Is it necessary for a learning process to be entertaining?

 A little bit about everything

 

Sometimes an accidental encounter explodes in your mind, assembling events, concepts, and memories in one logical chain that to you seems utterly natural and true.  At the same time, the non-uniform nature of the components makes it a challenge to place them in one coherent narrative.  Still, I feel compelled to do it in this post.

Should the learning process be entertaining?

 

Not long ago, I had a discussion with the member of the students of science of massage institute, with whom I share the same learning habits. That is if the presented material is complex, I won’t shy away from re-reading it or re-watching watching video materials numerous times.

This is my “modus operandi” when it comes to studying. It always worked, is working for me today, and it seems like it is working for him as well. We have to understand the subject to the level of what I am calling a sense of touch,” to see with our hands what eyes cannot see.”

One of the statements of our on-line exchange was the following:” Massage therapy is not rocket science.  At the same time, I’m positive that many great rocket scientists, cannot learn massage. They just naturally not born to be massage therapists.”

After I made this post, I received a call from a good friend of mine, graduated from my school 25 years ago. He is a talented marketer, holds an MBA degree, and, at the same time, is a talented massage therapist. Actually his “day job” is being a marketing director, the head of the department of a big corporation. At the same time, when time permits, he does massage, which he passionately loves.

He told me that nowadays if after five minutes of reading, or a few seconds of watching instructional material, people interest is not triggered while they involve only a very superficial mental effort, they lose interest and take flight.

I started laughing and told him that I hear the same opinion from other educators. That is if you are not going to catch the audience’s attention in the first five minutes of the discussion they lose interest in the video.

I shared, that it sounded like nowadays people massively suffer from attention deficit disorder. He was laughing with me as well.

To be serious, I don’t believe this type of attitude exhibited in professional instructional fields. Maybe it applied when reading” professional literature” that makes no sense whatsoever. In such a case I am losing the interest. However, usually, I am not looking to be entertained.  Instead, I am expecting a knowledgeable professional, who teaches not from a book only but shares a treatment room experience.

A massage educator must be clinically very experienced. Before teaching certain protocols, an educator must perform hundreds if not thousands of them in the treatment room. The technique of an amateur, who is doing the protocol first time and the technique of a professional who spent hundreds of hours doing it differs in a myriad of important details that might not even be noticeable at a lazy glance. I am not excluding the possibility of some individuals having an exceptional memory or superior intelligence who as a result might need less reading times to understand.  However, in my experience, for the rest of us, in order to understand an educator to the “a sense of touch” level, we must read the material or watch the video numerous times.

The process of learning is far from being linear. One might look at the same line many times and then, suddenly, experience the surge of understanding.  In my view, if somebody passionately wants to learn how to help suffering people, one must have the desire to learn and put out the mental effort that is much beyond a superficial glance, must prepare themselves to reread as many times as needed.

Probably it is difficult to become a great rocket scientist, without the ability to read professional materials, as many times as needed for understanding, hours and sometimes days, months, or maybe years. Only some people are born to become rocket scientists, and some are born to become massage therapists. Therefore we would learn as much as it is required to learn whether these are theoretical concepts or hands-on applications to ensure our future clinical success.

Medical massage is not rocket science, but a very powerful methodology of treatment.

My friend agreed with me but added with some bitterness:” Nowadays we live in different world, in times of the overall different mentality, but that’s how it is. If you are an educator, you have to consider yourself to be an entertainer as well.

Friends, I trust this fellow was right, and if it’s possible to teach an old dog new tricks, I would try to learn how to be an entertainer as well.

To be serious, I believe that some of us are naturally born to be massage therapists.

To be naturally born to become massage therapists means to be born with a gift, with a talent. Still a talent only means a potential. A talent, must be developed. I can claim that I was naturally born to become a massage therapist, but throughout my entire career, I somehow knew, that in regards to developments of skills and the ability to achieve rapid and sustained results, the sky is the limit.

Bronchial asthma

 

In my previous blog, “A professor of medicine didn’t ask for references” I told you, about me having an opportunity to work at the research facility.

There, besides the cardiologist, I also work with another professor of medicine who is a pulmonologist.

As always the principal investigators, keeping his cards closed. It is difficult to know what the subject of their research is. He assigns different tasks to different groups, each of which brings the data to principal investigators for analysis.

I believe soon I will know a bit more. Once I assess the outcome data, after my treatment. At this point, I am just having fun.

This pulmonologist told me that by all means, it looks like my treatment could be very beneficial for treatments of bronchial asthma. I responded that in 1976, Dr. Lominaga, researched and proposed the protocols for bronchial asthma. Thus, when I have the opportunity to treat bronchial asthma patients, I usually succeed. In America, I had numerous documented cases, when after receiving my treatments, and providing monthly maintenance treatment, people live normal life, without inhalers and steroids.

The pulmonologist asked me if it would be possible to evaluate these patients. I contacted my patients, and he interviewed them by phone. Three days later, I saw them at the research facility. The pulmonologist also requested to interview me.

He asked me whether during the first experiments in the facility, prior to implementing techniques for acetylcholine techniques, I included the acceleration of lymph drainage techniques, and if so then why?

I answered affirmatively and briefly explained to him the claim of the Russian scientist involved in the developments of acetylcholine release techniques.

From my article  “Can massage techniques be equated with remedies?”

I also asked him, if granted a person accumulated a lot of metabolic waste, I won’t perform detoxification techniques, but only use techniques to release acetylcholine, would it positively affect blood supply volume at the capillary network. He said yes, for a short time. Then I inferred “In such a case as you describe, detoxification is must be done.” His answer was yes.

Then the pulmonologist asked me whether the acceleration of lymph drainage/detoxification techniques was included in treatments of the documented cases of bronchial asthma?

My answer was also affirmative. Many if not all bronchial asthma patients developed lymphedema and lymph drainage/detoxification techniques are very powerful in reducing lymphedemas.

He then told me that he re-read my article http://medicalmassage-edu.com/pre-event-sports-massage-against-covid-19/  and directed me to the following sentence from the article conclusions:” The major contributor to dominating anticholinergic, is the accumulation of toxic metabolic waste. In order to counterbalance this negative process detoxification procedure must be performed.”

He suggested that although I used lymph drainage/detoxification protocols for the reduction of lymphedemas, they also played a significant role in achieving sustainable results for the treatment of bronchial asthma.

Then he added that he was planning to purchase my DVD where I teach acceleration of lymphatic drainage techniques. He recommended producing a DVD where that would address teaching massage protocol for bronchial asthma. He added

“I believe this is your moral obligation to teach it.”

I pondered on what he said so straightforwardly and yet with a good share of hidden depth. With all the amiability expressed toward me, he didn’t imply that I need to promote my DVDs for gainful purposes.

He meant something else. Every person eventually becomes a champion of his profession. Their very thinking pattern becomes shaped by what they encounter in their daily struggle to excel in the profession. In the case of massage therapists, this becomes a daily struggle to help people to feel better.  Thus, being more than 45 years in the field, my mind, without even my conscious guidance, accumulated a large body of theoretical and practical knowledge, that exists almost independently of who I am as a person. In a way, my brain was borrowed as storage of this universally useful knowledge.

