massage, electro muscle stimulation etc.

[peaceandlove]

This is my first post and my mom has als. She lately has gotten one arm that is very swollen(she can't use it and is in a wheelchair as both her legs don't work anymore) and today I did a massage technique on it to help drain the swelling from it and I had a 75% reduction in the swelling in 35 minutes. She was so happy by this as she had been getting quite a bit of pain in the area and of course I was so happy to have helped her.

I do have an interesting question and that is regarding electro-muscle stimulation which is proven to stop muscle wasting in people with limited mobility. My question is does electro muscle stimulation work to prevent muscle wasting in a person with als specifically? Has anyone on this forum given it a try with daily sessions for a month and has it proved therapeutic? I am very seriously interested in doing this to help prevent muscle wasting as much as possible for my mom.

Please respond with your thoughts, experiences.

Thank you,

Pierre

 

[southern lady]

Electrical Stimulation

Twice I have gone thru Vital Stim treatments to strengthen my throat muscles. It has kept me eating & able to swallow even large pills & postponed feeding tube. When they ran swallowing test after treatments, they were estatic. They no one with ALS ever shows improvement, but I was definitely better. My son-in-law deserves the credit. He manages a rehab hospital & had seen it used on strok patients.

 

[peaceandlove]

Ems

Very interesting indeed. Thank you for your post southern lady. I'm very happy to hear you had benefit with the ems.

Thank you,

Pierre

 

[salma]

hi peaceand love

thanks for sharing this interesting tip.. we will get benefit from it. my father is worse day by day, his both arms and legs are swelling and are not working.but pls. you can share me the massage technique process. how you appply masage(oil) i applied electro Accupuncture massage machine but he didnot get any benefit. answer pls.

 

[peaceandlove]

massage technique

To relieve swelling in an arm do the following very gently. Start at the finger tips and gently massage always stroking 360 degrees around the fingers, hand and arm always making the direction of the stroking ultimately up the arm and in the final direction of the shoulder.Use a cream or massage oil. Basically your stroking up and against gravity. One arm takes me a full 45 minutes so it's alot of work but you will be very impressed with the results from before and after 45 minutes. Also really take time to warm up and rub the joints as you go up the arm. The strokes are short and not long especially in the fingers and hand.

Also note that this massage may leave the patient with a slightly sore limb the next day as they aren't used to much stimulation to the area and muscle, tendon getting any movement. I recommend every second day to start and then every day if the patient is ok with it.

God bless and I hope this helps.

Pierre

 

[ljtaylor]

Massage Therapy

To relieve swelling in an arm do the following very gently. Start at the finger tips and gently massage always stroking 360 degrees around the fingers, hand and arm always making the direction of the stroking ultimately up the arm and in the final direction of the shoulder.Use a cream or massage oil. Basically your stroking up and against gravity. One arm takes me a full 45 minutes so it's alot of work but you will be very impressed with the results from before and after 45 minutes. Also really take time to warm up and rub the joints as you go up the arm. The strokes are short and not long especially in the fingers and hand.

Also note that this massage may leave the patient with a slightly sore limb the next day as they aren't used to much stimulation to the area and muscle, tendon getting any movement. I recommend every second day to start and then every day if the patient is ok with it.

God bless and I hope this helps.

Pierre

HI PEACE AND LOVE,

I ALSO HAVE ALS AS YOUR MOM DOES. LAST YEAR I WAS HOSPITALIZIED WITH A SINUS INFECTION AND WHILE THERE I HAD A FEEDING TUBEPUT IN. AFTERWARDS I WAS SENT TO A REHABILITATION HOSPITAL AND THEY USED THE VITAL STIM ON MY THROAT. I WAS SOON ABLE TO EAT MUCH MORE THAN I HAD PREVIOUSLY AND LEFT THE HOSPITAL WITH ONLY USING 1 CAN OF ENSURE A DAY. AFTER A FEW MONTHS WITHOUT HAVING MORE OF THE VITAL STIM I HAD TO GO UP TO 4 CANS DAILY AND HARDLY EATING SOFT FOODS.
I DO EAT YOGURT ONCE A DAY AND ALSO SOMETHING ELSE SOFT. IF I HAD AN OPTION OR PLACE TO KEEP USING THIS TECHNIQUE I WOULD. YOUR MASSAGE THERAPY SOUNDS SO INTERESTING. MY ARMS AND LEGS ARE IN PAIN EVERY DAY. I USUALLY DEAL WITH IT BECAUSE PAIN MEDICATION UPSETS MY STOMACH AND MAKES ME SICK.

BEST WISHES TO YOUR MOM AND OTHERS AND WE EMBARK ON OUR JOURNEY.


LJT