Deep Tissue Massage
 

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.

Liza, that does sound great and thanks for sharing your experience, I have had very similar experience with Bowen Therapy, its a very light massage, i know they practice it in the USA as well as in OZ these days, if its properly performed its so relaxing you could easily go off to sleep, it works on every muscel, tissue in your whole body.

So Liza Jane . . .
 

--send me an e-mail or PM and tell me where you went.

I've been getting the TENS/IFC/ultrasound/some acupuncture at the PT/sports rehab center they took me to after the initial injury, but I think I've hit a plateau the last few weeks in terms of improvement, both muscularly in the shoulder and neurologically in the hand, and even the PT's there think I could benefit from some good bodywork (one even suggested getting Rolfed!)

Rolfed=OUCH!..... but beneficial.....did Zen therapy once.....similar.....sl less OUCH....

Muscle spasm
 

The way my Physical Therapist described the process is that muscles go into spasm as an automatic reaction to protect themselves and surrounding areas from movement when something is wrong in the area, such as nerve entrapment, arthritis, tendonitis, surgical injury, or other injury or disease process.

Muscles going into spasm for this reason is often a self destructive process. While muscle spasms prevent movement, they also prevent healing and may exacerbate the original problem. Much of physical therapy is to encourage muscles in spasm to relax, resulting in pain relief, increased blood flow and enervation, and healing of the cause of the spasm.

I’d like to see PT a usual part of most of our therapeutic program. Often medical intervention aims to only relieve symptoms using various combinations of drugs, with associated side effects. While pain relief is also the aim of PT, there is also an attempt to intervene in a non-drug way to promote healing. Twice in my life, PT made extreme pain tolerable and restored full function to injured areas of my body where my doctors offered nothing but narcotics.

There are times when that autonomic aspect....
 

sort of spreads. I mean that the muscles surrounding the injured area are working overtime to compensate. If it is a severe spasm, varying degrees of acupressure can be a great relief if you start gently, increasing pressure to the areas OUTSIDE the worst pain region and work your way along the muscles in..pressure being that tolerable but not painful. Press & release -to determine comfort pressures, put your fingertip to your closoed eye until it almost hurts. That's the hardest you should ever begin with on affected areas. Work around the area, then work in.
I'd first learned this while a kid from a semi-pro athelete, ages later, I learned it in relation to large animals. I've found it works, it's non-invasive, and, you can do it to yourself [unless it's in the middle of your back].
A good book that you can get on Amazon called 'Oh, My Aching Back, by Leon Root', provides a thorough explanation on all those muscles. It's kind of a period piece, but, you'd have to read it to appreciate it.
The point is, once muscles go into spasm, it's essential to break that 'programming'! All those muscles are connected and by breaking their compensating efforts, you can release all the core tensions. As for finding a therapist that can do it all, that's a luck and gut instinct thing.
Hope this all helps! - j