Given that knowledge cannot magically transfer from the storage in a teacher’s head to heads of students, both of those participants of an educational process must exert effort in insuring this transfer.  A teacher by providing an educational narrative and recording it in understandable media while a student by exerting an intellectual effort while studying the material, which often involves reading or watching it over several times.

My thoughts made me smile and I told him that besides manual acceleration of lymphatic drainage, the DVD#5,offers the protocol for bronchial asthma.

Surprised he said:” What a coincidence! It must have been meant to be this way.”

I explained to him that at the time of bronchial asthma treatment, I performed detoxification procedure, without the understanding of its importance, but simply from my personal experience; if not to perform bronchial drainage techniques, the results won’t come fast enough. The incorporation of bronchial drainage techniques often causes almost immediate improvement to a clinical picture.

He has asked me to explain and to demonstrate bronchial drainage techniques and I did.

These great scientists and clinicians requested me to try implementing this protocol in his presence. Thus we tried it. The experiment proves all that I was saying. I expressed the desire to continue experiments on bronchial asthma patients as I have an idea for a comprehensive experimental protocol. We would get a lot of answers and I am completing recommendations for IRB application.

As I mentioned at the beginning of this post, the conversation with my friend student triggered the thought process in my mind that lined up some events and concepts in one connected logical chain.  All starting from entertaining the modern audience as an important part of the modern educational process and their lack of attention and effort to concentrate, to the conversation with the professor pulmonologist about asthma massage protocols and his request for me to spread the knowledge.  I guess what gave the energy to these chains of thoughts was the sad realization that acquisition of real knowledge cannot be sustained at a minimum effort and requires its due diligence.

Conclusions

1.     I was blessed to meet great scientists and clinicians and I was flattered when a professor of medicine told me that I am having a moral obligation to produce instructional DVDs for bronchial asthma message protocol.  This sounds unusual here in the US, but it was typical for my old country, where many MDs, Ph.Ds.and professors of medicine would have to believe in and have a passion for massage therapy.

2.     An interesting point. I asked him why he believes that it is my moral responsibility to produce these DVDs. He replied that it would be wrong if an unexperienced practitioner, the one who didn’t perform hundreds of treatments would teach simply for the purpose of making money. “People won’t learn anything,” he said. I immediately referred him to this link http://medicalmassage-edu.com/massage-books-

He said:” This is very impressive, and what you’ve described necessary qualities for an educator, is absolutely correct. Then he added:” Regrettably lately in my fields, people often write papers, analyzing experiences of other clinicians, and not sharing their own experiences. Internet damages clinical minds. Demagoguery and offering of multiple references, just confusing young MDs.”

3. I believe these scientist’s research is related to cardiothoracic diseases, including the effect on the electrophysiology of the heart. I am not stupid.  LOL. Soon I will know more.

4. If you read my articles carefully and maybe reread them, you would see that diseases and disorders /dysfunctions of organs and systems lead to negative chain reactions that demand multiple approaches, implementing different massage protocols. A comprehensive holistic view on the human body, its functions, and dysfunctions, evidently demands multidisciplinary, medical massage approach.

We are naturally born to be massage therapists, to practice an extremely powerful methodology of treatment.

5. The first two days working at the research facility I felt great. I didn’t even feel the discomfort of having pandemic protective equipment on. This equipment is quite unusual, similar to an astronaut costume. Today when the original excitement subsided it was much more difficult to do physical work while having this stuff on. I would have to get used to it.

My hat is off for the large group of young women and men who are working all day long caring this stuff.

Today I complained, and they told me not to worry, I would get used to it. I hope so.

6. Massage therapy is not rocket science. At the same time, I’m positive that many great rocket scientists, cannot learn massage. They are not naturally born to be massage therapists.

Attention:

For example, I always start reading a research paper, from applied methods. Then I move to the abstract, and at this moment am deciding if I have the interest to continue to invest my time.

When I’m reading professional articles by my colleagues, I am starting to read from the conclusions and summaries. I do not believe, that we massively suffer from the attention deficit. It just so much information out there, that it pushing guys to lose attention after a few seconds. Therefore I recommend starting reading my article, from the conclusions and summary. My friend and student, I have mentioned above, encouraged me to address and to advise on this subject. I’m not naturally born entertainer but considering myself naturally born massage therapist and educator.

Summary

For many decades, I have successfully performed 1000s  of different medical/sports massage protocols. As you understood from my articles, I knew a lot about what my hands are doing. For example, the physiological effect of massage on the human body is crystal clear to me.

I succeed in developing a sense of touch, which is to understand the theoretical concept, to do level of imagination, to see with your hands, what eyes cannot see. However, have rediscovered a much more extended chain of positive reactions.

One can come across new discoveries and new understandings that are not going to change the way they perform the massage. In our field, the clinical proof is what matters most.

However additional understanding empowers human factor/energy healer, as well as new understanding, suggests to incorporate techniques into the protocols I never before included. These additional techniques allowed me to achieve results faster, as well as contributed to the sustainability of the results.

I do re-read my articles and highly recommended them to follow my advice. Rereading my articles helps me to empower understanding, which is crucial in our business. It is impossible to advance hands-on skills without deep understanding.

I am being responsible while reading articles of my colleagues and am not shying away from rereading them as many times as necessary for a complete understanding.  Learning is nonlinear and you never know when the spike of new understanding might flash through your mind.  I even find it helpful, at times, re-read my own articles and compare what I knew at the moment of writing with and what I know today.

I highly recommend doing this due diligence while reading professional literature in relation to the articles written by my colleagues and in relation to reading my own articles. Rereading helps to empower understanding, which is crucial in our business. It is impossible to advance hands-on skills without deep understanding.

Practitioners, who took my sports massage classes, and/or bronchial asthma and bronchial drainage classes, or maybe learned from my DVD#5 and DVD#7, can recognize that I am doing the same protocols for both disorders.BTW, DVD#5 has developed 25 years ago DVD#7 has developed 23 years ago. Nothing changed, today, only I am incorporating acetylcholine release techniques in every medical massage protocol, as well as incorporating lymph drainage techniques/detoxification practically in any protocols.

In my practice, I always dedicate every fifth procedure to the full-body acceleration of lymph drainage techniques and taught this to my students. Today I know the important details.

From my original article.

I also asked him, if granted a person accumulated a lot of metabolic waste, I won’t perform detoxification techniques, but only use techniques to release acetylcholine, would it positively affect blood supply volume at the capillary network. He said yes, for a short time. Then I inferred “In such a case as you describe, detoxification is must be done.” His answer was yes.

From my original article

The major contributor to the domination of anticholinergic the accumulation of toxic metabolic waste. In order to counterbalance this negative process detoxification procedure must be performed.

 

A professor of medicine didn’t ask for references.

A few days after I published the article “Can massage techniques be equated with remedies?”, I receive a call from a cardiologist, whom I already knew for some time. He asked me if he can forward the link to my article to a friend of his who is a professor of medicine, double board-certified cardiologists, Ph.D., at one of the local medical schools. He added that the professor was a great guy, who is conducting research on passage time, and who probably would have a genuine interest in discussing with me the topic presented in my article.

Why would I mind?

In about one hour, I have received an e-mail from that professor and I would like to share a part of it with you.

