bronchiectasis and massage

@apf I would think massage would be beneficial to breathing. The lungs are protected in the rib cage. The trachea in the neck is in the front and there is a lot of muscle on the back of the neck and shoulders. I have thoracic outlet syndrome which causes tightness in my rib cage, and that makes my lungs less efficient at clearing phlegm if it doesn’t move well. Massage helps get it moving better and I breathe a lot better. I have some tightness in my neck too from cervical spine surgery and tight neck muscles. I loosen that too with myofascial release strengthening and it helps me clear phlegm. I have asthma and will get a lung infection if phlegm is trapped.

Thanks! That's good to know.

@jenniferhunter how do you know that you have Thoratcic outlet syndrome? Who diagnoses it? Thank you. And one more- what kind of massage loosens the chest muscles- any special one?

@lilianna I was diagnosed with TOS by a thoracic vascular surgeon and a neurologist. Even with that, there was an orthopedic doctor looking at my shoulder who doubted this and told me it was rare. They feel your pulse in your wrist and move your arm into different positions to see if the pulse diminishes. They did Doppler studies in different positions. That was also confirmed at Mayo and they had tiny blood pressure cuffs on my fingers while moving my arm in overhead positions, Per my local neurologist, they don’t spend much time on this in med schools. It’s a complex issue and can have several variations of where nerves and blood vessels get compressed.

The best PT I have had for TOS is myofascial release to get tight tissue and fascia unstuck. Strengthening exercises usually made it worse. There is a lot in our discussion about myofascial release if you search for that. There is a provider search at mfrtherapists.com.

I also do regular home stretching and laying on my back on a foam roller with outstretched arms and my PT has taught me ways to self treat with laying on balls, etc to use my body weight to stretch the chest muscles.

Thank you.

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I HAVE DONE MASSAGE SINCE 1975 AND NAPRAPATHIC PRACTIONER SINCE 1997. I FIND NO PROBLEM WITH GETTING EITHER ONE. I HAVE HAD BRONCHECTASIS SINCE 2013. I FOUND GREAT BENEFITS FROM GETTING A MASSAGE SINCE.