Why Massage

There are many differing perspectives, each with its own answer to this question. After many years of working with the chronic and the acute, I am clear about what life is. Simply: Life is intelligently guided motion. With equal simplicity we can say that anything causing decreased motion - or intelligence - is our enemy. Flexibility equals freedom of motion. This is where massage comes in to play.

This has been the Chiropractic perspective since 1895. For that long (and maybe longer), we have realized that if a bone is not having an appropriate range of motion, problems will eventually ensue. The same holds true for our body's softer tissues.

As Above, So Below

Just as our Microcosm is a perfect reflection of our celestial Macrocosm, so one level of our life reflects and mimics another. It wasn't very long after Chiropractors began adjusting bones in the human body that we came to a realization: There is a tremendous amount of soft tissue attached to those hard bones. Further more, that soft tissue, functioning in a less than ideal way, causes those bones to keep going out of place.

It Never Ends

From the birth process onward we undergo stresses which place demands upon our systems. A certain amount of stress can be healthy. But, in the case of excess stress, when our system cannot handle those particular stresses well, it gets overwhelmed. Having overridden our nervous system, these stresses lodge themselves into our tissues and become aberrant memory patterns in our nervous systems. Over time, these stuck patterns build upon one another like layers onto an onion. This progressive onset is how discomfort becomes disease.

All those stresses get stored in our physical bodies, even the ones that are made up of emotions. Even those stresses can cause a muscle to remain too tight. Or, we can end up with a muscle being too weak, which can in turn cause the antagonist muscle to become too tight. Either way, we are talking about imbalances, which effect us in very important ways. (Massage helps to balance muscles.)

An example of how this might happen with emotions: A person having had a crushing experience to their heart level emotions, would have a lot of tears flowing. Then, in an attempt to shut those tears off, that person would have tightened a number of neck muscles, holding them tightly for too long a time. Under those circumstances, it would not be uncommon for some of those muscles to get stuck, to remain too contracted. This is especially the case when the same kind of a stress-response pattern repeats. Then, this typical response can result in a chronic shortening of muscles and subsequent skeletal distortion (pulling bones out of place and pinching nerves).

There can be problems resulting from trauma. A person might have fallen, bruising themselves. That bruise might gel, causing adjacent tissues to stick together. The resulting adhesion will tend to remain in place until someone with skill removes it. And the bad news is that the entire body will compensate and adapt around that adhesion, causing one's posture to shift and other problems develop.

Stress causes myriad problems. The adrenals are our first line of defense against stress. They are the home of our Fight-or-Flight Mechanism. Because of this all-important responsibility, Nature has given the adrenals the ability to profoundly influence our entire body chemistry. (One might read The Stress Of Life by Hans Selye, M.D.) Whereas short-term stress and tension can produce good results for the body, long-term stress and held-tension can and does cause negative impacts in just about every imaginable area of our psychophysiology.

Skin Under The Skin

In particular, stress causes unwanted changes in our fascial system. Fascia could be called the skin under our skin. Our fascia is more richly endowed with nerves than any other part of our body(outside of our brains). Energy and intelligence flows through our fascia. Every muscle is wrapped in its own fascial sheath. One way we get into trouble is when the fascia of one muscle gets stuck to the fascia of another muscle, usually where they cross over. They are supposed to glide smoothly over one another, normally. When they do glide well, our body's physical motion is very fluid and easy, using a minimal amount of energy to move us. Conversely, when muscles get stuck together, they pull against each other, working less efficiently and consuming much more energy. This can happen due to trauma, or it might be the result of changes in our chemistry caused by excessive stress or toxicity. Only massage can help here.

Trauma may be microtrauma or macrotrauma. We don't usually have a problem remembering a major fall or car wreck. But what about the corner of that desk that sticks too far out . . . you know . . . the one we keep running into with our leg. Those insidious microtranmas add up. And, they can really take a toll, causing ridges and wrinkles in our fascia and other soft tissues. Old bruises, bumps, and scars always leave evidence of their history stored in our tissues and our nervous system. They can restrict movement and the flow of energy, blood, and lymph. This will usually cause a buildup and accumulation of toxins in those local areas of the body.

Local tissue changes brought about by the accumulation and lack of dispersal of toxins sets up the beginning of pathology. Added to this are various reflex arcs that the body builds in an attempt to rob Peter to pay Paul.

The four cardinal signs of pathology are also the four stages of the onset of pathology: redness, swelling, heat, and pain. They appear in that order, and they disappear in the reverse order.

Premature Dysmatriculation

This is a fifty-cent word for patient silliness. All too often, patients discontinue care as soon as the pain is gone. Due to our Cradle-To-The-Grave medical brainwashing, we've come to believe The Big Lie: "If you have pain, you're sick. And, if you don't have pain, you're well."