“…very fascinating stuff. The fascinating questions, to me, includes whether it can be proven that releasing acetylcholine increases capillary flow. It is known that it increases local nitric oxide release, so maybe this is the mechanism. Parasympathetic nerve activity can be measured systemically, but I need to learn more about it. We can measure sympathetic activity from skin electrodes, maybe there can be a connection. Lots of good questions and a lot to learn.”

Isn’t it “fascinating” when a professor of medicine – a very experienced cardiologist – writes that he has ”lots of good questions” and needs “a lot to learn.”

The same very day, after receiving this e-mail, we talked on the phone. As I pointed it out earlier, he found the information stated in my article fascinating. For me, it also was equally fascinating listening to the professor of medicine, who is ready to learn.

I felt energized from the thought that a professor of medicine found massage therapy worthy of learning from it.

However, I had to hold myself from getting too excited. Lately, I provided the support in concussion research, in essential hypertension research, was promised that I would be directly involved in research “massage in post-concussions rehabilitation.” I was promised a lot, but not much of it came through.

I was audacious enough to tell the professor, that according to findings by Russian scientists, suppress anticholinergic agents. Consequently, these techniques release of acetylcholine and increases local nitric oxide release.

At the same time, suppressing anticholinergic allows normalization of parasympathetic function, which is conducting impulses to smooth muscles, additionally to function to antagonize sympathetic activities.

There was a moment of gripping silence. He asked me to repeat all that I said. While I was repeating he was murmuring: ”fascinating.” Then being a real clinician and a scientist, he asked if I could prove this clinically.

I answered that most likely I could.  Using these techniques for many years, I successfully implemented them while performing pre-event sports massage. The release of acetylcholine techniques is “must-do” if one is attempting to increase the reaction of muscular functions.

I told the professor that in the days of my schooling we learned to perform pre-event sports massage, in the stimulatory regime, making sure not to suppress too many sympathetic activities. I didn’t remember, that the release of acetylcholine techniques actually suppresses anticholinergic agents, increases the capacity of the capillary network, at the same time contributes to the balancing of autonomic activities. Only recently I found this out from the Russian scientist, who used to be a member of the research group.

The professor told me about his own health problem and expressed a desire to receive my treatment. At the same time, he wanted to receive the treatment in his laboratory.  This would give him the opportunity to measure autonomic activities, as well as passage time.

(Passage time is the measurement of the blood quantities before and after the massage.)

I spent four hours in his laboratory, treating him and another person, who was a scientist from his team.

My goodness, everything that was stated in my articles on the subject, all was proved today in the lab. Both doctors who are not 100% healthy people, got a lot of benefits from massage procedure, including the reaction of acetylcholine release.

I had so much fun and got a real burst of positive energy. I felt empowered with the additional realization about the power of massage and inadvertently learned a lot.

Summary

I have asked the professor, how come he got excited about the information stated in my article, even though it had no references.

The professor said that first of all, it would have been a naïve question. The article itself made a lot of sense, and after all, t was proved clinically, including the professor’s subjective report. Then he added with regret that many research findings and data in his fields, could not be reproduced. He felt that this was a shame but nevertheless the reality we all live in.

Even if you wouldn’t be able to explain the phenomenon thoroughly, the very fact of you being able to reproduce the results twice would make the concept real.

He continued.  “Bias and intellectual demagoguery, damage the health care field.”

I agreed. It was fun to talk to a practicing cardiologist who, at the same time, is a scientist, researching this fascinating subject. He invited me to his lab.

We’ll see what would happen. I will keep you posted.

As you understood from my article, ”Can massage techniques be equated with remedies?” I have discovered and rediscovered many extremely important details and gained a new understanding of the process that transpired while I am doing massage procedures with my hands.

Will this change the way, I am performing pre-event sports massage as I performed for many years?

No, it won’t.

The significance of these additional discoveries suggests that we have to incorporate the release of acetylcholine techniques not only in pre-event sports massage but also in treatments of internal organ diseases, as well as in the treatment of the skeletal muscular disorder. I believe by incorporating these techniques we would get even better and more rapid results.

As we speaking, I am producing instructional video, where mostly I will demonstrate hands-on techniques. Cannot wait to share my knowledge and experiences performing these techniques.

Best wishes.

 

What do we know about COVID-19?

I’m not an infectious diseases specialist, and wouldn’t waste your time, offering the analysis on “What do we know about COVID 19”.

In this article, I am going to discuss the devastating effect of these pandemics on our society, and the fear that leading US infection disease experts and agencies subjected the society at large. However, I am going to look at it through the lens of a massage therapist, focusing on the role that massage therapists should assume in such cases.

Introduction

When approximately 4 months ago, our government and media started discussing COVID-19, we have learned from our leading infectious disease specialists, including world health organization that we should not worry, as COVID 19 transmits from animals to humans only, rather than from human to human. I, as most likely most of us, trusted the information from the CDC site and accepted its guidance.

Then everything has switched and the same leading infection diseases specialists, started screaming about terrible pandemics, and CDC guidance insisted on wearing masks and keeping social distance. From our local and federal government, comes an order “to stay at home.” The country was shouted down.

During the 1st month of the so-called official start of the pandemics, the same leading infection diseases specialists demanded not to wear masks. They stated that masks were not only failing to protect us from infection but also exacerbated the possibility of infection with COVID-19.

They claimed that COVID-19 was not an airborne infection, it was surviving on surfaces and by touching it you can get infected, therefore one must frequently wash hands, and not touch the face. Thus no masks were necessary. Many of us, followed CDC guidance to wear masks; only to learned later that there is a possibility, that wearing masks was the cause of infection. I guess, this dangerous disinformation trapped millions of people. Then, the same leading infection diseases specialists highly recommended to disinfect surfaces and especially metal surfaces and to disinfect, clean all delivered groceries.

WOW! During more than a month, we didn’t clean deliveries

 

Our conscious and subconscious minds naturally recorded these worries and fears of having masks on for an additional month.  The absence of clear directives could possibly lead us to contracting coronavirus.

I have followed CDC guidance and did clean groceries and other deliveries. Probably most of us did. Then, after approximately 45 days, the same leading infectious disease specialists, told us that we don’t have to bother disinfecting the groceries.

Terrible inconsistency shook our minds and sub minds. The strongest of us were in fear. When I saw on TV hundreds of people without masks, to me it was clear that a terrible fear is pushing them to fight this fear, by not wearing masks. The subconscious mind is extremely powerful.

One of the greatest psychoanalysts, Carl Young, said:” if to compare influences on our deeds, decisions, etc., conscious and subconscious, then subconscious will be the ocean, and our conscious, would be a shell of a nut.” Proposed proportions were given for a better understanding.

Political football fueled the confusion and panic of pandemics that I briefly described. “Scientific community” constantly contributed to mass anxiety.  Stanford University is one of the authorities in the world of science in conducting studies.

Eran Bendavid, Bianca Mulaney, Neeraj Sood, Soleil Shah, Emilia Ling, Rebecca Bromley-Dulfano, Cara Lai, Zoe Weissberg, Rodrigo Saavedra-Walker, James Tedrow, Dona Tversky, Andrew Bogan, Thomas Kupiec, Daniel Eichner, Ribhav Gupta, John Ioannidis, Jay Bhattacharya

Here is their conclusion:” Conclusions the estimated population prevalence of SARS-CoV-2 antibodies in Santa Clara County implies that the infection may be much more widespread than indicated by the number of confirmed cases. More studies are needed to improve the precision of prevalence estimates. Locally-derived population prevalence estimates should be used to calibrate epidemic and mortality projections.”

