SELF MASSAGE FOR CARPAL TUNNEL SYNDROME

So, the bit you've all been waiting for...how to treat the immediate pain!

Remember from a previous diagram where the sternocleidomastoidal (SCM) muscle is? Attaches collarbone nobble in the centre, and then right behind the ear. Well, the (front) anterior scalene is right underneath this muscle against the neck vertebrae . To do this, grip the SCM between your fingers and thumb, then let go with your thumb and with your fingers pull the entire SCM toward the windpipe. This allows you to get access to the anterior (front) scalene. Press in hard against the vertebrae and slide - skin and all - approx 1 inch towards the side of the neck. Repeat this movement all the way up the SCM to the ear. You will not experience pain unless you hit a trigger point which can be extremely painful. When finding a trigger point repeat the process on that point up to six times.








The middle scalenes are located on the side of the neck without being hidden under other muscles. So, without the grabbing part mentioned for the anterior scalenes (ie. just using the slide with fingers) start at the base and move up the neck. You can come back 6 - 8 times during the day and repeat the process. Each time will be easing and retraining these muscles. If you cannot change the cause of the stress to your scalenes (eg. teaching, painting or coughing) then this may need to become a life habit you incorporate into your daily routines.









The (back) posterior scalenes are found not on the neck but, rather on the shoulder.  From the front, stick two fingers into the depression where the trapezius muscle attaches to the collarbone. Push down and move towards your throat keeping parallel to the collarbone. Once again the movement is only for approx 1 inch and should move skin and all. The boneiness you feel under your fingers is the top surface of your first rib. The posterior scalene is the primary place for trigger points.







To do this massage successfully your finger nails need to be cut and filed as short as possible, preferably to the quick. These muscles are among some of the most difficult to find and treat, but any massage you give them is highly beneficial. It may be advantageous for you to find a remedial massage therapist who can guide you. Having experienced it once you'll then be able to self-massage more effectively.

Feel free to ask any questions. Or just let me know how this goes for you.
Grateful for the opportunity to share with you.







Diagrams taken from "The Trigger Point Therapy Workbook" by Claire Davies

CARPAL TUNNEL SYNDROME...PART 2

So, why do our scalenes give us problems?

Although the scalenes help stabilize and flex the neck, their main job is to raise the upper two ribs when you inhale. They normally work pretty hard and constant, however,...

~ if you breathe from the upper chest rather than from the diaphragm, have a bad cough, asthma, emphysema, or even just a common cold, it puts a lots of extra stress on these muscles.
~ Falling prey to anxiety causes the tightening of the diaphragm that makes one breathe from the upper chest.
~Raising the arms for long periods, or carrying loads that are too heavy creates stress that, overtime, can cause our scalenes to shorten and develop trigger points - contraction knots in the muscle fibres.

~Car accidents or a fall often give us whiplash. This violent movement creates lots of havoc for scalenes.
~Forward head posture created by slouching, or sitting in front of a computer for too long (I am pulling mine back as we speak)

Step 1 in healing your scalenes is to determine why your scalenes are giving you 'grief'. Then you can look for ways to change your habits and, thus, reduce the cause and burden they must continually endure.

Step 2. Coming tomorrow :)










Trigger Point diagram taken from "The Trigger Point Therapy Workbook" by Claire Davies

Carpal Tunnel Syndrome

What is Carpal Tunnel Syndrome?
The carpal bones are found in the wrist, along with ligaments and fibrous tissues keeping them all together. Through the middle is a tunnel through which the median nerve and several tendons pass. If this tunnel becomes swollen then pressure is brought to bear on the enclosed nerves and tendons.

Numbness and tingling in the hands is the most common sign of carpal tunnel syndrome as these are signs of nerve compression. In dealing with carpal tunnel syndrome, the carpal tunnel is not usually the originating source of the problem, but rather a secondary. Thus when surgery is performed on the carpal tunnel, the symptoms are reduced but the cause is not gone and so symptoms flares up elsewhere.
The best place to start is with the thoracic outlet at the base of the neck. The size of the thoracic outlet is shortened when 'trigger points' - a contracted knot in the muscle fibres - shortens the scalene muscles. These muscles are located in the front of the neck and aid us, primarily, in breathing. When shortened they raise the first rib up against the collarbone and thus constrict on the nerves and blood vessels that pass through them, which causes numbness and tingling in the hands and fingers. Other muscles throughout the shoulder, upper arm and forearm can also compress on the nerves and blood vessels causing, or adding to, the numbness and tingling. But let's start with the Scalenes... they are a primary offender!

Does this sound like your pain patterns? 

If so, please let me know so that I can give you some things you can do to start relieving it yourself.

