Massage Therapy for Lou Gehrig's disease

Massage can help Lou Gehrig’s disease

Lou Gehrig’s Disease (also known as Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis or ALS) is a progressive and fatal neurological disorder which attacks the nerves cells (motor neurons) of the brain and spinal cord. Motor neurons connect the brain with the skeletal muscles. As the motor neurons degenerate (shrink and disappear), the muscles under their control become smaller, weaken (they no longer receive signals to move) and waste away. Lou Gehrig’s Disease victims become disabled, have difficulty in communicating, swallowing and are prone to infections (pneumonia). This disease paralyses only the voluntary muscles hence people suffering from this disease can often take control of their five senses, bowel and bladder movement. It also does not impair a person's mind, personality, intelligence, or memory.

Lou Gehrig’s Disease is rarely found amongst kids. It affects people between the ages of 40 to 70, and is more common in men than women. It is not contagious and can affect people of all races and ethnic backgrounds. Patients usually require ventilation and surgery to make a new opening in the stomach (gastrostomy). The cause of death is due to loss of respiratory function. The most common form of Lou Gehrig’s Disease is known as "sporadic" as it can affect anyone at anytime; though in some cases, this disease can be hereditary.

The exact cause of Lou Gehrig’s Disease is unknown. Symptoms are tripping, dropping things, slurred and nasal speech, muscle cramps, muscle stiffness and twitches, unintentional periods of laughing or crying, weakness of muscles affecting arms and legs, difficulty in chewing, swallowing, dressing, washing and buttoning clothes.

There is no way to completely cure or prevent Lou Gehrig’s Disease. However medicines, rehabilitation techniques and physical therapy can control symptoms and special equipments like wheelchair, braces, walker and ventilator can be used for relieving the discomforts.
 Non-drug therapies or supportive therapies such as ‘massage’ can be used for the sore or cramping muscles thereby providing relief from muscle pain and cramps. Chinese acupuncture formulas such as partial massage is recommended for muscle stiffness.

Researches and clinical studies have shown that therapeutic massage is done after wet cell appliance. It concentrates on the spinal areas starting at the toes and proceeds upwards, comprising all extremities. The sciatic centre, the lumbar axis, and the brachial centre should be especially concentrated on, using a mixture of olive oil, peanut oil, and lanolin. Moderate passive ranges of motion can keep muscles and joints from getting stiff. Massage strokes can also enhance the blood supply into to muscle and decelerate muscle atrophy to a certain extent. However, if muscles are too atrophied, a hand, foot and scalp massage can also make the patient comfortable.

Any disease can cause stress and a massage therapy can be used to reduce stress as it decreases the quantity of cortisol (stress hormone) in the body. Other researches have shown that Swedish massage or Esalen massage also works well on people suffering from with Lou Gehrig’s Disease.

If the physician approves, a good massage therapist can improve the quality of the patient‘s life and provide assistance for caregivers too.