Sinusitis - what to do when it keeps bothering you

A runny nose, treated or untreated, is said to last 14 days. But what if the feeling of a blocked nose lasts longer? On top of that, you still have a headache and the general feeling of uneasiness doesn't go away. You don't even know that your body is fighting an acute inflammation. If you don't get the right treatment in time, sinusitis can turn into a much more severe chronic form.

Is it possible to treat chronic sinusitis effectively when medication does not work? It is certainly worth trying out sinus therapy, which will be carried out by a physiotherapist who specialises in this.

Let's start at the beginning - what are sinuses?

If you are asking this question? Then you certainly haven't had sick sinuses. Sinuses are cavities located within the skull, specifically in the facial bones. They are filled with air, lined with a thin mucous membrane and have a connection with the nasal cavity. We divide the sinuses into maxillary, frontal, wedge, lacrimal and sieve cells. The sinuses have very important tasks. They are responsible, among other things, for protecting the brain and regulating the temperature in the skull, but also for receiving olfactory stimuli and creating the intonation of speech.

How does sinusitisdevelop ?

The sinus mucosa, like the nasal mucosa, has a self-cleaning mucous-ciliary mechanism. It produces large amounts of mucous secretion, which moistens the epithelium and, moving with the help of cilia movement towards the nose and throat, catches pollutants and microorganisms. When the respiratory tract becomes infected, the nasal mucous membrane swells and the sinus mouth becomes blocked. The retained secretion promotes the growth of bacteria that cause inflammation. At the same time, it presses on the sinus walls and causes pain. A similar situation occurs in the case of allergic rhinitis or a crooked nasal septum. This is the simplest way to describe the mechanism of sinusitis.

Sinus therapy - worth a try

How to treat sinuses?

Jeśli stan zapalny wywołują bakterie, o antybiotykoterapii zdecyduje lekarz laryngolog. Ten fakt jest oczywisty dla większości z nas i w zasadzie mógłby zakończyć temat leczenia zatok. A jednak niezupełnie. Rzadko mówi się o terapii zatok wykonywanej przy pomocy technik manualnych ukierunkowanych na kluczowe struktury prawidłowego drenażu zatok. Ponieważ brzmi to nieco zagadkowo, wyjaśnienia udzieli mgr Magda Rybak – fizjoterapeutka, technik masażysta.

What is sinus therapy?

For sinus therapy we invite people who have problems with the feeling of a blocked nose, suffer from recurring sinusitis, headaches that worsen when bending over, colds.

The manual sinus treatment technique starts with relaxing the cervical spine by gently massaging the occipital region as well as the spinous processes, but also using trigger points on the suboccipital muscles.

This is followed by manual facial drainage. This is the most pleasant part of the whole therapy, involving circular movements pushing the lymph towards the subclavian lymph nodes.

This is followed by facial gradation, a technique taken from the pino and clavitherapy methods, which involves inducing a relatively large number of stimuli in a fairly short period of time, this in turn causes blood vessels to contract and stimulates local congestion.

Finally, a manual mobilisation of the nasal cavity, that is, the entrance towards the maxillary sinuses, is performed. The aim is to create as much breathing space as possible to ensure the best possible circulation of air, the lack of which is an ally of persistent inflammation.

What else helps with sinuses?

In addition, complementary manual sinus therapy treatments can be :

• irradiation withIR rays, commonly known as Sollux, which provides pleasant warmth and relaxation and helps to get rid of secretions
• high-energy laser in the area of the frontal and maxillary sinuses, which has a drying effect
• low-energy laser , which also has a drying effect from the inside

A contraindication for the treatment is fever. We also do not perform the therapy on pregnant women.

mgr Magda Rybak – doświadczona fizjoterapeutka, technik masażysta. W CM Luxmed prowadzi m.in. terapię zatok, terapię punktów spustowych, pinoterapię, masaż tkanek głębokich.

To register for treatment you will need a referral. This can be issued by a physiotherapy specialist or doctor.

You can sign upfor a consultation with a physiotherapist online.