Bronchitis is a condition that makes the bronchi in the lungs inflamed, which in turn creates a lot of mucus build up in the different lobes of the lungs. There are 2 types of Bronchitis: Acute and Chronic. Acute bronchitis is generally referred to as the first time that you have ever had bronchitis. Chronic bronchitis is where you have had it for about 3 months, and have had it for at least 2 years in a row. Once it has become chronic bronchitis, there is an increased chance that you will get it every year.
If you get bronchitis, it doesn’t matter if it is the acute version or the chronic version, they both make it difficult to breathe. This means that certain activities that you used to do will become difficult and you will have shortness of breath, sometimes with even the simplest of tasks. Some of the causes for bronchitis can be from some type of infection, whether bacterial or viral, smoking, and having to breathe in air pollution, this includes fumes in the workplace.
So how can Massage Therapy help? Well, there are a few different ways, depending on the cause of the bronchitis. Massage isn’t used as a ‘cure’ to the condition, rather it can help with the symptoms that you are experiencing with the condition. Massage therapists will work on all the different breathing muscles, getting rid of any trigger points (active knots) that are present in the muscles, release any of the muscles that are contracted (stuck in a working position), getting rid of any fascial restrictions and help the fatigued muscles. That will be the bulk of the treatment, but there is one other part of the treatment that can be uncomfortable, not because it causes pain, but because we use techniques that will help break up the mucus in the lungs so you can cough it out. With this part of the treatment, you have to not stop yourself from coughing. The goal is to actually have you cough during the treatment, not for you to hold it in till the session is over.
The technique that is used to help you bring up the phlegm(mucus) in the lungs is called cupping. It is where the therapist makes their hands into a cup shape and they hit against the back of the rib cage. None of this is done on the front of your body, only the back. The cupping can range from light or moderate at the beginning to moderate or heavy in the middle of the treatment than back down to light or moderate. This will depend on how much you are coughing during the treatment, if this is the first time you’ve ever had this type of treatment, age or health (if you are elderly, heavy cupping won’t be done, especially if you have any osteoarthritis in the ribs), and if you can tolerate it, as there could be some days that you are more sensitive then others and may not be able to handle the heavy cupping. When this technique is used it does sound like a loud slap followed by a suction type of sound.
As for positioning during the cupping part of the treatment will depend on what lobe or lobes of your lungs are affected. For each of these positions, because no oil is needed for this part of the treatment, you don’t have to be undressed at all. The only way to know which lobe is affected is by going to your doctor, where they will either do a chest x-ray or use their stethoscope and tap on different areas of the back of the rib cage to listen for which areas sound hollow (clear) and which ones don’t (filled with mucus). Once you know what lobe is affected, there are 3 different positions that you can be in and they are as follows:
Upper lobes: sitting in a chair, and leaning into several pillows, which are made into a wedge. The wedge is made as high as you need it to be, to be comfortable. In this position it allows the upper lobes to drain of mucus, then you will be able to cough it out.
Middle lobe: This lobe is only on the right side of the body, as the left lung only has 2 lobes because the heart is on that side. For this position, a pillow is placed under the right side of your body while you are lying face down. This lets the middle lobe drain of mucus, then you will be able to cough it out.
Lower Lobes: for this lobe to be able to drain, that wedge of pillows that was mentioned for the upper lobes is also used, however this time, the wedge goes under your pelvis. You will look like an upside-down ‘V’ with your hips being at the highest point of the ‘V’. Depending on how tall you are will determine how high a wedge you need to have under your pelvis, and then you have your head in the headrest. This lets the lower lobes drain of mucus, then you will be able to cough it out.
Unfortunately, you have to be able to be in these positions to be able to clear out the respective lobe to be able to let it have proper draining. If you aren’t in the proper position, the cupping can still break up the mucus, since it is done over the entire back, and you may still be able to cough up some of the phlegm, but the treatment won’t be as successful as it could be.
Adding this type of treatment, along with medication that your doctor prescribes you, can make your flare-ups not last as long. That and if you have severe chronic bronchitis, using this type of treatment can keep your flare-ups from getting as severe as they have in the past, which can mean that you may not have to take as much medication as you have before. At that same time, do ask your doctor before stopping or taking less of your medication. Though you may be feeling better with the use of massage, it is not meant to be a replacement for the medication that your doctor has prescribed for you.