1. Identify the problem area.
2. Pick up effective techniques.
3. Choose the right technique.
This scheme allows you to calculate the causes of problems, then to concentrate on their elimination. Do not forget about the symptoms. So, in the event that a person suffers from osteochondrosis, two equally important tasks lie before the masseur: to stimulate the restoration of damaged areas by improving blood supply (rubbing, kneading, etc.), and also to remove or at least reduce pain (stroking). Based on these requirements, and selected massage techniques. Below in the form of tables are some recommendations that can be used to solve typical problems with the spine. It should only be borne in mind that they are of a generalized nature: the body of each person is unique, and therefore these recommendations must be rethought and creatively refined each time. In severe pain, it is recommended to minimize percussion techniques, replacing them by stroking.
Massage with scoliosis
People with scoliosis require special treatment. To avoid dangerous complications, professional masseurs should work with them. Another prerequisite is continuous monitoring by the orthopedist. In the treatment of scoliosis, it is necessary to improve blood and lymph flow, to normalize muscle tone, and to strengthen the muscles of the abdominal and back. Therefore, one massage will be small. Although it is proven and quite effective. The main attention should be paid to stroking movements, which are used at the beginning of the session to relax the mouse and relieve the pain, and also after deep power tricks. Due to this, the blood circulation increases, and edema disappears (if there is one). After the muscle is properly prepared, you need to concentrate your efforts on the compacted areas, massaging them with the pads of the large, index and middle fingers. If necessary, weights are used.
Medications
If you decide to turn to classical methods of treatment, then here still the leading role is played by various medications. So, to relax the muscles using substances related to the muscle relaxants, an important role is also given to analgesics and hypnotic drugs. The last trend with regard to medicines is not to abuse them, strictly limiting the dose, as well as the duration of admission. Otherwise, psychological and physical dependence on the drug may develop, which is highly undesirable. Analgesics used as an analgesic are divided into two groups: non-narcotic and narcotic. The latter are opium derivatives and have numerous side effects, so it is recommended that they be used only as a last resort. As for muscle relaxants (metokarbamol, iiklobenzaprine, etc.), their benefit has been increasingly questioned lately. As shown by medical research, to remove muscle spasms, there is no need to use special means, which also often cause increased drowsiness. To normalize the situation, it is enough to eliminate swelling and inflammation. In this regard, the popularity of muscle relaxants both among doctors and among patients is constantly decreasing. To date, these drugs are prescribed only if the muscle spasms do not stop for a long time.
To eliminate back pain, it is not recommended to dispense with only those drugs that can be purchased at any pharmacy without a prescription. Your goal is not to completely drown out the pain (it will require strong means), but to keep it at such a level that unpleasant feelings do not prevent you from leading a familiar life. This will help you non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (aspirin, ibuprofen, indomethacin and butadione), as well as paracetamol, which along with phenacetin, analgin and some other drugs has a good antipyretic effect. If the pains are particularly strong, then as an alternative to narcotic analgesics it is better to use their composite version represented by such known drugs as pentalginum, citramone, ascofen, etc. Let us compare the three most popular drugs: aspirin (also called acetylsalicylic acid ), paracetamol (other names - acetaminophen, datril, tylenol, panadol) and ibuprofen (other names - ibuprin, nuprin, brufen, medipren, advil). As medical practice shows, ibuprofen has the best anti-inflammatory and anti-edematous effect, and aspirin is out of competition as an analgesic. Paracetamol remains in the third place in both cases.
