Sleep and Massage - Circadian Rhythms and Singing the Blues

Sleep and Massage therapy should be a normal part of your natural life rhythm. We have a biological clock that is called a circadian rhythm. This rhythm is what keeps us healed and whole. On a 24-hour cycle, the sleep and wake rhythms carry us through the vitality of the day and the restfulness of the night.

But what happens when you interrupt any rhythm? Pretend you are at a stunning Beethovan concert listening to a piece being performed, awaiting the crescendo. Suddenly, the music quits.

When rhythms are broken or interrupted, the result is discord and feelings of anxiousness and maybe even anger. Interrupting the circadian rhythms produces the same results. Lack of sleep can have you singing the blues all night long. Massage helps restore balance so the rhythms of your life ebb and flow in a natural pattern.

Sleep and Massage - Chronobiology and Songs of Exaltation

Chronobiology is the study of biological rhythms and that is what sleep is - a biological rhythm. When your sleep is consistently poor or constantly interrupted, it has a direct impact on your physical and emotional health. While you are sleeping, the body is preparing for another wake cycle. It is during sleep that most of the healing process takes place.

Sleep promotes immune function and restores metabolic balance. During sleep, brain proteins are increased which affects mental acuity the next day. Adequate sleep is instrumental in maintaining weight. Insomnia is a sleep disorder characterized by a severe lack of sleep.

The consequences of insomnia on your health include loss of concentration and decision-making abilities. It causes irritability and emotional instability. Many people turn to over-the-counter drugs to combat insomnia, but massage and insomnia relief is a much more natural approach to the problem. If you have insomnia and message therapy is available to you, life is about to improve drastically.

Massage therapy is a technique of applying pressure on the upper tissue levels of the body using kneading and pounding and rubbing. Sleep and massage are perfect partners, because massage activates the parasympathetic half of the autonomic nervous system for relaxation.

Massage also turns off the sympathetic nervous system which is the source of stress. In doing so, getting a massage and relieving stress create better sleep patterns. If you want to sleep and massage therapy can help, there is no reason to delay. It is a therapeutic drug-free means of reducing incidences of insomnia. Instead of singing the blues, you will be singing songs of exaltation.

Sleep and Massage - All Night Long

The daylight hours must not be long enough, because many of us use what should be sleep time to stress about problems. Massage therapy is a technique that can eliminate the physical results of the day's stresses so sleep is enhanced. There are many reasons why sleep and massage make a great match - reasons both emotional and physical.

• Lessens lower back pain







• Eases chronic fatigue syndrome







• Reduces muscle tension







• Eliminates headaches







• Lessens effects of medicinal side-effects on sleep







• Relieves stress







• Assists with weight control







• Relaxes nervous tension







• Increases blood circulation

Hospitals use physical therapy massage to help insomniacs sleep as an alternative to drugs. If you can't sleep and massage therapy sounds as if it can help, please visit your local massage therapist. She or he can help you find your circadian rhythm again.

Get a massage and sleep will be restored as a time of rest instead of a time of restlessness. You will be able to sleep all night long, waking refreshed instead of tired and tense.

The Educational Path Of Earning A Degree In Physical Therapy

If you would like to enter the health care field, and you enjoy working with people, a career as a physical therapist might be a good choice for you. In this field, you will help sufferers of debilitating physical illnesses recover, creating treatment plans to get them moving. To do so, you will work in offices with other physicians and aides. This career path will need a lot of dedication and hard work, as well as a college education and a license.

You will need a Bachelor's degree to continue your studies in physical therapy. Since Bachelor's degrees in this field are not often available, other majors in health sciences or interdisciplinary health and rehabilitation sciences are acceptable choices. There are some accelerated programs for students who would like to go straight through for their Master's in physical therapy. In addition, programs for those who have a four year degree in an unrelated field are also available, but may take longer.

Master's programs in physical therapy are readily available at many universities. They may be designed for students coming from a Bachelor's program in health, or students who received a Bachelor's degree in a different field. These degrees are good, but a doctorate is becoming the common expectation for physical therapists. You will take many courses that will provide you with an appropriate background on physical therapy and movement, such as orthopedics, pathokinesiology, and neurology. There may also be courses on certain groups, such as geriatrics, pediatrics, and more.