Really? If people develop antibodies, is this bad news?

One would say it is great news. Without symptoms, the human body fighting off infections and developing immunity.

The Stanford team was not clear, but the media presented this study something similar to:   ”Stanford researchers concluded that there may have been 50–85 times more people affected by COVID-19 in Northern California alone than the cases that were officially confirmed.”

Again, let’s keep in mind that Stanford University is one of the authorities in the world of science. These media bloopers added to panic and anxiety. It is asymptomatic to use a serology/antibody test, in assessing the percent of infected population.

The question is, maybe this massive panic/anxiety is weakening even the acquired immune system, making people sick, and possibly leading to mortality?

Further in my article, I am going to talk about the unbelievable power of placebo and nocebo, and therefore maybe my sentence above would make more sense. Probably I would make more scientific sense than the order issued by Texas Governor to shut down all bars. Really? Was there any scientific data supporting spike of coronavirus cases because of drinking in bars? How many of the US population attending bars? Somebody, scientists, healthcare authorities of the state of Texas bothered to apply some reasonable statistics, prior to shot down bars? How about people who have attended bars? I can speculate, that most likely, conscious and subconscious minds weakened their immune systems.

Dear friends, I can offer you many more samples and explanations that triggered massive anxiety, and made some of us sick, including clinical depression and more.

Warning

Dear friends, upfront thank you for understanding. This warning is necessary to avoid misunderstandings.

Thank you.

In conclusion to this article, I am going to offer the links, to article title: ”THE PLACEBO EFFECT AND ITS ROLE IN MASSAGE THERAPY.”

When the original article was published, some massage therapists, who clearly didn’t read the entire article, posted comments: ”Boris Prilutsky declared, that massage therapy is nothing but a placebo.”  The article doesn’t claim anything like that. Therefore, if you are not planning to read the entire article, then, in order to avoid confusion, it might be better if you won’t read it at all.

Disclaimer

I am not a scientist, but a massage practitioner with good academic background. For many years I am practicing medical and sports massage protocols developed through extensive research. At the time of the research, all techniques as well as entire massage protocols were tested against the placebo/controlled group. Having rich experience, I can claim massage therapy is not a placebo. At the same time, as I’m explaining in the article, if in addition to all very well-known mechanisms of simulations, we can trigger the mechanism of a placebo, then it makes our method even more powerful.

Thank you.

Conclusion

Let’s come back to “What do we know about COVID 19?”

We know that it is a very contagious unknown strain of the virus. We know that we all must wear masks, and maintain social distances, to wash hands frequently, to develop discipline not to touch the face, etc. This is all that we know for now.

The links below are to part one and part two THE PLACEBO EFFECT AND ITS ROLE IN MASSAGE THERAPY articles. I trust you would find these articles useful.

I would like to stress the importance of one sentence from the “placebo” article:” We cannot talk about placebo and not consider extreme power of nocebo.” I believe that this understanding is crucial in our occupation. Even in the case when nocebo starts destroying the health of individuals, our treatment is extremely powerful and allows people to get their life back. Hopefully, my article and the most important two parts of THE PLACEBO EFFECT AND ITS ROLE IN MASSAGE THERAPY would accentuate the importance of the human factor in the good and sustainable outcomes of treatment.

The real intellectual, scientist, and medical-massage practitioner, Dr.Ross Turchaninov co-authored the second part of this article.

THE PLACEBO EFFECT AND ITS ROLE IN MASSAGE THERAPY PART 1

THE PLACEBO EFFECT AND ITS ROLE IN MASSAGE THERAPY PART 2

Summary

Dear friends

Before coronavirus pandemics,

I couldn’t find any data that would contradict the fact that at least 75% of primary care physician’s visits are stress-related illnesses, and disorders. Disorders, such as headaches, essential hypertension, muscular aches, sleep disorders, anxieties, depression, weakened immune system, and much more.

Massage therapy, clinically proven for many years to be the most powerful methodology in stress management, offering sustainable results, and giving people their life back.

Again, even before coronavirus pandemics, 75% of visits to primary care physicians were stress-related.  Thus, as before, our mission is to address stress, especially considering that nowadays fear induces a tremendous amount of additional stress in a human body.

The links below are to the articles that are devoted to specific techniques that empower the immune system, as well as increasing blood passage time. In these two articles, I discuss stress management, which is balancing sympathetic and parasympathetic activities.

Detoxification and immune systems sufficiency

Pre-event sports massage against COVID-19

Can massage techniques be equated with remedies? – Medical Massage

I will dedicate my upcoming educational video to the release of acetylcholine techniques, including mostly hands-on demonstrations and explanations. Please subscribe to my channel to receive notifications when new educational materials are available.

MedicalMassage-Edu Channel

Recently we made a video, where I’m explaining the role of medical massage in post-surgical rehabilitation, as well as demonstrating hands-on protocols.

Orthopedic Massage in cases of post-surgical rehabilitation

The link below is to the video, where I demonstrate the techniques for cellulite reduction.

Cellulite reduction

                                                                 

Can massage techniques be equated with remedies?

Introduction

Based on my experiences practicing medical and sports massage for many years, I can say with conviction that, although massage techniques cannot be equated to remedies, in certain cases it is possible to discover or rediscover additional healing power that the use of massage techniques can entail.

It is important to add those techniques to the existing ones, developed by scientific research and clinically proven for many years. This is what massage therapy is all about, to achieve faster and sustainable results.

Physical wounds can heal well but psychological trauma associated with physical injuries can continue destroying health to take away persons’ life.

I was in the middle of writing an article, the link you can find in the conclusion section, has received a call from an MD who works in urgent care in my neighborhood. I know this doctor for some time, had the opportunity to treat his lower back, and received numerous referrals from him.

He said:

”Boris I have a referral for you”

I answered

“Thank you, sir, I didn’t reopen my office yet, even don’t have recommended PPE(pandemic protective equipment).”

He replied:

“Don’t worry about it, you can use my facility and I will provide for you all the required PPE.”

I felt the urgency and asked him to present the case.

Almost 2 years ago, a dog viciously attacked a 29-year-old male who and sustained injuries, such as wounds to the scalp, head trauma, wounds to the neck and chest.

Paramedics stabilized him. An ambulance delivered him to a local medical center. After spending five days in the hospital,  he continued to receive treatments at the outpatient facility for another two months. The wounds healed well, but one could still notice  the scar tissue. For the last eleven months, the patient was diagnosed with essential palatal tremor and Trigeminal neuralgia. While for the last four months he was diagnosed with glossopharyngeal neuralgia.

The doctor added:

“Poor guy.The second time he is in my office, this time with the severe clinical picture; an obvious panic attack. We suppressed his panic attack, but couldn’t do much. At this point, I have to refer him to ER, but, honestly, I don’t believe ER doctors could do much for him. Maybe you can try?”