Despite its effectiveness (and maybe thanks to it), all three drugs have a pronounced side effect. The most common manifestation of this is irritation of the mucous membrane of the stomach and intestines. In this case, you should additionally perform massage and take drugs designed to protect it: cytotech, ecotrin or misoprostol. For the same purpose, it is recommended to take medication immediately after a meal, on a full stomach, or rectally, in the form of candles. In addition, because of taking aspirin, blood coagulability deteriorates, which can lead to large blood loss in injuries. If the simple means freely sold in the pharmacy do not help, the doctor usually prescribes stronger analgesics. However, one must bear in mind that the harm caused by them increases in proportion to the effectiveness of drugs. Thus, the most damaging effect on the intestinal mucosa and stomach is indomethacin, the long-term use of which can lead to the formation of ulcers: phenylbutazone (butadione) is able to affect the bone marrow, etc. Only in extreme cases do doctors resort to strong painkillers like solpadein acetaminophen with codeine). The side effects caused by its use can be very serious and varied: from dizziness and nausea to poor eyesight and difficulty concentrating. In the most severe case, there may even be a physical dependence (do not forget that codeine is one of the drugs). Among the drugs used to treat back pain and perform a massage, a special group is hormonal drugs - corticosteroids (cortisone, prednisone and some others). Side effects of these drugs has its own characteristics. Often many people experience increased appetite and associated weight gain, weakening of immunity, and the appearance of hair where they have not previously been. In addition, changes in the psyche may occur: insomnia, increased nervousness, unreasonable mood swings, etc. Partly, these negative consequences can be compensated if you take hormonal medications every other day. Still, corticosteroids are considered an "extreme remedy", which is used only when all other methods of treatment are ineffective. For some time, cortisone injections were very popular, in which this drug was injected directly into the intervertebral disc tissue to relieve inflammation. The effectiveness of these procedures is still in question. In addition, their opponents argue that such an intervention can disrupt the normal structure of the joint and thereby aggravate the problem.
Special tools
Medications are an important, but not the only, remedy for back disease. Many of us have seen in life or at least on the television screen special rigid collars that help securely fix the damaged neck. Those who suffer from back pain are often asked: will not they be helped by a similar device if placed in the waist region? On the issue of supporting corsets and belts, there are two opposite points of view. Supporters of these devices believe that their use helps the back to restore their mobility faster, without forcing the person to experience unnecessary tortures. Their opponents argue that the use of such devices acts on the patients discouragingly: instead of performing therapeutic gymnastics, they hope for this support, and the muscles of the spine in the meantime degrade even more. Most often, two types of devices are used to support the back. A portable support that complements the back of that piece of furniture on which you sit, and thereby helps you maintain a correct posture. So, the simplest version is the lumbar bolsters, which are made of a porous and extremely light material and are placed under the waist. The portable support can also look like a special attachment, which exactly repeats the outlines of the lower part of your back (different materials can be used to make such additional backs, they can also be inflatable).
Supports for the neck and head, as well as the spine can have different shapes, as a rule, they resemble ordinary kinds of pillows, equipped with cunning orthopedic devices. Such devices are convenient to use if you want to sleep in an airplane, car or bus. Another device that still excites the minds of many people suffering from back pain is the so-called weightlift belt. Looking at professional athletes who put them on every exit to the platform to protect the waist, some automatically come to the conclusion about the benefits of such adaptations. Meanwhile, scientific data is not so unambiguous: numerous studies conducted on this issue, could not prove that belts weightlifters in fact significantly reduce the load on the lower back. As you know, the disease is much easier to prevent than to treat it later. The most important preventive tool for treating the spine is a good mattress. Choosing this seemingly simple subject, it is not enough to read on the label words like "orthopedic", "contributing to the preservation of a correct posture", etc. It is better to pay attention to objective indicators, primarily - to the stiffness of the mattress: the higher it is, the more useful it will be for your back. The value also has a packing type. Optimal options are natural materials such as coir (coconut fiber), horse hair, seaweed, etc. For those people who are forced to travel frequently or simply like traveling, a portable folding board will be very convenient and useful. Putting it under any mattress, you can safely sleep on it without fear of resumption of pain in the back. Among motorists, a very common problem is neck injuries. In this regard, many of them have doubts about the effectiveness of those poles, which are equipped with seat backs in cars. According to the rules (and contrary to popular belief), such a support should be located not at the neck level, but directly behind the head. If in your car this requirement is not observed, be sure to make the necessary adjustments by adjusting the height of the support for yourself. Now we know how to do a back and spinal massage.