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A typical experience

I had a new client the other day for an 80 minute massage. I asked him if there is anything that he wanted me to know.  He told me that he suffers from a herniated disc that he has had for a few years. He has constant low back and right hip pain that at times radiates down the back of his leg to his knee. He told me that he has had two injections in his low back and has to stay on anit- inflamtory medication.  Anything to avoid surgery. The pain is always there. I asked him if he ever saw a chiropractor for his pain.  He said yes.  But the adjustments hurt his hip so bad that he could not continiue.  So here is a guy that thinks he is on the verge of surgery. I knew that there was a very strong probubllity that was not the case. The vast majority of pain people experience is nocioceptive pain( soft tissue- muscle, tendon, ligament, facia).  MDs and Chiropractors see pain as neuropathic pain( nerve pain).  With that asumption they give the wrong treatments and therapies.  Now there is no denying that at times injections and surgery is needed. Not denying that.   But most of the time - NOT.  70% to 85% of all pain comes directly from trigger points.  Anyway I showed my client a testimonial from a client that I was able to help out of a very painful condition that she had delt with for a couple of years. I showed him that testimonial because all pain has a psychological eliment too it. I wanted him to start thinking maybe he is not on the edge of surgery.  I palpated his entire back upper torso, both hips, and right leg. I found a very painful spot on his right L5 erectors.  Another very painful spot on his right greater trochantor.  A painful spot in the middle part of his lower right hamstrings.  And also a tender spot on the right spinous of L3.  I knew that if Iwas able to eliminate all those painful palaptory spots that I would most likely eliminate his pain problem.  Because a healthy body had no painful spots even with deep massage.  Ive been hunting and eliminateing trigger points for thirty years now.  He walked out of the massage room pain free. He was pain free for the first time in years. All those other professional people misdiagnosed him because they assume neuropathic pain over nocioceptive pain.  I assume the other way around.  I'm a Massage Therapist.  

