Psoriatic arthritis is a chronic skin condition that causes inflammation of the skin and joints. It is quite common, resulting in patchy, scaly and red areas of skin. The areas that mostly get affected by it are the elbows, knees, near the navel and genital area and the scalp.

People who are already suffering from psoriasis have a higher tendency of ending up with psoriatic arthritis. The symptoms that one may go through are a mixture of both illnesses of the skin and joints.

There is no gender difference found between the occurrence of this illness, as both women and men have a fair chance of ending up with it. People who are in their thirties to fifties have a higher probability of acquiring it. Furthermore, the symptoms may be high in intensity for some, while much lower for the rest.

The awareness about its symptoms is quite important, as the more the person would be informed about it, the sooner he or she will be able to take steps for treating it. If the illness is not provided care and not treated on time, the condition may worsen making it even more difficult on the person.

The most common symptoms include the affect of psoriatic arthritis over the fingers and toes of a person. Rough, scaly and dry rashes start taking place on areas of the body such as the knees and elbows.

The patient may usually feel quite uneasy due to the swelling up that occurs at the wrist, ankles, knees, toes and fingers. This causes severe pain, acting as a barrier in the person’s normal functioning. At times the swelling up of the fingers is measured up to the size of sausages. In addition, scales that are in the color of silver or gray also form over the skin.

Such a person may go through pain also in the buttocks and lower back, with the nails getting chipped off, and badly affected. Morning stiffness related to the joints is also experienced, contributing to the factor of low levels of energy and fatigue.

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Has anyone asked you how your Quadratus Lumborum was doing today? I doubt your bodyworker/massage therapist ever mentioned it in passing. Well, here is some information you should know. It arises by aponeurotic fibers from the iliolumbar ligament and the adjacent portion of the iliac crest for about 5cm., and is inserted into the lower border of the last 12th rib for about half its length, and by four small tendons into the aponeurosis of the four transverse processes of the lumbar vertabrae

So what does this all mean? Well, I guarantee you that if a knowledgeable therapist presses on the origins and insertions, you will probably experience some pain. What are its actions? It laterally flexes the lumbar vertebrae, really the side of the body, and creates a little bit of extension in the lower back. I have heard statistics that 65% of all back pain can be traced to the imbalances the Quadratus lumborum muscle. If I were looking for course in my quest for continuing education as a massage therapist, I would certainly search out a teacher who would inform me about how to deal with and balance the quadratus lumborum and its attachments to lumbar vertebrae and 12th rib. If there are imbalances there, they are placing pressure on the disc, if there’s pressure on the disc, there is pressure on the nerve root, if there’s pressure on the nerve root, than there is going to be a diminished signal and more than likely ischemic tissue and PAIN.

If I were looking for a massage continuing education course, I would certainly look for a teacher who would inform me about the mechanics of rebalancing the quadratus lumborum and its attachments. If these attachments are imbalanced, it will put pressure on the disc; if there’s pressure on the disc, we can assume that there will be pressure on the nerve root; if there’s pressure on the nerve root there will be a diminished signal and we will experience ischemic tissue and pain!

I have never met a serious golfer that did not deal with a lower back discomfort and in some cases debilitating back pain. It’s a very easy technique to apply when the patient is in a prone position or in the side lying posture, where you can also deal with a tensor fascia lata muscle and the IT band.

As I’ve mentioned in my previous articles, if you are searching for continuing education as a massage therapist, it is extremely important to learn how to deal with the painful conditions that your client’s bring to your massage practice. In my next article I will discuss this psoas muscle and its relationship to the quadratus lumborum. If you learn in a continuing education course the nine muscular secrets to back pain, your continuing education will be a success, and so will you as a massage therapist.

Looking to find the best deal on lower back pain, then visit www.lyonsinstitute.com to find the best advice on massage continuing education for you.

categories: massage therapy, pain, physical therapy, continuing education, health, alternative health, wellness, arthritis, healthcare, alternative health care

Gravity is a constant force on the body if we like it or not. Every day that you get out of bed, the pull of gravity is acting as a stressor on your body. It pulls on the joints, the ligaments, the muscles, tendons, organs…every part of your body. As we get a little older this stress starts to take its toll on the body, especially the joints. One name that we put on the consequences of this stress is arthritis.

As we get into our later years it is important to give our bodies a fighting chance against gravity. One way we can do this is to maintain proper alignment in the bones and joints of our spine. Improper alignment or poor mobility (like not being able to turn your head) can create pain, weakness and even instability in the body.

In my practice I see many “Baby Boomers” who waited until it was too late to take care of a “gravitational” problem. In the absence of too much degeneration I help my patients achieve proper alignment and mobility in their body so they can live life the way it was meant to, pain free!

