Multiple Sclerosis

The immune system attacks the body’s own structures in the central nervous system. Auto-aggressive white blood cells attack tissues in the brain and spinal cord, causing foci of inflammation that leave scars (plaques) behind when they subside. The nerve sheaths (myelin sheaths) and nerve fibers (axons) are damaged in MS, causing nerve impulses to be conducted more slowly or no longer. Depending on where the signal transmission is disturbed, different symptoms arise. Multiple sclerosis can lead to serious health problems. Symptoms include pain, loss of balance, muscle spasms, paralysis and general fatigue.

• Inflammatory disease of the central nervous system (brain, spinal cord)
• Own immune system damages the nerve sheaths and nerve fibers
• Progression in episodes and/or continuously progressing
• Manifold symptoms
• Depression is one of the most common symptoms of MS
• Diagnosis mostly between the 20th and 40th year of life
• More common in women (about 60%)
• MS is not a mental illness and there is currently no cure.
• Medications can alleviate the course of the disease.
• Treatment with cortisone is the standard therapy for an acute MS flare-up.
• About three quarters of those affected by MS use therapies from complementary medicine in addition to conventional medicine. Both forms have their justification, together or next to each other is definitely appropriate.

In addition to the physical effects, multiple sclerosis can also cause disease-related psychological symptoms, such as a loss of meaning, existential fear and depression. Clients with MS can be very well supported with Shiatsu. This gives you the opportunity to perceive your body in a relaxed manner and as a unit, even if only for a short time. A harmonious, holistic feeling can set in. During and after the treatment, clients can experience deep relaxation and a “feeling whole”. This can be associated with sensations of overall vitality, lightness, spaciousness, calm, warmth, openness, clarity, etc. Shiatsu strengthens lost confidence in one’s own body and mental stability. Above all, Shiatsu also supports these clients in dealing with this incurable disease, the course of which cannot be predicted. In addition to Shiatsu, clients can be instructed in body exercises with which they can independently optimize their energy balance and thus acquire the opportunity to do something for their bodies themselves. Shiatsu as a therapy over a longer period of time helps clients with MS to feel more alive and to find their inner center again despite the incurable disease.

Ms. B. is 40 years old and has been going to Shiatsu therapy regularly for 2 years. She started therapy after a severe MS flare-up that she had had three months earlier, after an 8-year flare-up period. She perceives her body as separate from herself. She herself wanted to physically get back to the point at which she was before this last MS episode. The therapist explained to the client how Shiatsu works and emphasized that Shiatsu is a supplement to her absolutely necessary conventional medical therapies. In the beginning she came to Shiatsu therapy weekly, later every 14 days. During the treatments, Mrs. B. felt safe and comfortable. Her body feeling changed during the treatments. In everyday life, she often found herself in a bell, cut off from the world.

After the treatments, each felt grounded and reconnected. The therapist instructed the client to do specific physical exercises at home and not to keep the separating bell in mind, but the good feeling perceived with Shiatsu. Thanks to these exercises, Ms. B. can sometimes relieve severe tension herself. The therapist repeatedly guided her in the conversation to connect with positive changes. Another episode of MS made Ms. B. even more confronted with her illness, which caused her sadness and fear. In contrast to earlier, Ms. B. did not fall into depression after this episode. At first she returned to weekly Shiatsu therapy, then monthly. After the treatments, Ms. B. always seemed relaxed and fresh, but she couldn’t see it herself at first. Later she had the feeling of a diving suit that was too small, which she could take off and afterwards felt relaxed, soft and felt her body as a unit. It was after this treatment that she spoke for the first time about having to get MS in order to get better.