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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 June 1, 2017 at 1:49am
http://www.webmd.com/a-to-z-guides/tc/plantar-fasciitis-topic-overview
Here's the webmd definition of Plantar fasciitis. Not a mention of trigger points. The result is a patient like the one in the testimonial that thought he had a chronic problem, that really didn't have a problem.
Permalink Reply by Sarah Smith on June 4, 2017 at 1:11pm

Excellent deep pressure technique with enough releasing strokes leading into trigger point work so it was not so intense. Zeroed in on problem areas as requested. Thanks to DFW Massage Doctor Dallas.

Permalink Reply by Gordon J. Wallis on June 10, 2017 at 3:46pm
The statement from Sara Smith , that Pueppi comented on, sounds like a very good testimonial for some good massage work. However, it seems out of context with the conversation on this thread, and could possibly be a mistake of some kind?
That being said, it does fit into this thread. Being aware of trigger points and the power of soft tissue work. Would the person that wrote that testimonial have received the same benefit if they had seen a Chiropractor, Acupuncturist, Physical therapist, Medical doctor instead of a skilled Massage therapist? Possibly, but unless those people are aware of trigger points and doing soft tissue work themselves. I don't think so. That's why I write in here. Now it's not to say that soft tissue work is the end all for all pain conditions, it certainly isn't. And it's not to say that those other professions can't help people out of pain.. But for the person that wrote that testimonial, along with a great many other people suffering from pain, minor to major, chronic to acute - it's very hard to find another profession with as much potential as massage therapy( proper soft tissue work ). I've tried to make that point in here. And have tried to back up what I say with client stories, testimonials( both video and written ) along with information and quotations from people smarter then me( pain experts ).
Anyway next week I start my new job. Working with an Anesthesiologist in his pain management clinic. It's going to be challenging, but I'm looking forward to it. I won't be able to video my work and testimonials like I have been able to do at the spa. I will be working more hours as well. So I'm going to officially end this thread. I know I've said that maybe ten times before, but......I think or hope I've made my point( trigger point). And I apologize if I've pissed anyone off with any of my comments. Over the last 30 years of being a massage therapist. I always thought I knew almost everything, and that I was doing top of the line cutting edge work. Looking back, I was always wrong.
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Permalink Reply by Therese Schwartz on June 10, 2017 at 9:17pm

Good luck with the new job, Gordon!!  I'm excited for your new chapter (adventure? :-) ).

Permalink Reply by Gordon J. Wallis on June 28, 2017 at 9:44am
I said that I was going to end this thread, but I want to comment on something. Over the last 30 years Ive worked in chiropractic clinics, acupuncture clinics, physical therapy clinics, spas and hotels. In those environments Ibe been able to help a very high percentage of people out of pain. Anywhere from noticibly reducing their pain levels to out right eliminating it. If I was to guess on that percentage, I can comfortably guess 75% to 80%. Now I'm working with a medical doctor( Anesthesiologist) in a pain management clinic. I have to say, as far as pain goes, these patients are on a different level. I'm hoping I can help in a meaningful way, at least 20%, if that.
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Permalink Reply by Gordon J. Wallis on June 28, 2017 at 10:12am
Actually, I want to make a slight change to the last sentence in the above paragraph.
I'm hoping I can help in a meaningful way at least 15%, if that.
Permalink Reply by Therese Schwartz on June 28, 2017 at 10:25am

Great looking room, Gordon!  I like that you have an electric lift table.  I'm sure that you will learn a lot as you go, and be able to do even more to help these clients.