Symptoms diagram taken from "The Trigger Point Therapy Workbook" by Clair Davies

Morning Stretches

This is an excellent technique for staying in bed for an extra five minutes!

After a night in bed with reasonably no movement we do our muscles the greatest service if we gently stretch them before rising. Your cat and dog do it after napping in the sun, so why not us? It helps to get the blood moving and lengthen out the tight bits which all aids in the prevention of injuries.
So here goes...

Our aim is to start at the toes and work our way up the body to the head. All stretching should be held for the count of 20 and done to a point of tension but not pain. Better to take it slowly rather than to tear a cold muscle. By doing it everyday you will discover over time that you are actually stretching further and further, but without injury.

Pull your toes back as far as possible and then down as far as possible, finally circling round and round in both directions to stretch your ankles and calf muscles.

Using the sheet stretch your hamstring. If you experience any pain in the lower back then raise the other knee rather than having the leg extended flat on the bed. The further towards your toes that the sheet pulls from will increase the stretch into the calf and feet muscles. Good length of hamstring muscles is to be able to have the leg vertical.

Next we stretch our glute muscles (big muscles in our backside) by crossing one leg over the knee of the other leg. Then raise the supporting knee and bring towards your chest as far as you are able. Be careful not to arch your back or your neck. This is a small movement stretch rather than a large all-the-way-to-your-chest stretch.

The last big muscles in our leg are the quads in the front of the thigh. Lying on your side, reach back and grab your ankle and pull towards your backside. The aim is to have ankle and backside touch with your body in a straight line. The 'pull' should be felt in the front of the thigh.



Cross your ankles right over left then take your ankles to the left. Taking your right arm above your head reach over to the left and feel a gentle stretch down your right side. Repeat this process for the left side.

Rolling out of bed onto the floor, kneel on the right knee and place left foot out in front forming right angle. Push forward through hips feeling a stretch to the upper thigh in the front and often into the front of the hip as well. Repeat for the opposite side.







Now just like your cat or dog we need to stretch the spine and attached muscles, so get on all fours and arch the back both rounded up and down.

The upper body requires a good stretch, so begin by stretching your arms back as far as possible so as to stretch your pecs which are across the front of your chest. This stretch will particularly be felt around the front of the shoulder joint and outside front of the chest.

Our final stretch is to our neck. Holding our shoulders down and back turn your head as far as possible in both directions aiming to get the shoulder vertically over your shoulder. Go back to head straight up and forward. Lastly take your ear to your shoulder on both sides.

Although this may seem like quite a few stretches to remember, the sequence will come very quickly after a few days and your muscles will be beginning to give a sigh of relief. So don't give up...you'll be looking forward to that extra five minutes you can honestly crib.
ENJOY!

Angular Cheilitis (cracked corners of the mouth)

A very painful condition! Every time you open the mouth to speak, eat, or drink it bites you, but nothing beats the pain when you smile...that is one sure way to turn your smile upside down :(.

SO WHAT CAUSES THESE CRACKS TO THE CORNERS OF YOUR MOUTH.

There are four main causes: -
1) Iron deficiency - Iron deficiency is generally a lack in the diet of foods that enable the haemoglobin to function well. Symptoms are usually very tired, lacking energy and an aching in your muscles even while resting. Red meats and dark green leafy vegetables contain the most iron. Never underestimate those dark green leafies!
2) Candidiasis - Candida Albicans is a 'bug' that lives on all of our skin. Normally it lives in balance with our bodies, yet occassionally our immune system is not coping well and the Candida can run rampant. Where ever we have a cut or nick tothe skin it will enter and cause infection. If you have a scab to the cuts around your mouth Candida Albicans needs to be addressed.
3) Malnutrition - We need lots of minerals and vitamins everyday. If we don't eat enough min/vits daily then our body uses its' stores. If we eat a lot of 'empty' (empty of minerals and vitamins) food then our body quickly becomes depleted as it uses what we have, not only to function, but also to deal with the empty food and remove the toxins that we just ate.
4) Glucagonoma - A rare type of endocrine pancreatic tumour. One of the symptoms can be cracked corners of the mouth with swelling of the lips and a brownish rash around the edges. If you suspect this then see a doctor or health care professional.

SO WHAT TO DO...

1) FLUSH OUT -DRINK WATER...help the body to flush out the accumulated toxins from the 'empty' diet. At least two litres per day.

2) ELIMINATE THE BAD - Lay off the processed foods, grains, sugars and alcohol. Processed foods (virtually everything that comes in a packaged form from plastic, to box, to can or jar) contains not much good of anything. Grains, sugars and alcohol all work the same where our body turns them into simple sugars. Too many simple sugars inflame the bodies systems causing inflammatory responses. Candida Albicans (and other bugs) then get the OK to have a party and multiply rapidly. Eventually their host (your body) is all done in.

