Massage
 

I made an app for next week. Does it help with muscle spasms? How often should I go?

Is it basically the same as PT as far as the massage part? Has it helped you?
:grouphug:

What type do they do? Was anything about that mentioned?
There are many kinds of massage and some learn and do more than 1 or 2 types.

There is the basic surface massage, and there is the deep tissue massage, somewhere between is probably where to start.. many kinds in between too..

A really good one will ask how you are doing and it more or less pressure is needed for you. They also should be able to tell by feel, where your spasms & tight muscles are..

Many massage videos on you tube to give you an idea of what to expect, even some for TOS and upper-body, neck etc..

He knows about my TOS, we spent some time talking on the phone. He works like a lot of patients with chronic pain, was recommended by someone who has TOS as well.

He said he will start easy on me to see what I can tolerate and then we will go into more depth next time.

He also told me to take magnesium and calcium for muscle spams. How much do you guys take?

My PT was actually the one who found my TOS. To help with all of the muscle pain, tightness and spasms he is doing a soft tissue massage using different metal tools. I have a lot of tight muscles popping and crunching over my bones like they are sliding over a gear. This causes me to instantly get nauseous and woozy feeling.

I see him once (sometimes) twice a week where he uses a very hot heating pad on my back, and then focus on the trigger point areas with the metal tools. I've been doing this for a few months and he's able to get some of my worst areas to calm down for about 5-7 days, but if I miss a week all of my knots and spasms are back again. After the massage he has me do some pec and neck stretches, along with some weight training for my shoulders.

At home I lay and roll on a large, hard foam roller to loosen my shoulders in between visits. So far my scalene muscles feel about 50% better, but new problems areas come up once he gets rid of other knots. My problem shoulder is still a lot higher than my other. He suggested that I get deep tissue massages in combination with PT massages. Drink a lot of water after your massage, you may also feel 'out of it' the rest of the day depending on how deep they go.

Metal tools? Sounds like Graston: www.grastontechnique.com

Graston has been a great help to me. Awesome for finding and treating trigger points. I think it is rare that you found a massage therapist that incorporates it. It is used mostly by PTs and Chiros.

Once you find the right therapist, you'll never want to leave them!