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One Response to 'Does massage chair will help ease Parkinson’s Disease?'

1. Mags - July 14th, 2010 at 10:34 pm

   You are correct about the sudoku being a good brain exercise for all people. It is actually supposed to be more effective than crossword puzzles (which I love) in getting those brain synapses working.

   Since there are eventually cognition problems with Parkinson’s disease, this is a good “mental push-up.”

   The massage chair is another issue. While a massage chair will help you to relax and relieve stress, it is not the same thing as the varieties of Medical Massage which target far mor than relaxation.

   Medical Massage for Parkinson’s disease can take several forms or modalities. A medical massage, properly done, can help in several ways. It can reduce pain perception – it can actually help to reduce pain by helping to reduce spasms and contracture which cause pain. It can relieve tension in sore mucsles. It can break up muscle knots allowing for greater range of motion.It can help relieve constipation which plagues so many people with Parkinson’s.

   Properly conducted massage can increase both dopamine and serontonin levels which are diminished by PD. It can help the body to a less disturbed sleep. The list goes on.

   A properly trained and certified massage therapist can work the soft tissues, the muscles, connective tissue, tendons, ligaments, joints and lymphatic vessels in the torso, arms, legs and even the face.

   You are correct that a massage chair would be less expensive than regularly scheduled sessions with a massage therapist BUT the chair will eventually break down without ever having achieved the results of hands-on therapy. Most PwPs discontinue massage therapy because of the expense.

   Sometimes a person can find a massage therapy school nearby and become a patient there for about half the price. For the cost of a good chair, you could be a patient for at least a year. For the cost of a great chair you could be massaged for at least two years. Double those figures if you can find a good massage school. (And at the end of that time the warranty on the chair will have expired.)

   Although you may read about some patients who stop the massage because of pain, I suspect that what they should have done was to find another therapist who was sensitive to the demands of various diseases and medical conditions and knew that they should not cause inflammation. I also suspect that some of those massagers were not actually certified.

   I love the feeling of a good massage chair but I don’t have PD. My husband does have Parkinson’s. I can tell you that he much prefers his weekly massage – which we can barely afford – wishes he could go twice a week – and has been helped a great deal. After more than 1 1/4 years, the muscle knots are beginning to release which means less rigidity. His range of motion has improved.

   In defense of the chair, relaxation from the chair might be excellent for a PwP with sleep issues. Good for a relaxing nap. Good for feeling relaxed.

   I’m just beginning to learn more about massage but I do know a bit about the massage chairs and massage pads. And now I am going to add a link to some reviews. It appears that there is more choice now than a few years ago, including chairs which claim to be able to sense/detect stiffness. So if you are willing to spend between $4,000 and $6,000 USD, you might be able to find a chair that would help PD to some extent. Note that there have been some repair issues and the warranties are fairly short.

   Just remember that no chair is going to be able to do a disease specific massage the way a medical masseuse can. While the chair can soothe, tap, vibrate it cannot gently pull and knead out those knots.

   All that said, I have just read some reports by a PD patient who purchased rebuilt “Human Touch Massage Chairs” for less than $1,500 USD and swears by it. The chair was effective in easing toe pain and calf cramping – not uncommon symptoms in PD.

   One good thing about the chair is that you only need to be home with the chair – you don’t need an appointment – you can use it whenever you have the time. Just don’t overdo it.

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