I asked the doctor if the obvious symptoms of glossopharyngeal neuralgia are responsible for a major clinical picture that led the patient to urgent care.  He responded:

”I cannot tell for sure. It’s a mess!”

I pondered… In a situation like this, the healing of physical wounds means little.  I remembered that several years ago I received a young man viciously attacked by a dog.  During the eight months after the attack, he developed a very difficult case of fibromyalgia. It was a challenging case.  I felt proud that I succeeded and achieved sustainable results.  This new case seemed like another big challenge and I decided to take it. Thinking about it I said out loud…

”… body and mind are inseparable. Luckily medical massage allows successfully to address somatic abnormalities, as well as to stimulate the healing process of psychological trauma.”

I shared with him my thoughts and started to explain to him professor Melzack’s Neuromatrix theory of pain and anxiety, and significant role medical massage can play in cases of central sensitization.

Suddenly the doctor interjected:

“Boris forgot to tell you, this fellow has no money and won’t be able to pay you.”

Well, I thought,  “one has to do what one has to do”, and sometimes this “has to do” included “pro bono” and finished our phone conversation by saying:

”I can assure you while placing my hands on patients, I don’t think about compensation. With us it’s like with musicians; the moment they start playing, they are in a different world, and cannot tell whether they are playing a concert for money, or practicing, or whatever.”

When I saw the patient, it became clear what a difficult case this was. Even under medications, I could see pain and desperation reflected on his face. I felt that every moment the patient’s mood could escalate to a full-scale Hysteria. I couldn’t speak to the patient, I couldn’t move him. Thus, I had no choice but to start working with my hands. The situation demanded me to cut the initial interview and evaluation short.

He could barely rotate his neck vertically and while opening his mouth exhibit more than a limited range of motion. While attempting these movements his eyes were wide open. Again, I was under the impression that in his any moment this person could demonstrate a complex of hysterical symptoms.

Briefly, I explained to him that what I was about to do was a pleasant procedure, which would help him relax, and allow him to feel better. I could see that he was relieved.

It was a matter of primary importance to calm the patient down.  By the reaction of his muscles to even light touch, it was obvious that he had a very low threshold of pain. Therefore, my most important challenge was to increase this threshold. I couldn’t start from our usual introductory massage in an inhibitory regime. Needed to alternate, improvise. Very gently, by grabbing folds of his skin and slowly squeezing muscles. Then little by little I started introductory massage in the inhibitory regime, without lubrication.  Tenderness and sensitivity at this moment was an absolute must, as more intensive movement like those with lubrication could have provoked the panic attack and/or muscular protective spots.  Then, after approximately ten minutes working without lubrication, when I felt that I increased his threshold of pain, I added lubrication and could move more freely.

 

I felt relieved when after 15 minutes of the procedure the fellow fell asleep. It was a good moment to see him falling asleep as I prepared myself to witness a full-scale hysteria. I started utilizing some compression. There was no muscular protective spasm, and he didn’t wake up. The rest of the treatment, for 35 minutes, was my usual performance: the usual pressure, usual connective tissue massage, and muscular mobilization. Then I decided to follow intuition and performed techniques to release acetylcholine.

I performed these techniques more intensely, a bit similar to periosteum massage, but applying wider movements. In cases of the low threshold of pain, it is impossible to perform these techniques with quality. He did wake up, but I continued to perform techniques to release acetylcholine, while only asking him whether I applied too much pressure. He responded that the pressure was good and the procedures felt pleasant. I knew we are on a way out of his misery. After the first treatment, the objective and subjective improvement were noticeable. When the doctor stepped into the room, he couldn’t believe what he saw. He told to the patient

“It looks like you are feeling better.”

The patient answered,

“Yes don’t know what happened, but my brain is not fogey and I am not experiencing sharp pains in my throat and ear, like before.”

I have explained to the doctor that mainly, I was focusing on the neck, upper back, and on implementing the entire TMJ protocol. The doctor said that from the very beginning he was questioning glossopharyngeal neuralgia. I said

“most likely glossopharyngeal neuralgia was a misdiagnosis.”

And added

“In such a case who cares about diagnosis, it looks like I will be able to help him.”

The patient already received five treatments, and he feels much better. Greatly increased motion in the neck area, as well as motion in the TMJ, was a significant improvement. The subjective report was also encouraging. For a complicated case like this, such improvements are pretty rapid.  I attributed them to the incorporation of the release of acetylcholine techniques.

For many years, I excluded these techniques from medical massage protocols, while at the same time successfully using them in pre-event sports massage. And now I am proud to report that even excluding the release of acetylcholine techniques, I was able to sustained results in more than 80% of similar difficult cases.

Should I avoid incorporating the release of acetylcholine techniques,it is possible I would still achieve sustainable results, but most likely, it would take many more procedures. This might sound banal, but as therapists, we must strive to change a difficult clinical picture as fast as possible because relieving people of suffering is our duty.

As to this case, to sustain the results, I am planning to provide ten more treatments. Wish me luck.

In my mind, I am considering the conclusion and summary of this article, as real content and this content I would like to share with you.

                                                          Conclusions

Friends, further, in conclusions and the summary I will refer to the Russian Doctor researcher that I mentioned in an original article.

From my original article:

Actually, the scientific data I rediscovered wouldn’t change the way I’m practicing sports massage. Instead, it readjusted, enriched, and broaden my understanding of the power of massage. It, certainly, gave me the opportunity to share with you, extremely powerful details of massage procedure.

From my original article:

Please don’t get me wrong. The entire pre-event sports massage protocol is “must do” to achieve desirable results. All steps in the entire sequence compliments each other. But today we are talking about the role of massage in maintaining the fluidity of blood, as well as the importance to release acetylcholine.

From my original article:

Then he continued: “Boris this is not only a matter of fluidity. No doubt it is important to maintain fluidity, and various Chernich’s techniques, remarkably, achieving it. “The application of Chernich’s techniques combined with the release of acetylcholine techniques, allowed us to constantly maintain the sufficiently high blood supply volume at the capillary network, suppress anticholinergic, and release acetylcholine. The measured level of acetylcholine in blood was indicative of suppressed anticholinergic.  

From my original article:

According to Krasnova, even though some individuals sustained higher than normal blood fluidity, it didn’t change significant passage time. 

From my original article

By 1969, there was enough data and available techniques to elicit the same effect of releasing acetylcholine. Using controlled studies based on biorhythms and the available data, they have developed scientifically and most importantly clinically proven, powerful massage techniques to release acetylcholine, as we know it today.

From my original article

I also asked him, if granted a person accumulated a lot of metabolic waste, I won’t perform detoxification techniques, but only use techniques to release acetylcholine, would it positively affect blood supply volume at the capillary network. He said yes, for a short time. Then I inferred “In such a case as you describe, detoxification is must be done.” His answer was yes.

From my original article:

Then I asked him, why during the educational process the professors didn’t require us to do manual acceleration of lymph drainage along with pre-event sports massage? His answer was:” We didn’t see the need. By constantly providing post-event rehabilitative massage, we stimulated accelerated drainage of lymphatic fluid and promoted the disposal of metabolic waste.

