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Massage Therapy and Pulmonary Fibrosis.
Some of you may have previously read that I’m having a hard time with sleeping lately. More specifically, it is my sleep initiation that has become problematic; meaning I can’t seem to fall asleep but once I am sleeping I don’t tend to wake up in the night. I am at least thankful for the latter!
I saw my Rheumatologist this past week for a follow up and brought this concern forward. Not really to my surprise, she mentioned that living with a life-threatening illness and sleeping troubles go hand-in-hand. Makes sense to me, especially since my mind rarely seems to settle anymore due to all the swirling thoughts and questions in my head. I’ve tried a number of different suggestions, including various apps, maintaining the same bedtime/wake up routine, turning off screens ahead of bedtime etc. These are all helpful pieces of advice that I’ve read on various platforms online, however, they aren’t particularly effective for me. I’ve also tried melatonin and it works sometimes, but not always. The doctor added a 10mg dose of a medication to my current meds to help with sleep initiation, however, I am a bit hesitant in trying this.
Recently while in another doctor’s office, I saw a poster advertising massage therapy and how it can help with chronic sleep issues. It was from a credible source (The Canadian College of Registered Massage Therapists) so I thought since I have health benefits, I’d give this a try. I always have loved getting massages anyways, but never really consulted a Registered Massage Therapist (RMT) for the purpose of sleep improvement. I am happy to report that last night, I fell asleep without incident and slept 9+ hours straight!
Perhaps this was just a coincidence and my body was overly tired from the lack of sleep this week? I’m not sure, however, if it is even a remote possibility that RMT helped with this sleep improvement then I’d be happy! It also makes my body feel good overall, and helps me feel more relaxed so I don’t see a harm in trying this as a sleep aid before starting to take the new medication the Rheumatologist gave me.
Do you have regular massages, or have you tried them in the past for management of IPF/PF symptoms?
If so, has it been your experience that massage improves your sleep?
I’d love to hear from you!
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2 Replies
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Massage therapy is the ultimate source of relaxation one can get to keep his mind and body relaxed but getting it done through the right set of people is also necessary. This article very accurately describes how pulmonary fibrosis and massage therapy are beneficial for the body but it is also necessary that the people hired for getting your body massaged should have knowledge and skills related to their profession. Hence I recommend going for One Stop Continuing Education since they have a reputation of providing the professional workforce for this job.To know more visit:www.1stopce.com
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Thanks for sharing how beneficial massage therapy is for patients living with pulmonary fibrosis, James! I see a RMT regularly for my body aches, and for an overall systemic response for my body to help with sleep and I absolutely love going. It really provides relief for me as you say! Anyone trained in RMT should have the knowledge/skills to know how a treatment could help those of us living with a lung condition, so going to someone reputable is important.
Thanks for sharing, and hoping people can check out the website you left if they want to. We don’t promote services on the forums typically, but I’ll leave this up as more information sharing for people. If anyone is considering checking out this site, please just note: it is not endorsed by BioNews/Pulmonary Fibrosis News in any way so checking it out is at your own accord.
Thanks,
Charlene
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