Thursday, December 31, 2009

Massage for Health

There are many people that love to get massages because they feel great but they also benefit your health and most people do not know this. Massage therapy and techniques when they are done the right way can decrease your stress levels but also relax your muscles and they can improve your immune system as well. Massages can also help to relive pain in the body and cure headaches. Healing injuries and retaining muscle and joint mobility are also accredited to massages. If you are having any type of problems with these areas and traditional medical procedures are not working for you, talk to your health care provider about the alternative therapy options like massage.

There are different kinds of massages and a professional will usually practice one or two of these. You need to visit someone who can help you with your needs. There are Swedish massages that are focused on relaxation or deep tissue massage and they are focused on loosening muscle tissues up.

Some of the different massages can target certain parts of the body. A Cranio-Sacral massage will focus on your neck, head, and spine to get it working properly in the right alignment again. This will also loosen up the tight muscles in the body. Chi Nei Tsang is one type of massage that will focus on your abdominal organs and help you with your digestive pain or disease. If your joints are giving you the problem, you need to use The Trager Approach. This is a kind of massage that will improve your life when it is done the right way. You can also use them in connection with the Swedish massage or other types to target the problem and relax the whole body.

The other types of massages are going to relax or relieve stress like the Rosen Method. All of the massages should make you feel physically and emotionally better. There are a few types of massage like the deep tissue massage that can be a little painful and should only be used if the doctor recommends it for you. Rolfing is one of these techniques that work to align your tissues the right way and straighten the spine up. Even after this massage, you should feel better and not worse. If your condition gets worse, you need to speak to your doctor and take different measures right away.

The other kinds of massage that may work for you will include the Alexander technique, acupressure, feldenfrais, reflexology, Reiki, and Shiatsu methods. There are different ways to use these techniques and you need to research them a lot before you make an appointment. You can find out information on how to perform the simple massage techniques on yourself to improve your comfort level or you can buy a massage chair for the home or office. Your doctor or massage therapist can help you figure out what is going to be best for you and what your body needs the most.

Monday, December 28, 2009

Magnets

There are alternative health therapies that have increased in popularity in the recent years. People are looking for non-invasive and safer ways of treating pain and illnesses. There are new ideas that are being studied for how well they work and the use of magnets for the relief from pain and different forms of arthritis and other painful illnesses. Studies have shown their effectiveness in different ways and some people believe in the use of magnetic therapy. This option is going to need to be explored and considered if you are dealing with arthritis.

It is said that magnets if they are held against the skin will relax blood vessels and allow more blood to flow to the areas of pain and will stop the pain faster. It is also though that the magnetic field will prevent muscle spasms and will interfere with the nerves reaction to pain. There are skeptics that do not believe that magnets prevent or cure pain but they do affect placebo and you think that you are being cured so you emotionally think that it is true. It is a mind over matter option and skeptics that speak about many different alternative medical treatments associate it.

Magnets might just work for you and you will not know until you give them a try. You can buy them in different shapes and sizes and most of the therapists that promote their use will sell magnetic jewelry, belts, and different straps so that they can be worn on the body at the area that is affected. The prices are going to be different and will be anything from five dollars to the very expensive thousands of dollars. This will depend on the style and size of the magnet. You need to choose a magnet that is strong. It is measured in gausses with a typical refrigerator magnet being around 100 gauss; its strength is too weak to penetrate the skin. 450 gauss is the lowest strength that should be used for medical treatments. Magnets that advance in strength will get more expensive as you go. Stronger magnets will work better so that you may get what you pay for in this case.

When magnets are used for health, they can be put directly over the pain or over the acupuncture point that is associated with the pain. A professional can help you figure out where to place them. Arthritis is the most common type of pain that is healed with magnets. They can also be used for back pain, headache, tennis elbow, and even foot pain. There are many other aches and pains that magnets can help with. You may want to talk to your doctor for more information about the magnetic therapy option and if it right for you.

Sunday, December 27, 2009

Hypnosis

One way to treat an illness or medical condition is hypnosis. The dangers and the benefits that go along with the idea of hypnosis are still under investigation but there are many patients that have had a great success rate with the technique. If you are someone that is suffering from an illness that you think hypnosis could help you to overcome, you should talk to your doctor or another mental health care provider for more information on the subject. There is research that you can do for the hypnotic option and find out what you need to before you make any decision about how it works in the medical world.

Hypnotherapy is a medical type of hypnosis. This can be used to treat different conditions. There are many stereotypical misunderstandings because of Hollywood about the world of hypnosis. The fact is that most hypnotists do not cause their patients to perform funny or embarrassing acts. These hypnotists that travel around doing funny performances are not a good representation of what other hypnotists in the world offer to people in the way of help.

Hypnotherapy is not something that is done on a stage or in the public eye. It is done in a doctor's office. Hypnotism is a natural process and if you have been driving and suddenly found your destination without remembering the drive, you have actually hypnotized yourself. Hypnotism does not cause you to sleep or become unconscious. It does open up your subconscious self to the power of what suggestion can do.

Hypnotism is done with speaking guidance. A licensed professional that will ask the patient to think about certain things does this. The mind will then open up and in a different way and the hypnotist can put suggestions into it. Hypnotism is useful for those patients that are dealing with alcoholism or drug addition or any kind of addiction. A therapist can reach a person's memory at a deeper level when they are in a hypnotized state of mind. It is useful for those patients that have mental disorders as well.

There are some that are easily hypnotized and others that are not. It is not something that will work for everyone. You need to think about this and talk to your family doctor first before you start to see a hypnotist. This needs to be a healthy and good choice for you and your body. Hypnotism should be used when you are searching for the treatments for medical procedures. Many skeptics in the medical field are still using it and many have found it to be successful with hypnotism when other treatments do not work.