From my original article:

I have rephrased my question. If I will perform detoxification procedure only, without special techniques allowing to release acetylcholine, would it affect the positive volume of the capillary network? He said: ”We researched it. Regrettably performing detoxification procedures only didn’t have much effect on the release of acetylcholine. So to accomplish releasing acetylcholine we had to apply the pre-event techniques as well.” 

From my original article:

Today with even greater clarity I realize how important it is to incorporate these techniques in pre-event sports massage, as well in other types of medical-massage. And knowing what I know today I appreciate this awesome massage protocol I was performing for forty-six years. The effect of this protocol is not releasing acetylcholine only. The successful massage procedure assesses the improvement and normalization of blood volume in the capillary network. By succeeding in it, we should expect improvement in the functioning of internal organs and the Muscular skeleton system.

Here is a link to my original article. http://medicalmassage-edu.com/pre-event-sports-massage-against-covid-19/

 Summary

From my original article:

I talked to the doctors three times, each time for more than an hour. I took notes, and if I would try to present all of them, it would have to write many articles. Each sentence would have at least 10 extended interpretations. Should these additional avenues of discussion would ignite interest, we can manage these discussions on-line

I have asked the doctor whether the pre-event massage techniques are the only techniques allowing to release of acetylcholine.

He said that kneading and friction also contribute to the release of acetylcholine, but not to the extent that pre-event sports massage can achieve. Then he continued:

”The unique discovery we did, was that for example kneading techniques, greatly contribute to vasodilation of big blood vessels, but not to the same degree, affecting dilation of capillary vessels, where is the metabolic exchange happens. Pre-event sports massage techniques release acetylcholine much more massively, greatly improving capacity, the blood passage time through the capillary network, but not as effective when it comes to large arteries. Each technique is complementary to others.

Extensive unlimited research allowed us to investigate the effect of different massage techniques on functions of organs and systems, and then to select and combine the most effective massage techniques for medical and sports massage protocols. I said:

”I wish I would know these additional details regarding the release of acetylcholine techniques.”

He started laughing and said:

“You probably fell asleep in class when I  discussed these details.”

Then he added:

”To make you feel better, none of us incorporated these techniques in medical massage protocols. There was no need as we achieved great results without incorporating the release of acetylcholine techniques. It was necessary only in the pre-event sports massage. Today talking to you I believe it was a mistake not to incorporate the release of acetylcholine techniques in other medical massage protocols”

He continued:

”If a therapist not going to address reflex zone abnormalities, and try to increase blood supply by releasing acetylcholine techniques only, he or she won’t achieve results and possibly only aggravate the condition.”

I was proud to tell him that in my article published at massage magazine, where I explained in detail the importance of addressing abnormalities in reflex zones, emphasizing that the reluctance to do that is counterproductive as it prevents the attempts to achieve results and incorporate stretching.

http://medicalmassage-edu.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/233-Orthopedic.pdf

When I felt like we almost exhausted our discussion I asked:

”Maybe you have discovered any other data in that research?”

My goodness!  Asking this question, I felt like a young student in front of a scholar. I told him that I felt like a novice talking to him. His answered:

”… don’t worry, never again will you be the beginner, but feeling this way is the evidence of you still improving your skills.”

I replied :

“… or yes. I know that in regards to our skills developments, the sky is the limit, but you and professor Dembo always were my icons.”

His answer was direct and convincing:

”Boris, if at this very moment, I would have the opportunity to talk with professor Dembo, who always was my icon, most likely, I would also feel like a young student, the beginner. This is the nature of things.  Much is happening in the scientific world and sometimes we have the possibility of unexpected discoveries. In 1969, when we worked to improve  Serazini’s pre-event sports massage protocol, one of the members of our team was a 52-year-old male. Numerous times he, as a model, received pre-event sports massage including, the release of acetylcholine techniques. One day he admitted, that before receiving a massage he developed erectile dysfunction. Suddenly after receiving numerous pre-event sports massage, he got significant improvement, and gain his sexual potential back.”

The doctor continued:

”It was interesting, and we all started looking for an explanation. We got it. It turned out that the release of acetylcholine, triggering the release of Nitric Oxide. After this discovery, since 1969, I personally help to many males who suffered from ED.”

Also, this wonderful doctor real scholar in medical and sports massage, told me how they discovered that techniques of releasing acetylcholine, could be very useful in cases of neuropathodynamics. This is a very long and very important presentation, I will do it in a separate blog.

Dear colleagues, as you understand there are no techniques in massage that could be equated with remedy.

Best wishes,

Boris Prilutsky

PS. My upcoming educational video will concentrate on the release of acetylcholine techniques, including mostly hands-on demonstrations and explanations, and would be based on my recent article.

Please subscribe to my channel to receive notifications when new educational materials are available.

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC1P3BRptS-MM6gHcG87VSmw

We decided not to post links to new video releases, at FB and other professional groups, because not everyone has an interest in my work, and we are not striving to annoy people who have no interest.

Recently we made a video, where I’m explaining the role of medical massage in post-surgical rehabilitation, as well as demonstrating hands-on protocols.

If you have the interest to learn from this educational material, you’re welcome to visit our channel.

Thank you

Pre-event sports massage against COVID-19

Introductory

People, who follow my articles and posts know that I am a big believer in professional discussions, and am not afraid of being challenged and support my opinion in a mutually respectful back and forth argument. Everyone can learn from this type of professional discussion: those who post, those who disagree, and those who are just following the discussion.  Thus, I hope this post would also elicit a healthy discussion and become a source of mutual learning.

Recently, Dr.Ross Turchaninov invited me to join FB group Students of the Science of Massage Institute Medical Massage Program. Most of the members are recent students or graduates from that program. One of the members posted an overview of the article related to Coagulopathy of COVID-19. A special preview of Ruth Werner’s Pathology Perspectives column scheduled to appear in the July/August 2020 issue of Massage & Bodywork.

This member asked Dr. Ross’ opinion on this very well written article. As always, Dr. Ross Turchaninov offered straight to the point summary and which was correct. I quote:

“There is a growing number of clinical and scientific articles that emphasized that COVID is not a lung problem, as we thought and treated accordingly, but it is rather a completely new virus within the coronavirus family. In the majority of fatal cases, death came as a result of inner organ failure due to the thrombosis of the small arteries. The virus damages inner lining, triggering the coagulation system and that it is the cause of death. Indeed patients are dying from lung failure more frequently, than the liver for example, but the cause of that is thrombosis not blockage of airways by inflammation or sputum as rest of coronaviruses do. It is because lungs have a large circulatory system and they are first to be affected. That recent discovery already makes a huge change in the therapy since the first line of defense now is anticoagulants (frequently the strongest ones) instead of IVL. Results of this therapy, before the vaccine is ready, are significantly better.”

I have replied.

Great commentary! Glad Ruth wrote this article. Probably later on when the time will permit I will write about extensive work by Dr. Chernich related to this issue. To summarize, massage significantly increases the fluidity and decreases the viscosity of blood. I believe that to the cases, presented in Ruth’s article, this is a very important factor. It’s always important to maintain a good level of fluidity of blood but especially during this type of pandemic. BTW, I love the idea to have this site.

Best wishes.

Dr.Ross agreed.

Since then, already a few weeks I’m writing and rewriting my article. I am well familiar with the works of Dr. Chernich.Therefore I was positive, it won’t take me much time to write this article. Suddenly at the time of writing, I felt that all I am talking about, is very superficial, and I am not diving to the very bottom of the issue.

