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When the wolf comes knocking....
Jul
30
Written by:
Thursday, July 30, 2009
Then it's lupus. Lupus means wolf in Latin. Some people with lupus have a pattern of circular lesions on their body that were thought to resemble wolf bites long ago. Others have a rash across the nose and cheek areas, known as a butterfly or malar rash, which resembles the facial markings of a wolf. Perhaps the butterfly was too soft an image for this potentially life-threatening disease. On the other hand, some people with lupus have mild symptoms so that may help explain the butterfly connection.
Lupus is an auto-immune disease where your own antibodies attack the healthy cells and tissues in your body. When you have lupus, your body can't discriminate between harmful and healthy things in your body. Basically, the body assaults itself while trying to protect it. Over time chronic inflammation occurs. Sadly, a characteristic of this disease is pain which results from this inflammation. The cause of this disease is not fully known, but research is ongoing.
There are different types of lupus, but the most common form is SLE, systemic lupus erythematosus. Lupus loves women and is common in women of child-bearing age. However, men are certainly not immune. So lupus can affect anyone and the symptoms can vary from individual to individual and from episode to episode.
Is massage an option for those suffering from lupus? Anyone with lupus should talk to their physician first to determine if massage therapy is appropriate for you. Obviously, if you are having an active flare of the disease, massage should be avoided. If you are in remission, then Swedish massage with light or light-medium pressure would be helpful in reducing stress, as well as increasing your circulation. It may be helpful to experiment and start with just 30 minutes of massage to see if this therapy is beneficial. Energy work, such as Reiki, would be an excellent choice if there is a current flare of the disease.
Remember that if you have acute swelling, inflammation, or a high fever, you need to hold off on that massage unless you want some hands off energy work. However, if you are in remission and having some issues with pain, fatigue, or stress, please consider massage to try to help improve your quality of life.
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