3) PUT IN - Eat fruit and vegetables, especially those DARK GREEN LEAFIES. Natural is always best, but sometimes a multi vitamin containing lots of B vits is needed for the immediate. Try the liquid Floradix if your blood type is A (available from supermarkets and health food stores). Or even better is the Neways mineral/vitamin programme (contact me for details) for all blood types.

4)DEAL WITH SYMPTOMS - Keep the cuts in the corner of your mouth dry. Try drinking from a straw or at least use a napkin to dry after eating and drinking. Avoid lip balms/lipsticks until healing has occurred. Apply a dab of baking soda (Sodium Bicarbonate) and watch it disappear. Baking Soda is an alkaliser and thus when the ph of the affected area is changed  healing occurs. Dis-ease only occurs in an acid environment.

Hope this information helps. I'm interested to hear how your condition improves.

Vitamin C

WOW! So many functions in the body require vitamin C to function well. How about this for a quick list?

.Powerful ANTIOXIDANT ~ with every deep breath we take, we ingest approximately one million free radicals...scary! (Free radicals are by-products of every bodily 'function'). However, give the body some building tools like vitamin C and it gets straight to work to heal itself...now that's amazing!
Vitamin C is readily absorbed by the intestines and then goes to all the watery components of tissues in the body. Considering that the human body is composed of approximately 60% water, that means vitamin C goes most everywhere in our bodies. So the blood, fluid inside the cells and surrounding (interstitual) fluids, all require vitamin C to stay clean. Vitamin C protects cells from free-radical damage, even to preventing the proliferation of cancerous cells. As we have over 100 trillion cells in the human body, it behoves us to protect them well.
In fact, vitamin C is such a powerful antioxidant tool for the body that it is essential in treating many CANCERS as it is actually toxic to most cancer cells. It is also toxic to viruses, bacteria and other such harmful cells. Not only is it toxic to these harmful cells but vitamin C stimulates our bodies own IMMUNE SYSTEM into action.
Vitamin C and a healthy HEART ~ vitamin C reduces the stiffness of arteries and the tendency of platelets to clump together. When taken with vitamin E, it helps to prevent the build up of plaque in coronary arteries. The body needs vitamin C to produce nitric oxide which is required for the dilation of blood vessels. When blood vessels are dilated it prevents spasms in the arteries and thus heart attacks. Any dysfunction of cells is reversed in the cells lining the blood vessels when adequate vitamin C is available to the body. For those concerned about STROKES, making sure that you have enough vitamin C can reduce the possibility by approximately 40%. There are many studies showing that taking vitamin C after a stroke helps to heal the areas affected.
COLLAGEN ~ Collagen constitutes 30% of our body and is found in approximately 90% of the body. That makes it a reasonably important component! In order to produce this collagen the body requires vitamin C. All muscles (the human body has over 600), connective tissues and blood vessels are made with collagen. In order to repair and maintain cartilage, bones (206 in the body) and teeth, vitamin C is needed. Thus, ARTHRITIS, GUM DISEASE, and the like, need vitamin C in order to heal. Maybe, they are caused, in part, by the lack of enough vitamin C in our diets.
For the HEALING OF WOUNDS in our body, it is essential that we have adequate vitamin C. Recurring infections suggest a lack of this vital vitamin. Furunculosis (recurring BOILS) can be due to a 'malfunction' of the white blood cells, which is once again corrected when giving the body vitamin C to work with.
More and more people are suffering with DIABETES. One of the nasty side-effects is the damage diabetes does to the eyes, nerves and kidneys. However, with vitamin C all of these can be helped. In fact, vitamin C can help greatly in the prevention of CATARACTS.


WOW! That's one very impacting vitamin! That means the skeletal system, muscular system, immune system, cardiovascular system, endocrine system, nervous system, reproductive system, digestive, urinary and excretory systems are all impacted by vitamin C. When you consider all of this, and the fact that the RDU is only 60mg, which is just enough to keep scurvy away, you can see how we are probably severely depriving ourselves of this valuable building block.
I hear you say that you are eating fruit and vegetables, which is wonderful, truly, but a piece of fruit has it's highest vitamin C content just as it is about to fall off the tree. The fruit we get from supermarkets is picked green and then ripened with gas making it very deficient in vitamin C and other 'goodies'. Our soils are so depleted due to overuse, pesticides, chemicals, etc., that our fruit and veg are again deficient. Add to this mix all our stresses and pollutants and it is no wonder we are becoming so diseased.
 Fruit and vegetable are good sources for natural vitamin C. The body will happily use supplements as well and does not seem to be too picky. In saying that, vitamin C obtained from rose hips seems to have a better impact.
Our bodies are designed to heal themselves. They are miraculous! Let's give them what they need to function well.
So, how much vitamin C should we be taking? Every person, being an individual, will have a differing amount required. But if you have any of the above symptoms then your body is already lacking and needs help. Between 3000-4000mg of vitamin C per day would be great to start with. Vitamin C is one of those great vitamins that we cannot overdose on, as the body daily eliminates what it does not need. Some people may even need more while they are healing. Remember too, that it takes time for the body to heal all 100 trillion of those cells, but heal it, it will, given time and the right ingredients.