I obviously knew that the acceleration of the lymphatic drainage technique promotes a significant increase in the fluidity of the blood. Also while massaging in the inhibitory regime contributes to vasodilation and triggers a significant increase in the fluidity of blood. But I felt that I am missing a significant piece of pertinent information, preventing me from giving this topic a fair consideration.

The Eureka moment

 

The Soviet scientists and clinicians Dr. Chernich along with thousands of other Soviet scientists and clinicians was the part of the Soviet sports medicine machine placed with the sole purpose of propaganda to help the Soviet athletes to win the Olympian gold, to “rub it in” to the West in the frame reference of the Cold War.  Thus scientists dedicated their entire careers to the developments of methods that prevented sports-related injuries, promoted rehabilitation from sports-related injuries, improved performance of Soviet Olympians, and increased their competitive longevity.

Yet, little or close to nothing of the Medical and Sports Massage protocols, that was improving sports performances, was known in the West. Although the large research institutions were involved in sports medicine including and not limited to Medical and Sports Massage studies, their developments were kept in strict secrecy. The secrecy was guaranteed by the mighty Soviet secret service organization KGB.

KGB or the Committee of Government Security, to some degree, was similar to the confluence of two American organizations FBI and CIA.  Except for that American citizens rarely get involved with either of these organizations as it’s primary goal is to counteract internal and external foes of the United States.  In the Soviet Union, one careless word or a risky joke could not only end one’s career but also make him or her a foreign spy – the enemy of the Soviet people and thus being tortured, sent to GULAG or killed.  Therefore no one in the former Soviet Union, messed with KGB, which enabled it to keep any information as secret as the Communist Party wanted it to be. In this particular case, the secrecy was overseen by the influential member of the central Communist Committee comrade Suslov personally.

The reason for such secrecy was substantial.  During the “Cold War,” Soviet propaganda always tried to portray the Soviet system and the Soviet way of life as superior to the one adopted by the West.

It even came up with the myth of a special new “Soviet Person”, the carrier of the advanced Soviet mentality, which allegedly was far superior to a mentality of a Western person.

To somehow substantiate this myth, the Soviet propaganda utilized any Olympic sports and the dominance of the Soviet bloc athletes, especially of the USSR and Eastern Germany during Olympic Games in the sixties, seventies, and eighties.

It would be essential to point out much greater longevity of the Soviet bloc athletes compared to their Western counterparts.  The vast majority of the Soviet bloc athletes were competitive for ten to fifteen years.

The real secret of such longevity was the elaborate system of pre-event and post-event rehabilitative Sports massage and the proper warm-up procedure; a sequence of special exercises including neuromuscular re-education that ensured that all the muscles of the responsible regions work in assembly and the neurological sense. Such powerful scientifically based methods made verifies that joints are stable enough to withstand huge competitive loads and to perform to the maximum physiological potential of individual athletes.

All that changed during the time of Gorbachev’s “perestroika” – restructuring of the Soviet economy – and, subsequently, when the Soviet system has fallen apart.  The scientific institutions that for decades were supported financially by the Soviet Government, regardless of their actual profitability, were suddenly left without any funding and, thus, quickly disintegrated.

The impressive body of knowledge accumulated by decades of arduous work by talented scientists was literally abandoned.   That’s why, paradoxically, the only people who could carry the torch of knowledge in the Russian Medical and Sports Massage were those who have emigrated from the Soviet Union at the time and before “perestroika.”

Perhaps this sounds bizarre, but just to understand the significance of this loss, in 1963, a military faculty was organized, which claimed to prepare military sports instructors, thus making this faculty a military PO. Box ora top secret institution. These military instructors had nothing to do with sports medicine research, they couldn’t even enter our facilities.The Soviet government used them as a decoy to declare our institution a military PO. Box.

The research was conducted under strict secrecy, and practitioners under training were obligated to keep this secrecy and knew that those protocols were a secret product of the Communist party. Perhaps, for those who lived in the free world, is difficult to comprehend the threat of KGB, but we all knew too well that messing around with KGB was a bad idea. It was too serious.

As you could understand, not much material, and research papers was and is available.For many years I’m practicing this protocols and this a lot but, at the time of writing this article, I knew I was missing some crucial information, that can help to understand more about the role of massage in increasing and maintaining level of blood fluidity.

It was just a pure intuition.I could remember it was more than this.Back during my student years in the Soviet Union, principal investigators used to give tasks to different groups of researchers, with all outcomes coming back to the principal investigator, so that only a very limited number of people could read the entire research paper.

When a particular massage protocol was developed, we learned in details its steps by step application, as well as its underlining theoretical concepts, to understand what we were doing.However, as a clinicians, when all was working well, time after time, and for a long time, sometimes, we weren’t on top of research findings, simply didn’t remember  details.

Yet for writing an article I need more details, I must have deeper and broader explanation.

This was my personal Eureka moment. Actually,the scientific data I rediscovered wouldn’t change the way I’m practicing sports massage, but it readjusted, enriched and broaden my understanding of power of massage, and,certainly, gave me the opportunity to share with you, extremely powerful details of massage procedure.

While studying, pre-event and post-event sports massage was a considerable part of the curriculum.I remember clearly, when I was trained to perform pre-event sports massage, our professors stressed the difficulties at the time of the research to adjust the existing  Serazini’s pre-event sports massage protocol to a much more efficient, and more powerful one.

The regime, at which we perform pre-event sports massage, shouldn’t suppress sympathetic activities to the level we strive to suppress it when performing stress management massage. Its purpose is to balance sympathetic and parasympathetic activities. At the same time, we must increase fresh arterial oxygenated blood supply aiming to increase the volume of the capillary network.

One could say that if you are not suppressing enough sympathetic activities then don’t expect vasodilations to meet the desired expectation. Now I am about to discover the additional supportive pattern to the stimulation by massage and achieving vasodilation and to positively affect autonomic activities.

Unlike the USA where sports medicine experts are mostly orthopedic surgeons, in the Soviet sports medicine the leading sports medicine experts used to be neurologists. Certainly, orthopedic surgeons and traumatologists, physical rehabilitators, including medical and sports massage practitioners, as well as cardiologists, who specialized in biological rhythms also played an important role in the development of sports medicine.

Processes in our bodies exhibit rhythmicity, including blood fluidity rhythms. These highly qualified experts knew how to calculate biological rhythms, and then to adjust the regime of professional athletes practice accordingly. While conducting research, they always used to work with us, as many of them knew hands-on massage procedures quite well and used massage in controlled studies.

Olympian athletes used to practice twice a day three hours each practice. None of them could leave practice unless their heart rates would reach 220 beats per minute. Imagine what kind of physical load young Olympians had to undertake, if their resting heart rate was 40 beats per minute?  That high of a heart rate did not result in overtraining as the biorhythms experts, knew how to adjust the personal training routine of each Olympian, incorporating rehabilitative efforts by use of sports massage.