Permalink Reply by Gordon J. Wallis on June 28, 2017 at 8:41pm
All I can say is intense. I'm afraid to give details about individual patient experiences because of the HIPPA privacy rules. Until I find out what I can type in here and what I can't, I won't give any specifics.
These people are hurting on another level. I saw maybe six patients. Four of them , I could do absolutely nothing for. I mean zero. However two of the patients I was able to dramatically help. Obviously a high percentage of their pain was myofascial. One patient was totally pain free after the session. That patient was overwhelmed happy. Hugged me the doctor and everybody else. That was cool. Really cool. So I will be able to help a certain percentage of these chronic pain patients, to the extent myofascial pain is involved.
Permalink Reply by Gordon J. Wallis on June 29, 2017 at 9:07am
Currently there are 27 employees in the clinic. An anesthesiologist, four PAs, myself, several nurses, technitions, scribes, and support staff. They currently refer out for psychological support. They are looking for an in house psychogist or psychiatrist. It's a modern high tech beautiful clinic. I feel like im in the big league now.
Pueppi you have an idea what it's like. One of the new words I'm coming across is...Complex Regional Pain Syndrome . I was able to offer significant help to a couple patients the other day. But this clinic is definitely going to challenge my skill set.
Permalink Reply by Gordon J. Wallis on June 29, 2017 at 9:37am
Actually RSD is the same as Complex Regional Pain Syndrome.
Permalink Reply by Gordon J. Wallis on July 1, 2017 at 3:02am
The people that make up the patients in this clinic are not the typical cross cection of the community. These patients are the hurt of the hurt. That being said, I think I'm going to be able to help more people then I first thought?
Like I said, there are a lot patients with horrible pain issues that are not musculoskeletal. However, like I've said throughout this entire thread, trigger points are responsible for 85% of all pain on the planet, and involved in almost everyl pain syndromes. So I'm finding that there are patients here that have nerve pain along with a fair amount of musculoskeletal ( trigger points ) pain. So for those people, I will be able to work on the more superficial musculoskeletal side of things while the the doc (anesthesiologist ) will be able to work on the deeper level nerve pain side of things. I can also , to a limited degree, offer some pain relief to those suffering primarily from nerve pain by taking advantage of the Gate Theory of Pain. Light tactile touch stimulating the various skin mechanoreceptors will modulate ( dissipate/downgrade ) the intense pain signals reaching the brain. You can google the Gate Theory of Pain and read up on it. It's interesting. I learned a type of bodywork ( Associative Awaeness Technique) that is totally based on the Gate Theory of Pain. In the spa, I never really had a need to use those procedures, but I do now.
But the real good thing is , there are patients in that clinic suffering solely from trigger points. And they were getting trigger point injections, until now. Most of those patients I will be able to help( dramatically). Because as you know, I'm the trigger point guy. In the attachments below there is a diagram explaining the Gate Theory of Pain, the fluoroscopy room( where the anesthesiologist does his thing) , and a testimonial from one of the patients that I saw the other day.
This is an intense cool job.
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Permalink Reply by Therese Schwartz on July 1, 2017 at 8:04pm

That's a terrific testimonial, Gordon!!

Gordon J. Wallis said:

The people that make up the patients in this clinic are not the typical cross cection of the community. These patients are the hurt of the hurt. That being said, I think I'm going to be able to help more people then I first thought?
Like I said, there are a lot patients with horrible pain issues that are not musculoskeletal. However, like I've said throughout this entire thread, trigger points are responsible for 85% of all pain on the planet, and involved in almost everyl pain syndromes. So I'm finding that there are patients here that have nerve pain along with a fair amount of musculoskeletal ( trigger points ) pain. So for those people, I will be able to work on the more superficial musculoskeletal side of things while the the doc (anesthesiologist ) will be able to work on the deeper level nerve pain side of things. I can also , to a limited degree, offer some pain relief to those suffering primarily from nerve pain by taking advantage of the Gate Theory of Pain. Light tactile touch stimulating the various skin mechanoreceptors will modulate ( dissipate/downgrade ) the intense pain signals reaching the brain. You can google the Gate Theory of Pain and read up on it. It's interesting. I learned a type of bodywork ( Associative Awaeness Technique) that is totally based on the Gate Theory of Pain. In the spa, I never really had a need to use those procedures, but I do now.
But the real good thing is , there are patients in that clinic suffering solely from trigger points. And they were getting trigger point injections, until now. Most of those patients I will be able to help( dramatically). Because as you know, I'm the trigger point guy. In the attachments below there is a diagram explaining the Gate Theory of Pain, the fluoroscopy room( where the anesthesiologist does his thing) , and a testimonial from one of the patients that I saw the other day.
This is an intense cool job.

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