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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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Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Gordon J. Wallis on
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I always tell a pain client that I can help them, even before I begin the session. I don't worry about leading a client on or giving them false hope. Because if i fail, I fail fast. I usually know within the first session, and for sure by the fourth, if I'm going to help them or not. Other types of health care providers will often lead them on for weeks, months and sometimes years, or until the insurance runs out. The bottom line is, One of the most important aspects about healing someone of pain, if not the most important, is how you talk. If they hear your confidence, and positive attitude, their chance of healing is ten fold. That being said, it helps very much to know and have confidence in what you do. Read the attachment below. You may already know this stuff. But do you apply it to your work? I never did until a few years ago. And I notice the difference.
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I injured myself while exercising, and have not worked for over a week now. A real bummer, and an economic hit for me. Sense I live beyond my means. The exercise I was doing was fairly benign. At least thats what I thought. I was lifting a 10lb medicine ball over my head when I heard a very loud POP in my left wrist. I stopped immediately and cheked my wrist. It was a very loud popping sound, but I felt no pain. And after checking my wrist and hand out with palpation and stretching, I found no pain or injury.. So I carried on with my workout.. That night I was awaken with pain in that same wrist. And by morning I could not move my hand. I could not even pick up a piece of paper because of the pain. When that happens, its very scary. I'm injured and can't work. And for how long? Now I was like one of my pain clients, hurt and perhaps scared? And thats the only thing good about it. A chance to learn. I was now a patient of myself. I'm a healer. An expert at helping others out of pain. Now I'm the one in pain. I at first tried to palpate for trigger points. However I found none. My whole wrist was swollen and tender to touch or move. So I lightly caressed and massaged the area with an Arnica cream that I had. I never believed that Arnica ever worked, but, deperate as i was I used it. I also utilized hot and cold water to increase circulation to the injured area. . After all the blood is what brings healing nutrients and protiens to the injured tissues. I also taped static rare earth magnets on the area of which there is some scientific evidence that they do speed up the healing and pain relieving process. I also used a pulsed magnetic device over the area on and off throughout the day, along with a static electric wand that helped move fluids in and out of the injured area. After about three days I was able to palpate three pain points or trigger points once the huge swollen area had dissipated. Oh, I also was taking Bayer Back and Body Extra Strength Aspirin 500 miligrams. Only two a day though. Anyway I was able to deactivate the TPs quickly, but they also came back quickly. I continiue to release them, and slowly they are going away. I used a form of self Active Release at first with farily light pressure. Initially that first morning of pain. I could not move my wrist at all. Now I have almost full range of motion with pain. Its Friday today. I opened my schedule back up again for Monday. I should be ok by then. I continue to do everything with the magnets, pulsed and static, as well as the static electric wand, along with the self bodywork. There is no better continiuing education training then working on your own body. You find out what works, at least for you( everyone is different). If ya can't heal yourself. You can't heal anyone else.
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Permalink Reply by Gary W Addis, LMT on
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Methinks even the small weight if used at an unnatural rotation angle might have popped it partially out of the joint. Did you try initially to "pop" it back in, as you would a jammed finger or a doctor would a dislocated shoulder? Later, inflammation set in and made that impossible.
Good thing you had the expertise. Else, you would have been forced into the clutches of the medical field-- drugs, months of PT until eventually you would have begun to look for someone with advanced TP therapy skills.
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When it initially happened nothing hurt or felt out of place? I had full strength range of motion with no pain. But obviously that POP, was something? At any rate its better now. By Monday, I'm predicting it will be good enough for me to do my massage work. I just finished working on myself today using all the modalities mentioned above, and then some.
Gary W Addis, LMT said:Methinks even the small weight if used at an unnatural rotation angle might have popped it partially out of the joint. Did you try initially to "pop" it back in, as you would a jammed finger or a doctor would a dislocated shoulder? Later, inflammation set in and made that impossible.
Good thing you had the expertise. Else, you would have been forced into the clutches of the medical field-- drugs, months of PT until eventually you would have begun to look for someone with advanced TP therapy skills.