Like a medical doctor who receives an MD, a physical therapist must receive a DPT, or Doctor of Physical Therapy. These programs are available all over, and generally come in two forms. They may be transitional for students who are already practicing in the field and need to advance their careers. They may also be direct-entry, for those that can enter from non-physical therapy undergraduate and graduate degrees. Each program will thoroughly go over rehabilitative procedures, pathology, biomechanics, and more.

Licensing to become a physical therapist can be achieved through the passing of the NPTE, National Physical Therapy Examination, which is a difficult exam provided to ensure the knowledge and qualifications of future physical therapists. The NPTE is provided from the Federation of State Boards of Physical Therapy, where you can register for the test, pay a fee and take it after you graduate.

When you enter the field of physical therapy, you will be enjoying good pay, flexible positions, and plentiful job offerings. Employment is expanding rapidly - there is an expected increase of 30 percent. The pay usually ranges from $50,000 to $100,000, so it should be very lucrative. You can also plan on a very clean and pleasing work environment. The majority work in hospitals and doctors' offices, but other physical therapists work in outpatient care centers, nursing homes, and in private practice.

If you cannot afford or attend a lengthy doctoral degree program, you should consider going to school to become a physical therapist assistant. This only requires an Associate's degree, which you can find nearby in many two-year colleges. This degree will prepare you for clinical work and help you understand some of the common concepts in the field. Once you graduate from an accredited program, you can work closely with physical therapists and patients, providing exercise, training, and therapeutic methods.

How Alternative Therapy Can Help Reduce Stress

Stress is an undeniable facet of life which exhibits various harmful effects on the human body. When our body is under stress, it starts releasing stress hormones that increase heart beat, respiratory rate and provide a burst of energy. Stress can exhibit worst effects on the human health and may cause headaches, stiffness, neck pain, shoulder pain, upset stomach, back pain and insomnia. Stress can also lower the immunity of the body and reduce the ability to fight off certain health concerns. Furthermore, it makes your body depressed, tense, and irritable that ultimately affects on your daily activities and lowers your efficiency.

Alternative therapy is a natural healing approach to get rid of this worst health concern. It includes a number of treatment techniques that work best for treating the whole body systems. In this article, I will describe how alternative therapy helps treat stress and how alternative treatment techniques heal.

Alternative Therapy - The Whole-Body Systems Approach

Alternative therapy is a natural and holistic approach that encompasses a number of hands-on techniques that activates the internal healing system of the body. It includes various holistic approaches like physical therapy, massage therapy and various integrative manual therapies that are performed by a professional and trained physical therapist or massage practitioner to correct the health conditions that are created due to stress. A physical or massage therapist provides a gentle body touch with his skilled hands that activates the natural healing system of the body and provides a sense of well-being.

Massage Therapy - Relaxing the Mind, Body & Spirit

Massage therapy is a holistic and natural way to treat stress related conditions of the body such as high blood pressure, back pain, stomach disorders and emotional disturbances. It effectively relaxes your mind, body and spirit and promotes a feeling of calm, peace and comfort.

Integrative Hands-On Techniques - Promotes Emotional Calmness

Since alternative therapy includes various integrative hands-on techniques that effectively induce relaxation responses i.e. promote muscle relaxation, lower blood pressure, normalize respiratory rate and ultimately promote emotional calmness, reduce stress responses and maintain overall wellness.

Alternative Therapy - Helps Relieve Stress

Physical therapy is a type of alternative therapy that offers strengthening, stretching and stress relief exercises to promote mental and physical wellness of a person. A physical therapist gently provides breathing and relaxing techniques that induces mental relaxation. Gentle and effective body movements stimulate the receptors in the nervous system to decrease the production of stress hormones which ultimately relax muscles, improve flexibility and normalize the breathing pattern of the body.

In a nutshell, alternative therapy is really effective for both mind and body and proven to be highly effective for alleviating stress and other stress related conditions. Indeed, it is a profound and natural approach to provoke a gentle feeling of calm, relaxes your mind and promotes mental and physical health. It is a natural way to cope with the worst effects of stress and provides you a stress-free life.

