Appalachian Medical Massage Associates

While it may seem a bit far-fetched to speak of ladies’ undergarments being out to kill us, it makes perfect sense that brassieres could at the very least increase our risk of breast cancer. A few days ago, I ran across an interesting article on this very subject whilst updating myself on world news.

Most of the women with whom I work wear bras that are WAY too tight.  This constricts lymphatic flow, making it extremely difficult for the body to cleanse the area of toxins (including carcinogenic chemicals).  These toxins build up and form lumps, cysts - even cancerous cells and tumors.  From a lymphologist’s standpoint, anything that binds too tightly (especially in bands - like bra straps, bra bands, underwear elastics, tight belts, etc.) can be a serious obstruction to proper lymphatic flow.

The research cited goes on to say that locally increased temperature may alter hormone production, thereby increasing the risk of breast cancer.  Melatonin production also seems to decrease the more a woman wears a bra.  Melatonin has powerful antioxidant qualities and has been shown to decrease the rate of breast cancer growth.

Please take a few minutes to read the linked article.  More research needs to be done, but the numbers are nothing short of shocking.  Of the 4700+ women involved in the study:

• Women who wore their bras 24 hours per day had a 3 out of 4 chance of developing breast cancer.
• Women who wore bras more than 12 hour per day but not to bed had a 1 out of 7 risk.
• Women who wore their bras less than 12 hours per day had a 1 out of 152 risk.
• Women who wore bras rarely or never had a 1 out of 168 chance of getting breast cancer - The same as men who don’t wear bras!
• The overall difference between 24 hour wearing and not at all was a 125-fold difference.
• 80% of bra-wearers who experienced lumps, cysts and tenderness saw the symptoms vanish within a month of going braless.

Please take this into consideration.  If you are going to wear a bra (and most of us women will, nonetheless), it is important to take some precautions.  A well-fitting healthy bra should be slightly loose. . . .  You should easily be able to slip two fingers under the shoulder straps and under the band at the rib cage.  Also, be sure to massage your breasts after removing your bra.  This will help stimulate the lymphatics to do their job and take care of you!

Read the BiomedME’s article at http://biomedme.com/general/could-bras-be-the-missing-link-to-breast-cancer_5766.html.

by Paul Vachon

If you’ve had any conversations with me in the past about shoes or lack there of, you already know how I feel about running shoes, hard soled shoes, and high heels versus minimally designed shoes or going barefoot. The design of most shoes today encourage heel strike, which sends a shockwave through the body. Barefoot running (by someone who has always run barefoot, or has changed their old heel strike to mid or forefoot strike) looks amazingly different. Explaining this in words can be difficult to understand. But seeing - and experiencing - is believing.

In my continual search for research and articles referring to barefoot running, I recently came across one of the most powerful videos I’ve seen yet. It truly shows the difference that I have experienced. Watch and you’ll most likely become a convert. See the whole story here.

Listen to the story. Read the article. Watch the video. Be converted.

A Look At Running With and Without Shoes

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=123031997

MedPage Today recently published an article reporting on the findings of a group of researchers in Spain. Their finding were published in the British Medical Journal this year. They found that breast cancer patients who received manual lymph drainage (MLD) after surgery had up to a 72% decreased risk of developing lymphedema!

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Cave Ridge Farm in the Snow - 19 Dec 2009

With all the snow and talk of snow, we’ve been asked about our snow policy.

Here it is: We’ll be here. If you can make it, great! If not, no worries. Just give us a call as soon as you know you won’t be able to make it and we’ll be happy to reschedule.

Weather conditions can vary widely throughout the region and we understand that some folks might be snowed in while others have no difficulty getting out and about. . . .

We definitely don’t want you to feel like you’re risking life and limb to make your appointment!

Be well, stay warm and enjoy the snow!

“Snow Day” by Billy Collins

Today we woke up to a revolution of snow,
its white flag waving over everything,
the landscape vanished,
not a single mouse to punctuate the blankness,
and beyond these windows

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Throughout this week (30 November - 5 December) we will donate 75% of all gift certificate sales to the Upper Tennessee River Roundtable. 