For many years I have performed pre-event sports massage. Almost half of my long career I have dedicated working with professional athletes, performing equally important pre-event and post-event sports massage, as well as various medical massage protocols in cases of trauma. Very  important technical components of pre-event sports massage are special techniques to release acetylcholine. I knew about the importance of correctly performed techniques in its relation to releasing acetylcholine. What I could remember is that by releasing acetylcholine volunteer muscles reacted much faster, and work better in assembly.

During the last six years of my career, I had the opportunity to manage two green jacket golfers and certainly implemented pre-event and post-event sports massage. Last year I decided to slow down my involvement with these athletes and spend more time with my grandkids.

The managers requested me to train two athletic trainers. These good people, had little interest in pre-event sports massage training as they were positive they knew what to do in pre-event and post-event case. Their main interest was a medical massage in cases of trauma, post-isometric relaxation techniques, as well as correction of biomechanics techniques.

Being in good relationship with these golfers, I periodically treated them in my office. Before coronavirus struck, while treating them both golfers complained:” when you used to perform pre-event sports massage, we could feel its effect; it boosted energy, allowed us to achieve greater focus, etc. These trainers are not achieving it.” I promised to talk to the trainers and, God willing, when all of us would get our normal life back, I will meet with the trainers and explain to them the importance of including the pre-event techniques in releasing acetylcholine.

Please don’t get me wrong. The entire pre-event sports massage protocol is “must do” to achieve desirable results. All steps in the entire sequence compliments each other. But today we are talking about the role of massage in maintaining the fluidity of blood.

For some reason my intuition was screaming, I could remember that techniques to release acetylcholine, also contributing to the increased blood supply and the volume of small blood vessels network. Honestly, it was a kind of intellectuals suffering, to know, but not being able to remember details and theoretical explanation.

As you understood from the history of Soviet sports massage, I couldn’t look up textbook, or Google the information.

Usually, when some question would arise, I immediately contacted my mentor. But he is not with us anymore, rest in peace, great man that he was. Suddenly, it crossed my mind that a long-ago retired sports medicine doctor for the last ten years lived in Israel. He used to work in sports medicine research, as well as he was a clinician and knew theory and practice of medical and sports massage. A few years ago, I talked to my mentor, this doctor was next to him, and I was introduced. I was flattered as he was one of the idols of young practitioners and I used to look up to him.

I called him and luckily he answered. Being 83 years old, he retained a perfect memory. I asked him to explain to me the process of releasing acetylcholine and its effect on the fluidity of blood. He said that in 1969, he worked, in the group with Dr. Chernich and Dr.Krasnova who was cardiologist and biorhythmologist. He further explained that it was their group that developed these techniques to release acetylcholine.

This was a WOW moment for me. Then he continued: “Boris this is not only a matter of fluidity. No doubt it is important to maintain fluidity, and various Chernich’s techniques, remarkably, achieving it.

The application of Chernich’s techniques combined with release of acetylcholine techniques, allowed us to constantly maintain the sufficiently high blood supply volume at the capillary network, suppress anticholinergic, and release acetylcholine, which measured level in blood was the evidence of suppressed anticholinergic.

Besides, releasing acetylcholine is extremely important for speed improvement, muscular assembly work, etc. By suppressing anticholinergic, we allow real and constant vasodilation of arteriole network. We found out that by constantly incorporating these techniques, we are establishing the reflex of normal dilation at the arterioles and capillaries network, and this reflex, sustained for days. An even the treatment extended for a limited time, immediately lead to desirable effects, as well as maintaining this acceptable normal sufficient blood volume in arteriole networks.

For these findings, he gave a lot of credit to Dr. Krasnova. She has carefully analyzed the daily rhythm of blood fluidity and came to the conclusion that this is not only about the fluidity of blood. They tried a controlled study, to use blood thinner medication.

According to Krasnova, some individuals who are even sustained higher than normal blood fluidity, it didn’t change significant passage time.

Passage time is one of the measurements, scientists used to assess blood fluidity, the volume of the capillary network.  The doctor explain to me that Krasnova used many more parameters of measurement. Discussing their entire gamut is well beyond the scope of this article. What she has proved and what I’m trying to stress in this article, that not only blood fluidity is extremely important, but also the capacity of the capillary network allowing to pass more blood.

When she proposed to control the study using anticholinergic medications, it made a big difference for some individuals compared to the group that received pre-event massage.

The Doctor continued: ”We understood there was no future in using anticholinergic medications, because of terrible side effects such as dementia, disorientation, decrees of mucus production, disturbances in bowel movement, increase the heart rates to name just a few. The biomarker of active dominating anticholinergic was blocked acetylcholine.

“By 1969, there was enough data and available techniques to elicit some effect of releasing acetylcholine. Using controlled studies based on biorhythms and the available data, they have developed scientifically and most importantly clinically proven, powerful massage techniques to release acetylcholine, as we know it today.

 

When I asked the doctor what in his opinion contributed to dominating anticholinergic, he responded that the main cause of it is the accumulation of toxic metabolic waste. He continued:” By performing manual acceleration of lymph drainage, you not only detoxifying the human body but also significantly increasing fluidity of blood, but also increasing passage through the capillary  network “Then he joked: ”Not only ‘two birds with one stone,’ but many more”

I also asked him, if granted a person accumulated a lot of metabolic waste, I won’t perform detoxification techniques, but only use techniques to release acetylcholine, would it positively affect blood supply volume at the capillary network. He said yes, for a short period of time. Then I inferred “In such a case as you describe, detoxification is must be done.” His answer was yes.

Then I asked him, why during the educational process we weren’t required to do manual acceleration of lymph drainage along with pre-event sports massage? His answer was:” We didn’t see the need. By constantly providing post-event rehabilitative massage, we stimulated accelerated drainage of lymphatic fluid and promoted disposal of metabolic waste.”

I have rephrased my question. If I will perform detoxification procedure only, without special techniques to release acetylcholine, would it affect the positive volume of the capillary network? He said:” We researched it. Regrettably performing detoxification procedures only didn’t have much effect on the release of acetylcholine. So in order to accomplish releasing acetylcholine we had to apply the pre-event techniques as well.”

Finally, I asked:” Why do we call this technique the “release of acetylcholine?” Shouldn’t these techniques be called “suppressor of active dominating anticholinergic”? His answer was “yes, it is suppressing dominating anticholinergic. But because released acetylcholine, is a biomarker, we decided to call it as you were trained in school, the release of acetylcholine techniques.

The doctor asked me, why I got interested in this topic. I told him about Dr. Ross’ commentary on new findings of coronavirus. He said that in such a case scientists should look at individuals’ active dominating anticholinergics. He also said that during their research, it became absolutely obvious, that dominating anticholinergics, is very individual, and its level is different from person to person. But everyone and especially in competitive sports can greatly benefit from freed acetylcholine. Based on my clinical experience, I can say yes this is true.

 

Conclusions

1.      We can speculate that a massage therapist possesses a powerful means in preventing the detrimental effects of the COVID-19 virus described in the Coagulopathy of COVID-19 article. It is the implementation of pre-event sports massage protocols that elicit the release of acetylcholine, which in turn increases the volume of the capillary network.

2.      We must follow our intuition and not give up. This is got to be something in it.

3.      As we all know, today coronavirus sparkled again. To prevent this infection we must boost the immune system, and increase blood fluidity, as I have described in my article Detoxification and immune systems sufficiency – Medical Massage