Rheumatoid Arthritis

[refinej721]

Hey Guys.....
I need some advice on R. A. My father has R.A.in his right hand. I want to help him. How would I go about treating his hand?

Any help is much appreciated.

Thank you...
Mark

 

[Kyrix]

There is increasing evidence for an antibiotic treatment of RA.

Dr. Mercola also discusses dietary changes, especially limiting sugar.

http://www.mercola.com/2000/aug/27/rheumatoid_arthritis.htm

http://www.drmirkin.com/archive/7013.html

http://www.drmirkin.com/joints/J106.htm

 

[Mat G]

I have clients with Rheumatoid Arthritis. They differ in age, health, muscle tension and massage goals. I don't believe there is one method of massage more effective than others, but massage overall is helpful, because it helps relieve pain, increase flexibility, improve joint range of motion, lower stress hormones and increase endorphins.

During the subacute phase (no areas actively swollen), I massage them the same as other clients (according to their specific goals and needs). When they are in an acute phase (for example, when one hand is hot, red, puffy and swollen to twice its normal size) I completely avoid the swollen areas, but provide gentler massage to the rest of the body. Pathology professionals vary on their advice for massage in the acute phase. Some say that massage is completely contraindicated body-wide; others say that only the swollen areas are contraindicated. I consulted with doctors in my area, and they advocated massage, so long as swollen areas were avoided, so that's what I've chosen to do.

Here's a website with some pretty thorough information on Rheumatoid Arthritis, including conventional and alternative treatments. It's not massage-focused, but packed with other information:
http://www.umm.edu/altmed/ConsConditions/RheumatoidArthritiscc.html

 

[GeltBesepap]

thanks for the great link and experience.. this is a subject dear to me as i've just taken on another RA client.

she's seeing such a difference with *consistent* treatments. i include reflexology as well as EOs with her sessions. nothing too strong or "heavy" . i'm finding that the more gentle i am with her body, the greater the result.

good luck!
amanda

 

[Sue C]

I've had a few clients with and good results with very light to moderate work of the affected areas during the "better times" and not acute phases as well.

The clients I have worked on with this can pretty much tell you how much pressure they can handle -- I have one who is young (40's) and she can take more pressure than some of my older (78) clients -- but the results seem to be the same. I also don't work the area for very long and do use subtle ROM (range of motion). 5 mins. max.

 

[xSoni]

I pretty much ditto everything everyone has already said. You want to make sure that you don't use too much pressure during "Flare Ups." I would definitly be careful with any kind of heat therapy. And anytime I have a client come to me who has RA I refer them to local Yoga practioners. It seems that Yoga is very helpful, because RA can get worse with stress and poor circulation. Hooray for Yoga!