Massage, Emphysema, and (Sick) Exercising.

Today I had an hour and a half full-body massage. Jealous? Well, don't be! Following my massage I then had to complete the hour and a half routine. Now part of me feels really relaxed while the other part feels really stiff and tense from working my partner's muscles :P
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Emphysema is a disease in the lungs. Symptoms related with this disease include shortness of breath. The alveoli (little air sacs on the surface of the lungs) over-inflate with air, but the air can't get out. The alveoli sacs eventually die leaving scar tissue on the surface of the lungs. They die as they are unable to preform normal gas exchange (exchanging oxygen for carbon dioxide). Bronchioles connect the alveoli with the rest of the lung, thus when alveoli are damaged, the bronchioles can collapse, making it even harder for the lungs exchange the lung that is caught in the alveoli. This disease is usually caused by smoking.
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There is a general rule for exercising when sick. Symptoms that occur below the neck (e.g. a cold in the chest cold, lung infection, tummy ache, diarrhea) mean that exercising should be put on hold, while symptoms that occur above the neck (e.g. runny nose, sneezing, sinus congestion) shouldn't pose a problem to normal exercise routines. However, every case is different and thus only you and your health professional are know best whether or not to exercise when feeling sick.