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A new client came in the other day with right low back pain. It's been bothering him for a week. I had met him a while back and given him my card. We talked briefly about trigger points and showed him one of my videos. Anyway he told me that he was feeling great, then decided to get a massage. A discounted massage because of his gym membership. He figured just to relax and take advantage of the discounted rate. This is whats interesting to me.. During the massage the therapist told him that he found something in his lower back and upper right hip . And then proceeded to dig and dig very deeply in that area for most of the hour massage. My client said it was painful. And ever sense that massage his low back has been really hurting him.. Like I said he was limping and in obvious discomfort. What I find interesting is what the therapist told him.. I found something? My question is. What does that mean? What's something? I hear things like this often enough. I blame this on our education system. The guy did not know what he was doing. And those words "Found Somthing" also effected the client mentally. When he was talking to me, he said feel this( it was in the area of the mysterious something ).. And he looked and sounded concerned when he asked me.. I felt on his upper right sacrum where he indicated and found a small fatty deposit. Its nothing. I told him that and he was relieved. Anyway, after palpating him. I found trigger points in his Gluteus medius, PSIS, and Greater Trochanter on the effected side. But by far the most painful spot was on his Quadratus lumborum where it connects on the Illiac crest. I also found a painful trigger point in his Latissimus dorsi near his armpit on the right side. The upper Lats should always be checked when there are low back complaints. The Lats run right down to the lower back and are often involved. After a half hours time all the pain points were deactivated. He came back and had me deactivate that QL trigger point two more times that same day.. I talked to him briefly today and he says he is feeling fine. I suggested that he come in for one more follow up. In the attachment is a picture of QL trigger points. The one in the middle best fits his condition.
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Permalink Reply by Linda Rabah on
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The power of massage therapy
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"Sufficiently advanced technology is
indistinguishable from magic."
- Arthur C. Clarke - Attachments:
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I'm going to talk a little bit about acupressure. I hope I do not offend anybody. But I have to say a few words. In the attachment below is a definition of acupressure. Quackwatch, views acupressure as a dubious practice. Of course they do, because it doesn't really work. And the explanation of how acupressure supposedly works, really doesn't explain anything? It's like some sort of religious belief system. When I look online for schools and certification courses for acupressure, I find nothing of much value. Just a lot of needless fluff. And when I look at the curriculum. I can tell you.. That i do acupressue, and don't know any of their curriculum. It's all useless unhelpful information. The truth is, acupressure works. But not the way it is taught today. And it works based on sound scientific principles. Not the ki, chi, wood wind fire thing and mysterious energy blockages.. Acupressure as it was known in the ancient world worked. As its is known and being taught today, it doesn't.
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Am I right that it has to do with energy (nerve signal, nothing mysterious ) working on muscles and to a lesser dwgree, on the fascia that works with muscles?
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The meridians are not just lines on the body. They actually represent various muscle chains. A muscle chain is a group of muscles that act as one muscle. There are specific places on each muscle chain( meridian ) that when touched in a specific way induce an inverse myotatic reflex into that muscle chain, thats being specifically directed via the sensory nervous system, to the trigger point it self. It's an instant, fast, reliable release of the contracted muscle fibers that make up the trigger point. And that is completely different then what's being taught today, along with all the certification exams that go with it. And I may add. Because one is not digging on injured tissue, there is no collateral damage, the releases are longer lasting and often times, permanent.
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Have not been busy these last few days. However I did have a new client the other day. And oh boy, she was hurting. So much so that she could not lay on the table, front or back for more then ten minutes. She has had chronic low back and leg pain for years. She is curently in physical therapy. She has a list of diagnoses, one of them being fibromyalgia.. Has also has been told she needed surgery. I believe I can help her in a noticeable way. I had to work on her as she was sitting and some while standing. She has lots of trigger points. The PTs had her exercising and stretching like crazy. But, you can't exercise over dysfunction. And a trigger pointed muscle is a dysfunctional muscle, of which she had many. She told me that she feels worse after her physical therapy. No suprise to me. I really don't know how much I can help her, but I think I can get her out of her worst pain. She noticed improvement after her session, and I could see it. The noticeable part was measurable. Originally when sitting, she could not turn her body to the left very far without great pain. After the session she could turn her body to the left without pain.. So she is going to come and see me instead of the physical therapy. She was so happy. That made my very slow week a lot better. I'm going to do some thinking and studying because of her. I believe I can continiue to help her.. She thinks so. I love giving a good massage. But I find this kind of work is where my heart is now. Physical therapy clinics have a lot of those kinds of clients. But gosh, I would not fit in. Unless they are really open minded and out of the box physical therapists.
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Acupressure.
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