I'm headed to get a 90 minute massage. I love my massage therapist and he's very responsive to whatever my needs are regarding aches and pains. Do any of you get regular massage and are there any techniques that your massage therapists use that are really helpful to you?
I was getting a weekly massage until my most recent flare. I found i did not want to be touched and my favorite masseuse has moved away. Lamb had written a post about those of us with the spondylitis type of PsA have to be very careful not to worsen the inflammation in the spine. Since I was flaring anyway I decided to take a break. Do you have spondylitis Jane? Is it helping? My masseuse did 2 types of massage cranial/sacral and light Swedish. Neither were deep tissue.
I don't have spondylitis. I friend of mine gave me a gift card for a local massage place, and I have yet to make an appt. Thanks for the reminder to make an appointment. I'll be having a discussion about joint issues, but I'm looking forward to it.
I don’t think I have spondylitis but my spine certainly is a favorite flare target. I’ve had back issues all my life due to a malformation–essentially I have no outwards curvature in my upper back and it is not flexible. I look like I have awesome posture but the unfortunate effect is that the immobility puts a LOT of extra strain on the neck and low spine.
I got my neck for worked on a lot tonight. Also, the tendon attaching that band of muscle that crosses the base of your skull above the nape of your neck has been a royal pain for months. Sometimes it is so inflamed I can’t lay my head on a pillow and I have to sleep sitting up. Anyway, I had him work on that for quite a while.
I’ve seen my guy for ages and since my PsA diagnosis and since the disease has been far more active massages aren’t as much fun. One upside is that I get to know EVERY last ache, sore spot, tense tendon or hidden pocket of swelling (my glutes were so unexpectedly sore!!!).
I only rolled the dice and went with a strong massage because this morning my rheumatologist got back to me and I’m on a 20/15/10/5mg twenty day prednisone course because of reacting oddly to my second dose of Humira (brought on psoriasis in places I’ve never had it). So, I figured if it caused me to flare I’d already be on the steroids!
I guess you could always just go in for one of those fancy hot stone type dealios. You know, they don’t do much but you come out smelling good and feeling warm and oily!
michael in vermont said:
Lamb had written a post about those of us with the spondylitis type of PsA have to be very careful not to worsen the inflammation in the spine.
I have only ever had one massage and it wonderful! We have a hot tub and I have been using for the past few mornings and it feels great! Unfortunately it's out in the open so I tend to only use it when it's not raining and on the west coast it rains a lot this time of the year. We are planning on building a shelter over it so we can utilize it more.
I get weekly massages and love it. It is my time, and is a real pleasure/pain experience for me. In Aus. there are these Chinese massage places popping up everywhere where they use their elbows to massage you so it is a quite vigorous massage.
Ultimately I still have the same aches and pains after, but my muscles are a little less tight, and it just feels so nice at the time that i will continue to treat myself.
I credit my masseuse with keeping me sane over the last 2 years. In fact I had my fortnightly massage only this afternoon. My masseuse uses every technique in the book, and is never the same twice. She just responds to where she can feel I need to be loosened. I tried 5 different masseuses before I lucked onto this lady, these others felt like nothing more than a frog doing a tap dance. I even tried Miofacial (sp?) which was seriously voodoo rubbish. I did try Bowen and has some good responses, but it was only short lived and rarely lasted me for more than 1 or 2 days. My massages seem to keep me going for generally a fortnight. I am not saying I go in there and listen to the pan pipes and the candlelight and drift off to la la land, I am generally cursing a swearing like a sailor, and calling her all the names under the sun, but come home hot shower and always have a few good nights sleep. I guess like anything, you need to look around until you find something that works for you and then stick to it. Good luck Michael
Hi and thanks. I am fully onboard with your statement (below). Since my diagnosis there's a lot less mmmm and a lot more aaarrggghhh during the process. But, as you say. it helps for a few days. Had a couple of red marks on my IT band this morning but that was about all. No bruises.
