[nicky00]

I dropped into a holistic health centre with my almost out of date voucher to see what I could book up for the price of 20.00.

Sitting in a chair was a lady who practised Shiatsu for just that morning and I agreed a half an hour session to see what it was like.

Having worked on me for over the half hour 'because sometimes she said it s hard to stop!....I felt transported.
The light fluid feeling and reprieve from aching muscles was totally unexpected.
I felt more engergised much to my suprise.
The idea I understand is that each session will have an accumulative effect.

I remember here somebody posting about the disadvantages of massage on a lupie immune system.

As my one and only experience was quite suprising..Im wondering if anyone else has tried Shiatsu and what were their outcomes.

Nicky

 

[Raglet]

I've never had a problem with shiatsu or massage - I love it. My muscles respond better to gentle massage as the deeper tissue work makes me go into spasm so less is more for me.

I think this is a very individual thing and recommend trial and error to see which camp you are in.

glad you enjoyed your session

raglet

 

[peonyprincess]

Nicky,

I had a massage about a month ago and was not impressed. I just pushed it off on someone who was not having a good day or just plain wasn't any good. About three years ago, after I had been in the hospital for an extended stay, a friend of mine got me a 30 minute head massage.............oh wow!!! I highly recommend one of them. First off, I love someone to mess with my hair, but to massage the head felt wonderful. Now, what is the difference of Shiatsu?


Nancy

 

[Maia]

The main concern with massage and lupus patients is for those that have thrown clots; there is some concern that massage (and even chiropractic care) can slightly increase the likelihood of throwing a clot by dislodging it.

That's the primary medical concern; it seems quite a mixed bag from people reporting here whether massage was a good thing or bad thing for them. Partly it depends on the person doing the massage, and partly it depends on the person receiving the massage in how it interacts with their symptoms.

Personally, I love massage and feel like it helps me for a very limited period of time (a few hours usually). I've had good ones and bad ones too

 

[nicky00]

Thanks for the replies,

As I seem to have mislaid the leaflet I was given after the session I will try to summarise the principle of shiatzu.

Firstly I remember her saying its also called acupressure, therefore the same kind of idea as acupuncture but without needles.

Im not an 'alternative for alternative sake kind of person and tend to approach anything with open mind but I do like a dollop of something scientific to up hold any theories, generally speaking that is.

The practise of the massage is used on the body in much the same way as if my bodys channels ( meridians) were a hose pipe.
These hose pipes can get blocked or kinked even hence the manipulation movements she used.
The pressure and massage points were gentle to firm with her specifically saying how important it is to 'say if anything is at all uncomforable.
Much like a hose being blocked the movements and pressure she used is to move things along the 'hose pipe.'.

Ever since my lupus really got going I have noticed the sluggishness an changes in the appearance of my skin, the lack of movement and stiffness, the areas in my muscles that feel they are turning into crystalised grit. The lack of mobility, the crunching and grinding of my shoulder joints espically.

The worst thing is my shoulder now locks sometimes ( ok 3 times!) and the pain is just so intense. My neck feels like the bones have been locked into place by the stiffness of whatever is going on in my muscles.

This all waxes and wanes, generally Im a whole lot better.

That afternoon I had the shoulder stiffness and some neck pain, my energy levels were low and tending towards what I describe as a battery wind down.

I would'nt exactly describe on the whole shiatzu as a massage. It was gentle pressured finger pushing, gentle mobilising of my hip arm and leg joints, with some pulling and gentle tugging of my legs and neck.

I have had massages before and although relaxing they did not compare to the fluid, light, lack of stiffness I felt and energy levels after this experience.

Its my birthday soon so I will hopefully get another voucher and try her again.
It was suprising and enlightening.

 

[Raglet]

This just seems so weird to me, and I really wonder how many studies have been done on clots and massage. I searched under sle and massage in pubmed and got zero responses. Then I tried massage and clots and got 7 results, but none of them were about clots after therapeutic massage.

Does anyone have the actual citation of the studies associated with this. I would love to read them, as it really puzzles me.

My psyiotherapist does a combination of massage with a bit of shiatsu thrown in to release locked up muscles in my neck and shoulders. I find it really helpful

thanks guys

raglet

 

[Maia]

I haven't saved the links, but this is from a reputable site I think on chiropractic care and a slight increase in blood clots although I don't see any citations.

http://www.fibromyalgia-symptoms.org/fibromyalgia_chiropractic.html

http://www.quackwatch.org/01QuackeryRelatedTopics/chirostroke.html
contains another link on stroke and chiropractic care and does provide some actual studies on the issue.

Here's one link on the cautions of massage for certain people:

http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_g2603/is_0003/ai_2603000386
and another...

http://lupus.about.com/od/diagnosisandtreatments/a/LupMassTher.htm


There's a lot out there, but it is one of those things that is hard to "study" because of ethics among other things. These statements are not being made based on the gold standard type of study - but retrospective studies and case reports.