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Permalink Reply by Gordon J. Wallis on April 27, 2015 at 1:32pm
A new client, an elderly lady came in complaining of pain from her left knee up to her hip. It gets so bad that at times she can't get out of her chair without help. She has been dealing with this pain for two months. I explained acupressure and trigger point work to her, and let her watch a short video clip of me doing a trigger point session. I did my trigger point exam over her entire body. She had a bunch of trigger points along her bladder meridian. The worst ones were in her glutes. Where ever there are trigger points, you want to check out the entire meridian for additional tender spots ( in her canse the GB meridian ). She also had a fairly big trigger point on her lateral left ribs and lateral left calf. Any way, all of the tender spots deactivated. She felt very much better after the session which took 40 minutes. She was scheduled for an 80 minute session. But we ended it at 40 so she could save money and come back in for a follow up 25 minute session. She has only had these symptoms for two months.. So Im guessing maybe 3 or 4 sessions and it should be over. She is elderly though.. Not sure how that will play into it. But its all trigger points and her problem should soon be over.
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Permalink Reply by Gordon J. Wallis on April 27, 2015 at 1:33pm
Another way to look at the GB meridian.
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Permalink Reply by Gordon J. Wallis on May 1, 2015 at 6:23pm
As usual it was a serious trigger point day. About 50 trigger points bit the dust today. All with dramatic effect. An interesting one involved only two trigger points. A new client came in just wanting a relaxation massage.. As usual.. I work in a spa of course. After telling her about Acupressure and Trigger point work. Letting her watch a 50 second video clip of me doing my thing. She told me that she does have an arthritic big toe do to many years of ballet dancing in her younger years. She says it hurts real bad from time to time. The Medical doctors told her it was Arthritis as a result of her ballet dancing. She told me that there is really nothing you can do about it. Anyway, I checked her big toe out. She had two trigger points that were causing her big toe pain. One was in her Extensor Hallucis Longus. The other was right in that trigger points pain zone( first joint of the big toe ). I was able to deactivate both. She was very suprised. I wasn't. Arthritis, NOT.. WRONG....Years of ballet dancing causes trigger points. Of course no one thinks of that ( except me ). Sense I cant load more then one attachment at a time . I will load one now, and another in the next reply. Trigger points are real. They are causing the vast majority of pain on this planet.
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Permalink Reply by Gordon J. Wallis on May 1, 2015 at 6:25pm
Here is a picture of one of her trigger points. The other one was right on the RED zone on top of the first joint of the Big toe. It was the lower trigger point ( X ).
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Permalink Reply by Gordon J. Wallis on May 3, 2015 at 1:26pm
Had a new client the other day come in for a relaxing massage. She told me to be very gentle when working on her low back. I asked her why? She said. " Well I have Arthritis of the low back, and also Scoliosis. " She said it like that explains things ( that's why I hurt ). She had two trigger points on her Quadratus Lumborum near the Illiac Crest on both hips. Also trigger points in the Gluteus Medius on both hips. She was surprised when her Arthritis vanished. Now Im sure her pain will come back. But it was trigger points.
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Permalink Reply by Gordon J. Wallis on May 3, 2015 at 1:27pm
The other muscle involved.
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Permalink Reply by Gordon J. Wallis on May 3, 2015 at 1:28pm
A fact.
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Permalink Reply by Gordon J. Wallis on May 3, 2015 at 11:50pm
Another major trigger point day. Too much to even type about. This was interesting. A new client came in, a military man, referred from another client that I was able to help. This guy has had severe pain in his calves for over two years. Extremely painful after he runs. He has to run every week. Its so bad that he is often waken up at night with intense cramping. He has been to all the medical docs and physical therapists with no benifit. They ran all the tests on him. Compartment syndrome, nerve conduction tests, MRIs, Cat scans, blood tests.. They don't know whats causing it. As soon as he told me all this.. I knew it was trigger points. The people he went to for help know nothing about trigger points. Read the attachment in the reply above. Thats a very true statement. He had a fifty minute massage scheduled. I palpated from his hips down to his toes. I found a half dozen intense trigger points in his calves. Also a couple intense ones in his anterior lower leg. Gosh. He says when he tries to stretch his calves out its extemely painful. Thats because its like stretching a cut. Can you imagine how that would feel? A trigger point is like a crack in the coner of your mouth.. Its cellular damage. How does it feel to stretch a cracked lip?? Anyways, I was able to palpate and deactivate all of trigger points in twenty minutes.. The problem is they want him running every week. Im sure I can help him a lot if not out right rid him of that problem. All those TPs vanished, at least for now..That means they dont have to be there. And that his calves will heal after repeated releases. That is if his calves are allowed to rest and heal.. In one month or three weeks time he should be fine, my guess based on my experience. And he understands that now. He thinks he can get out of running for a month, but not sure. He is the perfect example of trigger point pain that goes un-diagnosed. And because Im a massage therapist in a spa, no military or medical person is going to listen to me ( a spa massage therapist ). But he knows truth now. Imagine six painful TPs in each calf? Im discounting his sessions because I see it as an injustice to him..He is suffering needlessly. Hopefully he can see me every two or three days for three weeks.. If so, his two year pain problem is over. Its sad though, I know his problem. He now knows his problem. And I KNOW that I can help him. There is no doubt in my mind. But other people run my life and his life.. So he may not ever get the help he really needs. Because - TRUTH REMAINS HIDDEN.
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Permalink Reply by Gary W Addis, LMT on May 4, 2015 at 4:31pm

When the pain stops and ROM is restored after trigger point therapy, that is a damned fine indication that trigger point were in fact the cause of the pain. 

For two years, the guy had been the recipient of expensive medical testing, and had been given pills for the pain along with physical therapy "stretching and strengthening" treatments, but nothing brought him any relief.  When all else fails to produce, but a few minutes spent with Gordon instantly relieves the pain, it's understandable that both the client and Gordon credit Gordon's trigger point therapy techniques with providing the pain relief.