What is Breema Bodywork in Massage Therapy?

Breema bodywork is a kind of body therapy that utilizes simple forms of tactility and body movement. There exists two kinds of of breema therapy.

• Self-breema exercises
  


• Bodywork

The purpose of both kinds is to increase the energy flow of the body and to bring the body to the present time. Self-breema exercises utilize gentle body stretches and nurturing touch in a nonjudgmental environment to bring about mental, physical, and emotional balance for optimal health.

Normally, a breema bodywork session takes place on the floor using a padded mat or cushioned surface such as a massage cushion while the patient is still dressed. The therapist then initiates a series of movements on the patient that include tension-relieving stretches, the holding of different poses, and muscle leans and pulls. The focus of these movements is to gently stretch out the muscles of the body not so much as to cause discomfort on the patient.

There exist nine (9) principles of harmony in breema exercises:

• 
  Body comfort--Breema exercises are supposed to be relaxing and comfortable. They focus on the body as a whole in place of targeting unique parts. There is no place for discomfort in this therapy.
  


• 
  Firmness and gentleness--Breema exercises are supposed to be firm and gentle. The key to this technique is that the pressure applied to the patient needs to be firm and gentle at the same time.
  


• 
  Mutual support--The giving and receiving of support during breema therapy has to take place at the same time.
  


• 
  No haste/No pause--The therapist must maintain natural rhythm of movements while not rushing or pausing between movements.
  


• 
  No force--The activities involved in breema do not include any kind of force.
  


• 
  Individual moment/individual activity--Each of the specifically designed movements is different and functions on its own. There is a purpose in each and every movement.
  


• 
  Non-judgmental environment--Breema bodywork is conducted in an environment of non-judgment. This allows the patient to feel comfortable and accepted as they maintain present time consciousness.
  


• 
  Full participation--The patient is required to partake fully and not just lie there passively. This participation includes his mind, body, and feelings in order for breema bodywork to be effective.
  


• 
  No more extras--The goal of breema bodywork therapy is to help the patient express themselves to their fullest potential. Nothing extra is needed.

Through every breema therapy session, the patient benefits by exhibiting mental clarity, mental and physical relaxation, and balance of energy and emotions. Breema bodywork is a great form of therapy for those who want to pursue a life of balance and harmonies while at the same time nurture their body.

Relaxing Benefits of Acrosage Therapy

Acrosage therapy or also known as inversion therapy is a form of massage therapy that is combined with above-the-ground yoga that will surely make you feel good. This type of therapeutic massage aims on releasing pressure from the neck and spine. Pressure points are targeted and worked on during the elevated yoga session as a way of healing, removing stress, realigning shoulders, hips, and spine.

This unusual type of massage therapy focuses on working on the patient while being balanced and transitioned in various postures above the ground. Most of the time during the massage session, the patient is hanging balanced on the feet of the acrosage therapist. As the patient is held suspended upside down, the massage therapist then works on and conducts his massage techniques on the patient. The trust between the patients and their therapist is required in order to perform properly during the massage therapy session. Although it may seem quite scary being transitioned with your head, feet and arms hanging, there's no need for worries as acrosage sessions are done without injuries and accidents unless done by an untrained practitioner.

Benjamin Marantz was a circus acrobatics performer during the time of his discovery of this revitalizing technique. He was surprised on how wonderful and relaxing he felt as his acupressure points were worked on as he was inverted. This curiosity then led to his practice and soon development of acrosage technique. Marantz's first patients were his fellow performers in the circus he was working at during that time. As his skill in this new therapeutic massage technique was mastered, he started on treating in the public.

Marantz's idea is to give a soothing experience as the body of the patient is in many various acrobatic positions. During each positions, the practitioner works on realigning and decompressing the spine, correcting the position of the neck, shoulder and hips as well as massaging the back, arms, and feet of the patient. He believes that this form of therapeutic massage also allows the body of the patient to fully receive the benefits and effect of the massage as the head hangs freely while the neck and spine carries no pressure.