Becstar said:
I am not saying I go in there and listen to the pan pipes and the candlelight and drift off to la la land, I am generally cursing a swearing like a sailor, and calling her all the names under the sun,
Hi and thanks for your response. We have a hot tub outside , too, and it isn't covered either. Our solution is a ball cap! I haven't been in it much in the mornings because my fatigue has been really acute lately and I just can't seem to get up early enough. And sometimes in the evening the heat of the day hasn't left the air so it still feels a little too balmy for a soak. I'm ready for the winter months, though. Our tub was installed in April so I've been waiting patiently for those cooler temperatures to get my money's worth.
TaraLynn said:
We have a hot tub and I have been using for the past few mornings and it feels great!
Thanks, Jazzy. Yeah--It feels good after although the "during" part can be kind of ouchy at times. It certainly release a LOT of junk from my body and I drank gallons of water after and still weighed in 2 1/2lbs lighter this morning than yesterday morning. I'm a little leery of anything too extreme but my guy is smart about using your own body parts to massage deep inside your joints. He'll move my arms to get into my shoulders and move my legs around to get access to the hips and glutes. He told me he'll be leaving town at Christmas. What's a gal to do?
Jazzy said:
Ultimately I still have the same aches and pains after, but my muscles are a little less tight, and it just feels so nice at the time that i will continue to treat myself.
:-) Thought about taking an umbrella out there a few times so we can keep our towels dry but then the wind would probably blow it away.
We use ours year round, we turn it down in the summer and go in later in the evening when it's cooled off. It never really get's hot here and we always have a breeze from the ocean.
janeatiu said:
Hi and thanks for your response. We have a hot tub outside , too, and it isn't covered either. Our solution is a ball cap! I haven't been in it much in the mornings because my fatigue has been really acute lately and I just can't seem to get up early enough. And sometimes in the evening the heat of the day hasn't left the air so it still feels a little too balmy for a soak. I'm ready for the winter months, though. Our tub was installed in April so I've been waiting patiently for those cooler temperatures to get my money's worth.
TaraLynn said:We have a hot tub and I have been using for the past few mornings and it feels great!
So here's our latest thing...we're having a box built out of cedar to match the surround for the hot tub. 1/3 of the tub will be to store things for the tub (you know, tubes and chemicals and stuff--and my handy sieve to scoop things that fall out of the tree while we're soaking). Anyway, the other 2/3rds will be for towels and we're going to put heat tape in it to keep our towels warm. Oh yeah! Quick alternative is to put a small cooler outside and before you go out heat up a warming pack in the microwave. Put the pack in the middle of your towels in the cooler and close the lid. Instant dry towel toastiness when you get out, rain or shine.
TaraLynn said:
:-) Thought about taking an umbrella out there a few times so we can keep our towels dry but then the wind would probably blow it away.
We use ours year round, we turn it down in the summer and go in later in the evening when it's cooled off. It never really get's hot here and we always have a breeze from the ocean.
Love the cooler idea! I have some wonderful microwaveable bean bags that will work well for keeping them warm!
janeatiu said:
So here's our latest thing...we're having a box built out of cedar to match the surround for the hot tub. 1/3 of the tub will be to store things for the tub (you know, tubes and chemicals and stuff--and my handy sieve to scoop things that fall out of the tree while we're soaking). Anyway, the other 2/3rds will be for towels and we're going to put heat tape in it to keep our towels warm. Oh yeah! Quick alternative is to put a small cooler outside and before you go out heat up a warming pack in the microwave. Put the pack in the middle of your towels in the cooler and close the lid. Instant dry towel toastiness when you get out, rain or shine.
TaraLynn said::-) Thought about taking an umbrella out there a few times so we can keep our towels dry but then the wind would probably blow it away.
We use ours year round, we turn it down in the summer and go in later in the evening when it's cooled off. It never really get's hot here and we always have a breeze from the ocean.
I had my first flare of PsA after my first massage in a very long time. That said, I used to LOVE deep tissue massage. My husband regularly gives me my massages now, and they are much lighter, but that’s okay because I am much more sensitive. A light touch feels just as good now.