“The Upper Tennessee River Roundtable is a non-profit organization with an overall interest in improving water quality in the Upper Tennessee River Watershed. . . . The Roundtable represents a total of nine counties and two cities. [The] major rivers include the Clinch, Holston (pictured at left), and Powell.

The Upper Tennessee River watershed covers three rivers in Virginia [and Tennessee]: the Clinch, Holston, and Powell rivers. The Roundtable is active in water quality improvement efforts in all three of these rivers. The greater watershed is host to numerous species of fish, mussel, and other aquatic life species. In fact, according to the Nature Conservancy, the Upper Tennessee River watershed greatly exceeds all other watersheds in the lower 48 states in terms of species richness and diversity!”

Other participants include:
Linden Massage, E. Unaka Ave. #1, Johnson City, TN 37601;
Jim Quillen, 5602 Kingsport Highway, Johnson City, TN 37601; and
Bunny Medeiros, 380 E. Main St., Abingdon, VA 24210.

Want to buy gift certificates for that special someone? Give us a call at 423.288.2662 or email us at amma@ammatn.com.  Payment may be made by cash, check, Visa or MasterCard.  If you would like to claim the 75% as a tax deduction, you can write a check for that amount directly to the Upper Tennessee River Roundtable.

By Linda S. Mah | Kalamazoo Gazette

November 12, 2009, 10:19AM

DELTON —

Fern Taylor, of Delton, wears a compression sleeve and glove on her right arm to help prevent buildup of lymph fluid after having lymph nodes removed from her breast.

Fern Taylor never knows when her lymphedema is going to flare up. She’ll notice a rash, then there’s a burning sensation and soon her arm swells up to three times its normal size.’

The first time it happened in 2003 “I had no idea what was going on,” said Taylor, who lives in Delton.

Since then, Taylor has learned that the swelling in her right arm is the result of a buildup of lymphatic fluid, which occurs because the lymph nodes in that arm were removed as part of her treatment for breast cancer.

“Basically, the fluids in my body went where they were supposed to go, but the lymph nodes were not there anymore to carry it through the body,” Taylor said. “So it got stuck.”

The lymphatic system drains fluid from bodily tissue and allows immune cells to travel throughout the body. Lymphedema occurs when the lymph nodes are unable to drain that fluid. The fluid pools in an area, causing the body part to swell and sometimes leading to discomfort from the pressure of the fluid buildup, a sense of heaviness, a decreased range of motion, chronic wounds and ulcers and skin breakdown.

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All sorts of exciting things are happening in DownTown Kingsport! Open Houses for Holiday Shopping, Christmas Parade, Santa Train, Black Friday (and Saturday) Shopping Specials, Christmas Tree Lighting and Festivities, Gingerbread Houses, Free Music, Delicious Food, New Year’s Celebration, and so much more! Find out more about what’s happening in DownTown Kingsport at www.exploredowntownkingsport.com, the official site for DownTown Kingsport!

Do you realize how easy it is to earn free money to spend DownTown?  Since the inception of our client referral program, we have given away hundreds of dollars in gift certificates to DownTown Kingsport restaurants and shops.

Simply refer a friend or family member to our practice and when they come in for their first appointment, we’ll send you a $20 gift certificate for the DownTown Kingsport establishment of your choice.  You can even earn gift certificates for AMMA! It’s our way of saying “Thank You” to our best clients and DownTown neighbors.  Call us at 423.288.2662 or send us an email if you have any questions.

We look forward to seeing you DownTown soon. . . .  and hope you enjoy a safe and healthy holiday season.

~ Paul & Amber Vachon

P.S.:  How do you like the photo of the two of us?  Nice, huh?  It was taken by Rachel & Ross Anglen of Anglen Photography.  Check them out at www.anglenphotography.com.  They’re awesome!