Think about the body like a car for a moment. When the alignment of your wheels become “misaligned” it begin to put wear and tear on your tires right? The same is true for the human body. If your spine is “misaligned” it puts wear and tear on YOU! You way to see if this is going on in your body is to look at your wheelsI mean your shoes. All joking aside, your shoes act much like wheels on your car. They provide a rubber barrier between you and the ground. Looking at the bottom of your shoes, is there any wear on one side or the other of your shoe? Wear and tear in a shoe should be equal from side to side, and any imbalance in this wear can mean imbalance in your spine.

Did you find wear on the bottom of your shoe? If you did then you are a prime candidate to be evaluated by your Bellevue chiropractor to asses for “misalignment”.

Are you considering chiropractic care? Go to www.bellevuechiropractorblog.com and take our “10 ways to know” quiz.

categories: Baby Boomers,health,pain,pain relief,Bellevue chiropractor,chiropractor,chiropractic,ageing,arthritis,wellness,fitness

Polimialgia reumatica and giant cell arteritis (GCA) are both overlapping inflammatory rheumatic diseases whose causes have not been identified. They share some clinical features and happen in adults over the age of 50 years old. In the United States of America and the United Kingdom it is estimated the annual incidence of GCA is 188 to 220 cases per one million people. For polimialgia reumatica the annual incidence varies from 120-1120 per million depending on the country of choice.

Giant cell arterits on average is an easier diagnosis to come to than polimialgia reumatica. A painful new type of headache is the most tell tale sign of gca. Blood testing will often show elevated erythrocyte sedimentation rate and high C-reactive protein levels. Something that must be noted is a consequence of GCA that is visual loss, which unfortunately occurs in fifteen percent of all cases. For this reason GCA is treated as a rheumatologic emergency. Other symptoms that may be experienced include tingling of the tongue or lips which results from decreased blood to the head from inflamed blood vessels. Upon further testing it can be found that half of GCA sufferers have their main arteries also inflamed throughout the body.

Pain and stiffness of the shoulders, neck and hips are the hallmark features of polimialgia reumatica. Approximately one third of sufferers will also have weight loss, depression and slight fever. The condition has no known cause and can develop very rapidly overnight or over a few days. The symptoms are experienced in the muscles which will make movements of the joints painful and stiff. It can be experienced on both sides of the body. Because it mimics a range of neurological, hormonal and endocrine disorders the final diagnosis often takes some time.

Polimialgia reumatica and GCA are both commonly treated with corticosteroids. With the desired treatment regime achieving as low a dose as possible as soon as can be done. Because of the fear of drug toxicity it is desirable to achieve the lowest dose that will still provide maximum symptomatic relief. At this present time there is no best method to achieve this other than a little experimentation on the patient. It is common for a high or medium dose to be initially given then see how the patient responds then lower the dose and continue to carefully monitor the patient.

About half of polimialgia reumatica sufferers and 1/3rd of GCA sufferers will have a reappearance of their symptoms within the first year of treatment when their medication is lowered. This is associated with lowering medication below seven and a half mg per day.

In conjunction with a medical approach some sufferers of polimialgia reumatica have benefit from lifestyle and dietary changes and nutritional supplements. Trying to reduce the amount of stress in your life and promoting a calm and relaxing mind can benefit some individuals. Improving your diet and decreasing the amount of processed foods that you eat and increasing the amount of fresh fruit and vegetables can only be beneficial to helping your body cope with both these disorders. Also the addition of natural supplements that are aimed at reducing inflammation can help.

More information on how to solve polymyalgia symptoms is available from Peter Alexis’ website which is packed with tips and help on polymyalgia treatment.

There are a lot of different kinds of arthritis shoulder pain. The shoulder is a complicated part of the body, and it is subjected to lots of different wear and tear over the course of a person’s life. As people get older, injuries that happened to the shoulder while younger can manifest in the form of arthritis. This can cause pain, a narrower range of motion, the inability to do normal everyday things like throw a ball, and a more limited lifestyle overall.

Just because the doctor calls a shoulder injury arthritis does not mean that the rest of the body is suddenly going to be subjected to arthritis also. It also does not mean that surgery is going to be required. When discussing the situation with a doctor, arthroscopic shoulder surgery as well as shoulder joint replacement are always an option, but it is certainly worth it to look for alternatives.

A cortisone shot with a long needle will sometimes provide relief for a while, but it does not do anything to repair the underlying injury. If one hopes to avoid surgery as well as shots that only give temporary relief, other alternatives can be looked at.

After a person has been diagnosed with arthritis of the shoulder, many orthopedists recommend physical therapy to delay or eliminate the need for surgery. The orthopedic doctors, however, do not provide the physical therapy themselves. It is up to the patient to locate the resources that will give them the opportunity to avoid the costly shoulder surgery. The same thing is the case for people that are looking for rotator cuff rehab or have other problems with their shoulders.

One can do these shoulder pain exercises by oneself, without the assistance of a professional physical therapist. Specific stretches and exercises that are designed to limber up and strengthen all the muscles and tendons around the shoulder should be done regularly. As soon as this program is done, if the pain is still there, then additional evaluation by a healthcare professional is appropriate.

More information on rotator cuff rehab and arthritis shoulder pain.