I don't know if Wings talks about this is his sticky, but I just had a positive experience that I want to share.

I've been in a LOT of pain since surgery in February, when I had the laminectomy and fusion of my spine. It's been improving, but way too slowly for my satisfaction.

This past week I did two new things in the hopes they would help, and they did, but basically, for the same reason.

I saw Melody's husband's Alan's famous neurochiropractor Dr T. I saw my old PT, who does myofascial massage, and I saw a massage therapist I've known for years. Him I saw just hoping for some nice sensation, for a change.

Well the PT said my psoas muscle felt like it was made out of leather. Dr T said my gluts felt like rocks. Also, there were rocks in my rotator cuffs. He was timid about going near my spine, so he didn't really check those muscles, as he's concerned about the screws and rods and wants to stay away from them. He used his elbows and worked deeply into the gluts, and then used ultrasound and his hands on my rotator cuff. But the massage therapist, who was the CHEAPEST, said the long muscles of my back feel like steel cable, a couple of the lower down ones, (I forget their names), he said were rocks. No wonder I couldn't move without pain.

The massage therapist worked deeply into the back muscles and those near the hip. He spent a lot more time than Dr T, and was a lot less money. It was way better than the myofascial release, which makes sense, as the problem is that muscles are spasmed.

I feel a new hope with this. I think that many of us who are in pain probably have muscles like mine---after reacting to an injury or pain they cramp up on themselves, starting an inflammatory reaction which causes more spasm. You can't really stretch a muscle that's contracted into a rock. And muscles like that push on nerves and the blood vessels that supply nerves, so they causes neuropathic pain and neuropathy symptoms.

I have no idea anymore with me which is the chicken and which is the egg for most of mine pain. I have gotten used to taking an approach of just going to the alternative providers along with my doctors, because I believe that at different times the alternative world has something to offer beyond what the straight medical world does.

I would not be surprised if the pain Silverlady describes is partly due to muscles which have reacted to arthritis. And the thing that helps wtih this, good deep tissue muscle massage (some call it neuromuscular massage), is a wonderful thing to do.

And, it has the added advantage of NOT being in a hospital or clinic or medicalized surrounding. I was really happy to find myself getting cared for in a place that played nice music, burned scented candles, and had low lighting. I could get used to that.