Permalink Reply by Gordon J. Wallis on May 4, 2015 at 5:30pm
It's trigger points. I palpated his entier body from his hips down ( front, back, and sides ). He had no tender points until I got below his knees. The pain he feels is below his knees. Where he has pain spots ( trigger points ). So if I can make those tender spots go away, his pain will go away. They are causing his pain. The tender spots are perpetuated from his constant running and stretching, I have a very high skill set when it comes to deactivating trigger points. If you do something over and over again for thrity years. You get pretty good at it. Ive had many clients that suffered from pain for well over ten years. Because nobody recognised their problem as coming from trigger points. Painful palpatory areas in the muscle and tendons. Placebo effect is involved in everything. But trust me. If I worked on him in a beautiful enviornment, and had tons of degrees on the wall.. Told him Ive cured famous people, Presidents, Athletes and so on. Showed him video a video clip of the Pope awarding me Sainthood. All of that.... But did not do specific work to deactivate those trigger points. He would never get well. Nobody ever told him the word trigger point. The PTs had him stretching which only perpetuated the trigger points along with his running. Once those trigger points are deactivated, he will be able to run and suffer much less pain as a result. He may have to come in once a month or three to deactivate a minor flare up or something. If he can get out of running for a while , that gives me time and him a chance to heal. It will take more then one session. But each time he comes back, there will be less and less trigger points, until there are none. Or maybe one minor one left.. Then he can do some good stretching before and after his runs, make sure he has a good amount of proteint in his diet. And he should be fine. Ive had lots of clients that have suffered for years, dispite seeing other careing practitioners and massage therapists. The only difference between me and them is,,,,I recognise the problem as being trigger points, and do specific techniques to deactivate them. Now if thats Placebo Effect. Fine. But if I dont do what I do to those trigger points. They will not get well. After all. I could have spent quality time stretching him.. The reason and only reason Im able to help clients that others have not.. Is because I deactivate their Trigger Points..Now if thats Placebo Effect..Then fine.. good.. I'm going to post a testimonial of a client that suffered ten years of hip pain.. she has gone to many Chiropractic sessions and massage sessions for years.. Hour massages.. No one specifically worked on the trigger points in her hips.. I did. No one ever mentioned the word trigger point. They gave her many hours of time and energy. I saw her for two 25 minute, highly advanced, trigger point sessions.. She is now pain free. Read her testimonial.. I do undersand placebo effect. And utilize that fact to the best of my ability. But its the Trigger point work that does it.
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Permalink Reply by Gordon J. Wallis on May 4, 2015 at 5:52pm

Everything I do is based on science. And I have a way to show credible findings.. Client comes in with hip pain.. I find six trigger points the first session.. the next session two days later the client has five trigger points.. the next session two days later the client has only three trigger points... the next session two days later the client only has one trigger point... the next session two days later the client has no trigger points and no pain. You can measure the progress by the number of trigger points each session. And I do have agenda. Trigger points cause a lot of pain and needless suffering in this country and the world. And it goes unrecognized.. Even by you.. And thats why I write in here.. The techniques I used are based on Ancient Acupuncture and Modern Neuromuscular Techniques that utilze ther Nervous System. I can explain everything that I do on a scientific basis. I'm not trying to do a POWER TRIP in here.. Im agrivated too no end because I see so many people that are being ripped off and suffering from needless pain.. And Im writing about it..
Stacey L Brown said:

There is much more at work here that lends itself to the client feeling better, than massaging a soft tissue lump. Basing your outcome only on technique and projected outcomes (eg; agenda driven) certainly makes us seem all kinds of awesome, doesn't it?

Oversimplifying the human body and how it responds (eg; CNS) to touch seems to be, collectively, more about keeping us relevant and our clients happy than taking the time to fully understand what is currently being brought to light in pain science research.

The truth is much of what we think we are doing, is simply untrue, and also much of what we are doing, is unclear because we have no way of measuring these outcomes - too many variables to produce unbiased, credible findings. To fill-in the gaps with projections and pseudo-sciency terms and notions does nothing to further our vocation, especially for those who want to align themselves with the medical community.

Permalink Reply by Gordon J. Wallis on May 4, 2015 at 5:55pm
This statement is real.
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