Thursday, December 24, 2009

Praying for Health

There are many people that belong to some kind of religion. The fact is that about 95% of Americans believe in God. When a person is sick or in pain, it is very common to pray for health. Many wander does this work? There are studies today that are committed on the accuracy of prayer for health. The alternative to traditional treatments can be used to help a person in both the physical and spiritual aspects of life. Studies are now looking at if prayer can be used in place of other medical procedures or if it is used in connection with the traditional ways.

It is logical to say that prayer can help with your mental conditions. However the belief in a higher power and heaven will give you a more positive outlook on life and your medical progress. Relieving stress in the mind is going to make for better health decisions. The people that pray are going to have a larger support group of others who are also in the religious manner and it will bring a sense of community to the person that is praying. All of these can help improve overall health.

One questions is if prayer can help physically and bring healing to the body? Studies are doing more work in this subject and have split it into three topics. One group received no prayers from a larger group, one received prayers and was told about it and the last had prayers and they were told that they may or may not receive them. This blind type of study was inconclusive. It could not be determined if the patients were praying or if the outside friends and family were praying. It was not possible to control those types of studies.

With many of the different alternative therapy options, advocates will say that it is not going to hurt anything. This is true for sure. Praying does not cost anything and it takes little time. When used with typical medical procedures it can only help with a person's health. The medical field was started in ancient times as a type of religion and with many doctors and the nursing staff as the roles of religious leaders. In the world today, this is not the case and in most hospitals it still employee's members of the clergy to visit the patients if they want.

With the studies being inconclusive, it may be very unproductive to use prayer in place of other medical treatments. You need to discuss this with your doctor and religious leaders so that you have the best course of action for you and your medical problem. If you are using prayers it will make you feel more positive about your condition and you should continue to do this.

Tuesday, December 22, 2009

Alternative Therapy

If you are doing a traditional medical treatment and it is not helping you from your symptoms, you may want to try and alternative form of treatment in its place. These alternative therapy practices are greatly studied and many people are having miracles happening to them. However with the alternative medical world there are different choices for treatment. Choosing a medical treatment plan can be hard and that is why it is important to do so much research. There are many different options that you need to choose from for the right type of alternative therapy.

There are different types of therapy that you need to check out. The most common form of alternative medical choice is chiropractic. Acupuncture and acupressure are also very popular and accepted by many for ways of treating illness and pain. Herbal remedies are taken in place of many medications and so are homeopathic remedies. A detox diet is a great form of medical well being for many who do not want to use the medicines and other items that are prescribed with harmful chemicals and bring on nasty side effects.

There are some types of alternative therapy that do focus on sense of touch. These will include massage, Rolfing, Reiki, and therapeutic touch. There are also different alternative therapy treatments that will involve your other senses. Aromatherapy is going to be brought on by sense of smell; color therapy and light therapy is going to deal with your sense of sight and music therapy will involve your sense of hearing.

If none of the above alternative therapy treatments interest you, there is also the prayer or meditation method. Using yoga, hypnosis, magnetic therapy, polarity therapy, apitherapy, and biofeedback will also be great uses of alternative therapy. There are other types as well and your doctor should know something about each of them. Use this as your guide and start there.

After you have picked your alternative therapy option, you must find a professional for treatment to do the treatment. You need to watch for those that are not certified. Most of the alternative therapy professionals will have certification programs that are done by medical doctors. In many of these instances, practicing without a certification is against the law.

There are certification programs that will help you feel better with your professional. You need to do your research and shop around for the best prices and ask your doctor for a recommendation. Remember word of mouth is always the best type of advertisement. You need to talk to your family, friends and colleagues about the local places to go.

You can also go and read the reviews online and contact the Better Business Bureau for more information. Getting good health care is very important and you need to make the best decisions that you can.

Sunday, December 20, 2009

Reiki the Japanese Cure

There is a very interesting thought out there that states that every person is walking around made up of energy. This is known as Ki in Japan. It is a life force of energy. It is also stated that when a person's body runs low on this life force, it will become easier to get disease, stress and other types of harm. One way to promote more happiness and a healthier way of living, the body will need to be restored with energy.

This is where the alternative therapies such as Reiki will come in. Reiki is known as a Japanese technique that will take away stress and bring health into a person's life through the addition of life force energy.

The meaning of Reiki is made up of two words in Japanese. They are Rei and Ki and Rei will translate into "God's Wisdom" or " the higher Power" and Ki will mean "life force energy." Reiki means, "Spiritually guided life force energy."

It is said upon the idea that the power to control these energy forces and change them in a person is a gift that is given by a higher power. Many of the people that use Reiki do believe that a higher power allowed them to do Reiki. This is not a technique that is said to be religious in any nature. Reiki is not even tied to any religion at all and though it does give many people a better sense of stronger ties to any type of religion that the person believes in. Reiki is not any power on the belief of any one identity or person. It is a natural remedy for disease and emotional problems that will work if someone believes in it or not.

Reiki will work by laying your hands on someone else's body and increasing the life force of energy. When someone learns this practice they will have an unlimited supply of life force energy to give to other people. This may sound like a very difficult procedure but it is really simple. In fact, it is taught to anyone easily whether they are spiritually devoted or not.

If you are considering this technique, you will need to go through a class that is called "attunement." This is where the teacher will pass on the ability to perform Reiki to the students. It is simple and it will not take into consideration how smart the person is or is not.

Reiki has been taught to people of all ages and sizes and it is interesting to you, look it up. Find a Reiki master near you and take the class. It is learned easily and believed by many people as a great stress reliever.