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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
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This is a perfect example of what the Infraspinatus can do. And what I mean about misdiagnosis. This is from an earlier comment I made on this thread.
Gordon J. Wallis said:
This is cool. He is completely trigger point free now. He sleeps soundly through the night. When he was leaving the room I told him to remember and cancel his next appointment, because it won't be needed. Then he said, " I have to cancel one more appointment too." I said, "What appointment is that?" He said, "The one with the Orthopedic Surgeon."
Gordon J. Wallis said:This is interesting. A new cient came in the other day. I've seen him three times now. But the first time I saw him, I asked him if there was anything that I could do for him? He told me that he did not think I could do anything for him, but he was reffered to me, and that he would try anything. I said, You must be hurting? He said yes. At night he has a very difficult time sleeping. He is awaken throughout the night with right shoulder pain that radiates down his arm all the way to his thumb. He told me that has seen other people and is doing the exercises, but its been six months and its not getting any better. I asked him where he feels the most pain when its really hurting. He touched his deltoid. Anyway I palpated from his hips up to the top of his neck and dowh his right arm. Here is what I found. Three rhomboid pain points. One pain point in the extensor muscles of his arm along with a pain point on his thumb. But the worst two pain points were in his Infraspinatus. They all perfectly match up to his pain pattern. The exercises he was doing, with weights, to his right arm were only perpateuating his pain problem. I've seen him three or four times now. 15 minute sessions. He is now sleeping at night with only minor pain. Last night he was awoken only one time, but the pain dissapated quickly and he was able to go right back to sleep. He still has two rhomboid pain pain points. The extesor and thumb are only lightly sore now. I used soft tissue release for his forearm and plain old ordinary massage on his thumb to ease the pain in those areas. But the Infraspinatus pain points are now gone. Those were the main ones. Anyway, he is way better now. Not sure if its completely over for him, but he is 85% better after three or four short sessions and no exercise. I will attach the pain patterns for the muscles involved.
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http://www.triggerpointtherapist.com/blog/infraspinatus-trigger-poi... Here is some information on Infraspinatus trigger points. Its often never ever considered in any diagnosis by anyone when it comes to shoulder, arm, and neck pain. Well, hardly anyone thinks trigger points anyway.
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Not to long ago a couple, from out of state, came into the spa for massages. I got the wife, while one of the other therapists got the husband. During the massage on the wife I was able to eliminate some minor pain she had in her upper back that had bid nagging her for some time. She commented, " I wonder if you can help my husband? He has been in a lot of pain." She told me that he had cancer, and because of that, had to have the Sartorius muscle in his left leg surgically removed. Ever sense then he has nerve pain from his left hip down to his toes, and is often awaken at night because of the pain. There is a noticable dragging of his left leg when he walks, and the pain is so bad that he can't put his own shoes on. Anyway, I told her Gee, I don't know if I can help him or not? But I would like to try. They were leaving from the airport tomorrow morning on their way back home. I had no appointments after her, and suggested that she talk to him after their massages to see if he will let me check him out. She talked to him after the massages and he agreed to see if I could do anything for him. Now remember he just had a massage from an experienced therapist. And he told me, after he was in my room, that he has been seeing a chiropractor regularly once a month for quite some time, and had previously gone through a series of physical therapy sessions. After he told me pretty much what his wife had already told me about his pain, he also told me that his toes are numb, and that he can't bend over and put his own shoes on. I then asked him if anyone ever mentioned the word trigger points to him? He looked at me like a deer in the headlights and said NO? Long story short.. Goodness, he had a bucket load of major trigger points in virtually every major muscle from his left hip down to his feet except for his quads. The worst pain points were in his inner thigh( where they cut the Sartorius mucle out ), and in his hamstrings. It was also pretty bad in his Peroneus area as well as the top of his foot ( remember the numbing toes ). When I finished with the session he got up off the table amazed. He walked with noticeably less dragging of his foot. He commented that it was a very noticable change and that his hips felt much looser and waking was easier. When he changed into his clothes he could put his shoes on without any problem. His wife gave him such a big hug when he told her how much better he felt after I worked on him. They are coming back to Alaska in April for a few weeks. He is going to schedule a series of sessions with me then. They were both really happy and I felt good. I won't be able to totally help him. After all he has no Sartorius muscle in his left leg, but I'm going to be helping him a lot. That just makes me feel good. Ya know, dispite that fact that trigger points have been known and researched for a very long time, they are rarely thought about. I mean very rarely.