Office Stretches

For all those who sit at desks for hours at a time, I have a few stretches for you to do that will make the world of difference to your body.

See, our bodies where never designed to stay in one position for hours at a time. This causes our muscles to 'seize'. Muscles where designed to shorten and lengthen continuously and in many and varied positions. Any one thing done to excess will cause problems eventually...there must be balance!
Over extended periods of time sitting at our desks, muscles stay in the shorter or longer position (usually in a hunched over posture with head forward). This hunching comes from the shortening of the chest Pectorial muscles, especially as arms are usually in a forward position working keyboards or working on the material in front of you. As these muscles shorten, the Rhomboids and Lattisimus Dorsi on the back, are becoming stretched. Abdominals are normally compromised as most of us do not sit up straight and engage them at the desk. Lower backs have to take the slack of the un-engaged abdominals. Hip flexors (in the front of the hip and attached to the upper thigh) shorten, as do the quads in the front of the thigh. Hamstrings in the back become weak as do the Glutes in the buttocks. Even the muscles in the lower leg are compromised depending on how you habitually sit.
Repetitious actions like using the mouse or even pushing a pen for hours will cause knots to form in the muscles of the hand, wrist and forearm. Pain may become noticeable in the Scapula (shoulder blade). The further over you 'hunch' the further forward the head drops causing huge strain to the neck muscles. This can lead to pain between the shoulder blades, nasty headaches and impingement of nerves causing pins and needles right down to the fingertips.
As if that is not bad enough, it is actually getting worse on the cellular level. While all of the above is happening, the blood and lymph are not being pushed through the muscle tissue and individual cells. Adequate oxygen and nutrients are not being delivered , and in turn toxic waste is not being removed as it should be. Without the right food nothing functions well.

Definitely get up and move around when ever you can, but when you can't...
Take five minutes to run through these stretches at your desk and your body will thank you for it.
Hold each stretch for approximately 20 seconds easing gently into the stretch to a point of 'comfortable discomfort'- Pain is not the destination!




#1 Place your ankle across your knee - arms forward leaning over the crossed leg easing into stretch of the lower back and glut. Hold stretch then repeat for other leg.






#2 With both feet flat on the floor shoulder width apart, bend forward reaching your arms towards the floor and hold.  This stretch is for the waist and lower back area.

#3 Sit forward in the chair with both feet flat on the floor shoulder width apart. Take your right hand to the left hand arm rest and the left arm behind to the back of the chair. Hold and repeat for other side. This movement is designed to stretch the obliques on the far side, the mid back and the chest area.











#4 Sitting upright and forward in the chair with feet flat on the floor shoulder width apart, raise your arms above your head. Grab your left arm with your right hand and pull it towards the right. As you bend over feel the stretch from the shoulder joint down the left hand side of your body. Hold for 20 seconds and repeat on the other side.

#5 Stand in front of the chair and place your hands on the top of your hips towards the backbone. Lean gently backwards gaining a stretch to the upper buttocks, across the chest and often into the front of the hips. Some may even find a stretch to the upper abs.







#6 Sitting on the front of the chair, extend your legs in front with heels on the floor and toes pulled back towards you. Lean forward towards toes stretching calf muscles, hamstrings, gluteous muscles and even lower back.

At only 20 seconds each, these stretches do not take a long time, but the rewards are immense. With continuous application all of the above results can be reversed. You do not have to live in pain just because you work at a desk all day...you really don't! But you do have to put in just a little bit of continuous effort...just five minutes each day...that's all!
If you want some extra help with pain or bad posture, then your massage therapist/physiotherapist/osteopath should be able to help you. These people know muscles. Elongating muscles, removing trigger points, strengthening muscles...these are all things they can help you with.
So, begin today by stretching a little. Get your office co-workers to join in for a little fun. It's great to give each other encouragement and support (even if it is to groan together!).





Stay motivated and enjoy!