Extra oxygen is passed on to the brain and an improvement in the circulation is enjoyed after sessions of acrosage therapy. Blood circulation is also a benefit the patient can get while being suspended without having gushes of blood going to your brain unlike with some of the inverted therapies. The patient can also relax as he or she meditates while being held in a comfortable upside down posture that is ideal for improving the spirituality of the client. Good posture of the body is also acquired after series of acrosage sessions as the patient's spine is constantly checked and corrected in its ideal place.

A boost in the overall immune system is also another great benefit from the natural therapy which can be achieved with regular sessions. Although this technique has many wonderful effects to the human body, it should be done with utmost caution and care as it involves much risk when performed.

The Benefits of a Chocolate Massage

Have you tried going to spas and massage centers? Have you tried giving different parts of your body a chocolate massage? Massage is one way of alleviating pain, relaxing and rejuvenating ourselves after long hours of work at the office and at school. To know more about the benefits of chocolate massage, read the article below.

For years, men and women go to sauna and massage parlors to have massage treatment using oils, lotions, powder and other essences. Through the years, dermatologists and scientists have discovered new ingredients and formulations for use in massage parlors and spas like mud, gold, honey and oatmeal. Are you aware of the latest hype in sauna parlors and massage centers nowadays? Did you know that chocolate is not only used as comfort food but in massage parlors as well.

We already know that chocolate is one food that dieters should hinder from eating to prevent gaining additional pounds. We also know that chocolates have the ability to remove menstrual pain and to prevent drowsiness. Aside from preventing heart diseases, it is also a rich source of antioxidants needed in preventing chronic fatigue, cancer and hardening of the arteries.

Apart from these advantages to your health, dermatologists also discovered that chocolate is advantageous to use in massaging our body because of its high antioxidant levels, tryptophan, minerals and vitamins which are good to the skin. Studies show that the chemical substances found in chocolate lets you relax and feel good, comparable to eating chocolates.

Benefits of using chocolate on the skin include:

• Did you know that the theobromine content of chocolate helps burn fat and eliminate unwanted cellulite.


• Its polyphenol contains anti-aging and anti-oxidant properties.


• It contains glycerides which contain lipids and fats used to moisturize, to plump and to firm your skin.


• It contains calcium, potassium and magnesium needed for cell renewal and growth.


• It has a calming effect that reduces stress and makes your muscles feel relaxed and rejuvenated.


• It reduces the appearance of wrinkles, fine lines and stretch marks.


• It improves the texture of your skin.


• It removes harmful radicals caused by exposure to ultraviolet rays of the sun, dust, wind and other harmful substances found in the air.


• It leaves your skin glowing, fresh and younger looking.

How is chocolate massage done?

The first thing that masseurs do is they warm the chocolate before using it during the massage. Massage therapists sometimes incorporate warmed massage oil to thin the chocolate.

In massage parlors or spas, customers are given the option to choose which procedure they want to have, like chocolate facials, body wrap or complete chocolate massage package.

In the chocolate facials, masseurs place thin coat of chocolate on the face before massaging. This procedure is known to plump the skin, to erase lines in the skin and to make the skin look younger.

In chocolate body wrap, massage therapists use dark chocolate oil in massaging the body. They wrap the body with foil to allow the properties of chocolate to seep into the skin.

Neuromuscular Physical Therapy - Megan's Case Study

In studying Megan's case history and symptoms, key moments and events stand out in her time line of pain and dysfunction. Nine years ago, after the birth of her second child, was the first time that Megan noticed that her left foot was slightly wider and longer than her right foot. The timing of this is relevant as during the course of her pregnancy a hormone called relaxin would have been released into her system to loosen the ligaments of her pelvis in anticipation of childbirth. However, relaxin can also loosen ligaments elsewhere in the body and a longer and wider left foot would indicate the collapse of the main arches of the foot due to ligament laxity. This is one of the turning points in Megan's history that has had a detrimental effect on her health ever since. The relaxed ligaments may never have fully recovered their full stabilizing strength and when she developed a tired aching sensation in her left medial arch a few years later it was probably as a result of this. A fallen arch will lead to over pronation and this will in turn put the tibialis anterior and possibly tibialis posterior muscles under undue stress as they try to stabilize and counteract over pronation. Stressed or overwhelmed muscles will form trigger points (TPs) within them and for tibialis anterior this can refer pain anteromedially as it passes the retinaculum. TPs in the tibialis posterior will refer pain into the sole/arch of the foot. Over pronation will lead to shortened peroneus longus which will further inhibit the tibialis muscles which will further exacerbate the problem in a continuous vicious circle.

