Massage can benefit you if you have fibromyalgia by easing pain and soothing the nervous system. It can also help ease the pain of tension type headaches as well as helping with stress, anxiety and depression. Massage aids relaxation helping you have a deeper and restful sleep which may help your cycle of sleep depravation. Research shows that massage can be helpful to enable people to cope with some of the symptoms.
Myofascial release can be helpful, especially in areas to sensitive for massage, this can be used in combination with massage or as a stand alone treatment. Abdominal massage can help with IBS symptoms and if your body is feeling really sensitive working on your feet with Reflexology can helpful especially for deep relaxation.
Fibromyalgia is a syndrome, a name given to a collection of symptoms, it can occur at any age but most often first strikes in middle age and is more common in women than men. It appears to be triggered by things that are physical or emotional like an injury, an infection or stress.
If you have fibromyaglia you may experience a wide range of symptoms, these can include chronic pain, tenderness, fatigue and sleep disruption. Other common associated symptoms include fatigue, tension headaches, cognitive difficulties ‘brainfog’, irritable bowel syndrome and heightened sensitivity.
Fibromyalgia can also affect people with other medical conditions such as rheumatoid arthritis, ankylosing spondylitis or lupus. This also includes mental health and emotional issues such as anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder and depression.
A key factor is central sensitisation, the sympathetic nervous system, the part of our nervous system that activates the fight, flight or freeze response is in a persistent state of high sensitivity. This results in the spinal cord and brain acting like a faulty amplifier that turns up the volume of any pain signals, pain levels are high even though there is no injury or damage to the bodies tissues. Symptoms can flare up or be in remission and can change frequently. There may also be a heightened sensitivity to touch, sound, smell and light.
Before your first session I’ll do a thorough consultation and then check on your current state of health at the start of each session. Feedback is welcome as what may feel great one week could be uncomfortable another. Very often the effects are subtle, a treatment doesn’t have to be painful or uncomfortable to be effective and less pressure doesn’t mean less benefit! I have worked with people that have fibromyalgia that enjoy reasonable pressure knowing it won’t cause a flare up but in others that could lead to days of discomfort. The frequency of visits is individual and massage can be come a helpful part of your selfcare.
Central sensitisation can lead to heightened sensitivities across all senses including light, sound, smells and temperature. During the session I will check to make sure everything is comfy and It’s fine for you to change position as often as needed if remaining in one postion isn’t comfortable.
Feel free to ask how my treatments could help you, contact me via email or on 07739155807
