     Stiffness     |     Decreased range of motion

Severe arthritis can result in chronic pain, inability to do daily activities and make it difficult to walk or climb stairs. Arthritis can cause permanent joint changes. Massage has been known to ease the symptoms of arthritis. 

Massage often is used to relieve common symptoms of many types of arthritis including reducing pain and stiffness, easing anxiety, improving range of motion in joints, and promoting more restful sleep. Massage therapy ups the secretion of the feel-good hormones such as endorphins, which is a natural pain reliever, dopamine, and serotonin.

Myoskeletal Alignment Technique is incorporated if the client isn’t inflamed during the treatment. This helps with range of motion and getting rid of lactic acid in the joints and surrounding muscles.

Diet is talked about and assessed with the promotion of certain foods that act as anti-inflammatories.

Reiki is sometimes used if the client is dealing with a lot of stress. Stress hormones can exasperate the condition, so a concentration of stress relief is often the goal when massaging clients with arthritis.