Nothing could be further from the truth. As just said, pain is the first of the four cardinal stages of pathology to depart, if we are having success with care. If one discontinues care at that point in time, then the other three stages are still there, down in the body, beating us up and causing us to become old before our time. "Rust never sleeps!"

Many Kinds Of Skin

Our first skin is our birthday suit. Our second skin is made up of the clothes we wear. Our third skin is the home we build around ourselves. Our fourth skin is the automobile we drive, our most external and visible show of wealth and status. Our first and fourth skins have a lot in common.

Just Like Your Car

The human body is an electrochemical machine. Your automobile is an electrochemical machine. Truth! Both can develop structural problems, requiring realignment. Both systems require proper fuel. Like the automotive system, we have wires (nerves) over which the spark of life passes. We wash and put paint on the exterior of both. We really need our car and body to be in good shape in order to have a pleasant life.

The question is: "How long will your car run if you put poor quality fuel in the fuel tank and never take care of it mechanically?" That's right! Not very long. So then, what makes us think we can be so silly when it comes to taking care of the human body?

Way too many humans just run the body until it drops, and often at excessively high rates of speed. And then, when it comes to a sudden stop, those less than enlightened bystanders throw their hands up into the air and exclaim: "OH MY GOD." As if God is to blame for all stupidity! (Is television destroying our minds?)

Give Unto Caesar

. . . that which is Caesar's. Our auto mechanics are important people in our lives. How about our body's mechanics? We really do need to pay attention to our body's chemistry. What we put in "our tanks" is important. We also need to be correcting all of the deeper body problems.

Stinkin' Thinkin' will always take its toll. If one is SURE the glass is half full, the glass WILL become half-full. The mind is the ultimate creator on a day-to-day basis. Keeping our hearts happy is a big deal. The emotional sphere of life really has a great effect upon us.

Before it's too late, proper attention to our electromechanical mechanisms is a very good idea, too. Breaking up the reflex arcs stored in our soft tissues is of very great importance. Ironing out those ridges and wrinkles in the fascia is a must. Keeping our bodies fluid and flexible is a really big deal. It's not easy, but someone has to do it. That's why God made Massage Therapists!

Of Bones & Nerves

The Chiropractic Profession has been built by paying attention to the relationship between structure and function. On the simplistic level, we may talk about bones moving slightly out of place, becoming fixated, and effecting nerve function in a negative way. That was 1895.

Today, almost everyone has realized that adjusting the spine and removing nerve interference can have a positive - sometimes very wonderful - effect upon bodily function and therefore health. This is no longer new news.

Chiropractic, and its appendage, Alternative Care, have gained an amazing percentage of market share of our disposable health care dollar (for very good reason).

Chiropractic adjustments are great. However, many patients have gotten to the point of being tired of getting the same bones adjusted over and over again. Even patients are beginning to talk about the cause of the subluxation. Again, massage can help us hold our adjustments.

Where On The Food Chain?

Muscles attach to bones, holding them in their proper place. Well, at least they are supposed to do that. Without all of the supporting soft tissues, the bones of our bodies would quickly fall onto the floor in a pile.

The good news is that there is a lot we can do consciously and purposely to improve our lot in life. Yes, we CAN be proactive. A skilled person doing quality massage can help anyone to be healthier and live longer. Getting regular massages is just plain smart!

Therapeutic Touch

Beginning the day we are born, when we are in pain or discomfort, some well-intended person comes along and says: Here, let me rub that for you . . . it'll feel better. Mothers do this instinctively. That is the case IF we are among the lucky ones on Planet Earth.

Since the beginning of time humans have been touching one another. And, as with most things in life, that touch comes to us at varying levels of skill.

On the mundane level of life, if our sweetheart touches us, we cannot help but feel better. It's nice when people pay attention to us. This is therapeutic. In that loving touch, some energy passes to us. Physicians worldwide have observed, especially in the very young, that if we are deprived of human touch for an extended period of time serious negative consequences will occur.

Added to this, there are physiological realities. The human body is made up of tissues. As we've said, some of these tissues are hard, like our bones. Some are soft, like skin. Many are in between these two extremes. In many cases, the massage person can be as helpful as a skilled Chiropractic Physician can. And, working in tandem, they really do make a dynamic duo.

How Do We Cut The Cake?

In closing, the questions we would ask are these: Are you driving a $60,000.00 auto . . . while you're driving a $6,000.00 body? Where do you place your priorities? Think About It! Are you driving a smart car and a not-so-smart body? Does your car move better than you do?