There are no cures for lupus, but there are treatments that can help manage a life style with lupus. The treatment depends on your symptoms to see what medications you may be able to take. Current treatments focus on improving quality of life through controlling symptoms and minimizing flare ups. Early treatment and diagnosis can help manage symptoms to decrease severe damage to organs. Medications are based on individual needs because lupus is not the same for everyone. The treatment plan you and your doctor developed to fit your needs should be reviewed often to be sure it is working. You should report symptoms if any changes has occurred to your doctor right away so that treatment can be changed if needed. The goals of a treatment …show more content…
One of the most common symptoms of the disease lupus is inflammation. Inflammation is a process by which the body's white blood cells and substances they produce protect us from infection with foreign organisms, such as bacteria and viruses” (webmd.com). Infection is caused by a bacteria, virus or fungus while inflammation is the body's response to it when we find swelling our immediate reaction is to try to bring it down. Massage therapy can reduce the amount of inflammation a person has, in that way reducing the amount of pain experienced. Massage therapy can be beneficial and therapeutic to those with chronic joint and muscle pain due to lupus. Massage therapy releases endorphins, which are the body's natural pain relievers. Massage can improve circulation and help relieve joint stiffness. Nonetheless, if you have a severe case of lupus, or lupus primarily affecting the skin, then you may want to avoid intense massage that can lead to bruising or even bleeding. Massage therapy can also relieve muscular tension that may be radiating pain. According to the American Massage Therapy Association (AMTA) those with lupus should avoid massage therapy modalities that increase inflammation. Contraindications means massage therapy is not …show more content…
Knowing what hurts, and if there is any organ dysfunction that would contraindicate massage. Clients are likely going to be on medications checking with their physician regarding the use of massage therapy is a good idea. “Ruth Herold, owner of Ruth’s Massage Therapy in Staten Island, New York, worked on a friend who had lupus, along with a few other medical conditions. In the beginning, Herold had a difficult time convincing her friend that massage therapy may be able to help with some of her more troublesome symptoms, like joint and muscle pain, and stress. Herold did what every massage therapist working with clients who are dealing with disease and in chronic pain should do: she accepted where the client was in the process. “I didn’t push her to try massage,” she says. “Rather, I waited until she asked me to help her because her neck, back and shoulders hurt.” Letting the client call the shots is particularly important here, as chronic pain often isn’t only manifested physically. These clients may have emotional responses to pain that cause them to withdraw, as well as behavioral responses that lead to differences in function and mobility. So, even if you know massage therapy can help with symptoms your client is experiencing, if they’re not ready, respect that feeling” (amtamassage.org). Herold did help maintain a client-therapist