The whiplash injury experienced last year would also add to Megan's problems and since then she has experienced occasional headaches and neck stiffness. The whiplash injury almost certainly would have affected her sub occipital muscles, sternocleidomastoids (SCM), scalene and other stabilizers of the neck and spine. This whiplash would lead to improper neck movement which in turn would lead to TPs in the SCM and possibly the longus colli on one side (left) possibly due to the leg length discrepancy. TPs here would leave these muscles in a shortened state resulting in rotation of the head to the right hand side. If the longus colli is involved it result in kinetic chain problems and affect the peroneals on the lateral aspect of the lower limb further exacerbating the fallen arch. With the peroneus longus muscles in such an unhealthy state it is possible that it could have an effect on the sacrotuberous ligament of the pelvis and its ability to hold the sacrum in position. Megan states that one day last year she felt a twinge in her right sacroiliac joint while assisting an obese client up from a supine position. She experienced locking/jamming and diffuse soft tissue pain in QLs, multifidis and shooting pain into her hip. The fact that she was locked into torso flexion to the right suggests that the QLs went into spasm on the right side after insult and as we find out later her sacral base is an inch high on the right and there is posterior rotation of the right ilium with resultant postural imbalance whereby 2/3rd of Megan's weight is pressing down on her right side. This extra load and postural imbalance has led to shooting pain in the trochanteric region and referred pain on the lateral aspect of the thigh due to TPs in the weakened gluteus medius and iliotibial band issues due to the over worked tensor fasciae latae.

With all this pain getting to unbearable levels, Megan turned to prescription drugs, codeine based painkillers, antidepressants, Zoloft, anti inflammatory tablets all of which would have exacerbated her problems through time by building up toxins in her system. She was also whilst under the influence of painkillers probably injuring tissue by doing activities that she would not have done if she had her natural alarm system of pain stopping her. The elastic support belt and the taping would have made the situation worse by encouraging atrophy of supporting muscle tissue.

Megan's right shoulder is lower than the left possibly due to shortened latissimus dorsi pulling on the humerus and inhibiting upper trapezius and hypertrophy of the pectoralis minor muscle pulling the scapula forward and down.

As we consider Megan's problems, symptoms, and case history, we can appreciate that she is suffering abject pain and dysfunction up and down her functional kinetic chain. From the pain in the plantar fasciae, spastic peroneus longus, inhibited tibialis, medially rotated tibia, medial knee pain, lateral thigh pain, trochanteric pain, lumbo - sacral pelvic pain and dysfunction, posteriorally rotated right ilium, lower left anterior superior iliac spine, 2/3rd weight imbalance to right hand side, lower back pain with QLs and multifidis in a shortened state, latissimus dorsi, neck extensors and flexors all giving problems we have to ask the question as to which functional kinetic chain we are dealing with. In my opinion, considering all areas involved, it would be the spiral oblique chain.

Megan would have to be informed that her treatment will be extensive and prolonged because some issues have been there for a while and would involve neural retraining for the dysfunction and imbalances present.

• Medical screening.


• Case history.


• Postural assessment.


• ROM testing / neural testing.


• All shortened and restricted muscles would have to be relaxed / lengthened with TP therapy, METs, positional release / strain- counterstrain.


• Inhibited muscles would have to be fired and strengthened with tapotement, METs and strengthening exercises.


• Any areas of bind would need STR, cross fiber friction etc.


• A consideration would be referral for PCIs to address the pronating left foot initially with a plan to strengthen that area long term.


• Megan's nutrition was not mentioned but I would be referring her to a specialist in that field to ensure that she has no nutritional deficiencies that would hinder the healing process.