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I'm assuming.. Often times when I assume, I'm wrong. That being said, I don't think I'm wrong in this case? Now before I go on.. I want to make things really clear. Everything I say in here is from my experience. That doesn't mean its the absolute truth, but it's my truth. And I've been doing this for over 30 years. So I think everything I say is worth thinking about?? Recently a new client came in.. A business man. He has been flying all over the country doing his thing.. Waiting in airports, runways, layovers and so on. A hectic schedule. So he comes into the spa for a relaxation massage and happens to get me. He is burnt out from sitting on planes and doing his thing.. When I asked him what he wanted from this massage he told me just to relax. Understandable, considering his work and hectic schedule. After hearing that, I told him that I have a very high skill set when it comes to helping people out of pain. He may not need that skill set, but I want him to know about it.. So I showed him a testimonial and a video clip of me doing my trigger point thing.. After that, he told me that he does have chronic sciatica down his left hip and leg. Which he has had for over ten years. He has been seeing a chiropractor that told him that his hips our out... One is higher then the other or something... His sacrum is this way or that. The usual chirpractic talk I always hear.. But then he said, he finally went to the medical docs, and they told him after an MRI or CAT scan( I forgot which one? ) , that he had an extra lumbar vertabrae.. And when he told me that... he said it in a doomed way. Like there is nothing that you can do about it? Well I hear this kind of stuff all the time. Really means nothing to me as a massage therapist(personally). So I said,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,So you hurt? He said yea. Its constant for ten years.. My left hip to my feet. It bothers me when I walk. Its because of that extra vertabrae.. I asked him if he ever heard of the word Trigger Point?? He said no?? I said, Well you have a 50 minute massage.. Five minutes have gone bye.. I can check you out in another ffive minutes.. You read the testimonial and viewed the video clip... I might be able to help you.? .. If not, we still have time to get you relaxed. He said ok. Wow, long story short. He had maybe 15 or 20 painful trigger points from his hips down to his toes, front, back, and sides on the left hip and leg.. Only one trigger point on his good leg, the right one. I ended up doing nothing but trigger point work the whole rest of his massage time. Every single one of those trigger points down graded or was deactivated within that time period. I told him that he should notice a huge difference when he walks around. That many trigger points generates a lot of pain.. And if they are ever eliminated, he should feel way better if not totally fine. I also told him that one session is not going to cure him... That he needs to find someone in his area that knows trigger points and get follow up sessions.. Anyway, after the massage I gave him my email, so he could tell me how he is feeling sense I released so many trigger points in his effected hip and leg. And he hurriedly left . I felt kind of bad, sense he was not relaxed when he left.. I did not give him his relaxation massage that he wanted.. But I recieved and email from him the other day. I will attach a portion of it below. Ok I cant find it.. I will attach it in the next coment space, after I find it.
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Ok, here is a portion of his email. I very strongly suspect that this whole time, he has had FAKE SCIATICA. Its trigger points that have gone undiagnosed, as usual. It's a typical experience, for me.
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Check these pain patterns out.. Most of the sciatica I run into is trigger points... Check the pain patterns out on these three trigger points... and he had 15 or 20 !! I can only load one attachment at a time.. so.. Its been years sense Ive seen real sciatica.. Maybe ten.
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Here is another one..
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Here is another... he had way more then these three. If you don't know trigger points.. Then an extra vertabrae would be the problem that dooms you forever, right? Or maybe one hip is higher then the other, and your sacrum is torqued?
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Actually, there are more then three trigger points on those three charts. He had even more.
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Permalink Reply by Therese Schwartz on
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Wow!! Both of those men really benefited from your expertise, Gordon! I'm glad the first one can come back in April and do several sessions with you.
Thanks as always for posting the Tp pictures. It always helps me a lot.
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Met a new client the other day. When I asked her if she had any pain in her body she started telling me T this and T that are always out, this hip is that way and on and on before I stopped her.. I said it sounds like you have been seeing a chiropractor. She said yes. I said has it been helping your pain. She said no. I said how long have you been seeing the chiropractor. She said over a year, until the insurance refused to pay anymore. When I hear that kind of stuff, and I do often. Just makes me think how good is their diagnosis if they cant do anything about it? And a year? And now its over because no insurance money left.. hmm. Well I don't know about all her vertrabrae that were supose to be out... Oh, she was getting massages at the chiropractic office too. Anyway I did find a lot of trigger points in her T spine. A lot of pain points on several lateral spinuses in her upper T spine( no one ever palpated their ). They all deactivated. She was very happy and excited because she felt better. She rescheduled... Now I don't know if I can help her, but I think I can. I will know, and she will know, within four 25 minute sessions. I wont keep on telling her that I can help her with no clinical improvement happening for over a year.
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Permalink Reply by Gary W Addis, LMT on
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amen, brother. It's a great feeling when they flash that smile of relief, isn't it.
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