“A man’s spirit can sustain his broken body, but when spirit dies, what hope is left?” — Proverbs 18:14
Syncline, Artist Kim Buck
Chronic pain is a peculiar condition because it’s two-sided in nature. Like two halves of a coin it reels its nefarious head on one hand, yet allows space for considerable growth on the other. There is an acute response when chronic pain hits. Thoughts such as:
- “What if I can’t get through this meeting?”
- “What if I can’t get up out of this chair? People will see, they’ll think I’m a freak!”
- “I can’t stand here much longer. Can they tell? They don’t seem to notice. What if I just dropped to the floor right now.”
- “What will I wake up to today? My schedule is too full to be down.”
- “If I cancel on them again I won’t be invited anymore but I can’t fake my way through this today.”
- “If people knew about this they’ll just think I’m a wimp and can’t handle pain.”
The mind races when chronic pain flares. Panic sets in for a moment. It feels like you’re alone, as if nobody sees what you’re going through… or cares for that matter. The moment passes, and you carry on, wave it away, hoping to get through the day. That, by the way, is the built-in survival mechanism we have as people. But truly, going through this alone means you’re very strong!
The malicious thing about chronic pain is it strikes at the very personality of a person. Someone who has every intention and history of being friendly, reliable, consistent, responsible, now can’t help but miss out on a party or cancel a plan last-minute when pain takes over. A once outgoing and personable person begins to turn inward, withdrawn, unsure. Feelings of being slightly neurotic set in along with guilt. “People think I’m rude. I’m a disappointment.” It’s a horrible feeling being misunderstood.
And let’s be honest, society struggles with people in chronic pain. Society is about momentum and velocity. There’s not time to stop. There are plans to carryout, experiences to enjoy. Funny that “experiences” seem to be lumped into an arena of Fun and Play. Life IS experience. It’s All Experience. The chronic pain you’re experiencing right now, dear reader, Is Your Experience. Are you feeling ignored or passed by? Take the time you have – it’s a precious commodity these days – and capitalize on it. Use the solitude to your advantage to create something you otherwise wouldn’t have.
So there’s a flip-side to chronic pain: it really is a tool if you know how to wield it. Those who fall in the chronic pain camp share company with fertile, creative, witty, and dynamic comrades. Overcomer’s who have used their isolation to their advantage: Cynthia McFadden, Kathleen Turner, George Clooney, Doc Holliday, Robert Louis Stevenson, George MacDonald, A.E. Knoch, and many more. Whatever your opinion of these people they didn’t succumb to their condition mentally. They used it to their advantage. Does this seem sadistic? Perhaps. But as John Watson said to Sherlock Holmes, at least in the movie version, “This game is designed to hurt.” That statement seems to summarize the human condition. Nature reinforces this if you look all around. From plants to animals to humans, any type of growth comes from a hardship. Typically we are told to feel “full of life” for most of our years. Yet we are the human machine all designed with programmed obsolescence, some just have parts running differently than others. Anyone who goes through a hardship or trauma emerges on the other side speaking of the growth and increased wisdom and understanding they now have. The isolation of chronic pain affords the “sufferer” that very gift: introspection. For it really is a gift. In this super fast-paced lifestyle we have, who has time to stop and simply, think? For those who don’t suffer from chronic pain, I’ve heard them comment about those they know that do with such thoughts as, “They seem wise beyond their years” and “they have a quiet strength about them.” A hard price to pay, but it seems this is what Life is about – growing mature in wisdom and understanding to be better equipped with compassion for your fellow human. At least, I’d like to think that is not an outdated notion.
So what’s the point of this entry? None really. This isn’t about quick fixes or solutions or processes. No, I simply want you to feel understood and heard. To know that when you come in my door you are seen and appreciated for who you are. Don’t apologize for what you have. Don’t make excuses. And by all means don’t try to hide it! I know, I understand, and I experience. As a friend of mine said to me once, “You’re so much more fascinating than those conditions. It’s a part of who you are, but it isn’t who You are.” The hour booked in a massage space is about more than muscle work. It’s one hour of serenity out of a stressful life where you unplug, are understood, and take sixty long minutes to just rest and be a little restored inside and out. That’s all.
See you on the table, dear one!
Trigger points generally stay inside the muscle until manipulated away. In layman’s terms, when a muscle is over-stressed it feels compromised and immediately protects itself. This tightening process forms TrPs within the muscle. Muscles are very stubborn and don’t forget experiences easily, hence the term “muscle memory”. Muscles will hold on to this protection until a manual process occurs which tells the brain to send a signal to the muscle that it’s safe to relax and return to a normal resting length. This is what I do.
Dr. Janet Travell is the person most often associated with trigger point therapy. She’s quoted as saying, “Active trigger points cause pain. Normal muscles do not contain trigger points. Individuals of either gender and of any age can develop trigger points.” Simple enough. Another great reminder that you don’t have to live with the pain. Come in and get those stinkers gone so you can feel good in your skin again.
TMJ stands for the temporomandibular joint. Easy rule of thumb: everyone has TMJ, but not everyone has TMJ Disorder. TMJ is the hinge joint that connects the lower jaw (mandible) to the temporal bone of the skull, in front of each ear. These joints are flexible and allow the jaw to move smoothly up and down and side to side, allowing us to chew, talk, yawn, etc. The muscles attached and around the joint control the position and movement of the jaw.
Outside of TMJ issues, the main muscles involved in everyday jaw tightness or discomfort are the masseter muscles. The masseter muscle is the primary chewing muscle. With regular talking, chewing, and stress these muscles develop 
The term “thoracic outlet” refers to the entire area defined by scalenes and the first rib, or to the passage between the anterior and middle scalenes. On their way to the arm, the axillary (subclavian) artery and brachial plexus pass between these two muscles, then between the first rib and the clavicle. They can become entrapped at some point in this area by tightness in the anterior and middle scalenes. It is sometimes difficult to distinguish pain referred by the scalenes from pain resulting from entrapment of the brachial plexus.
There are various causes that produce symptoms of pressure on structures such as nerves (in the brachial plexus) and blood vessels that exit from the thorax (posterior to the clavicle) to enter the limbs:
During a session, focus is on the muscles of the neck, shoulders, arms, and upper back. The upper chest and arm area is also a focus. Overall treatment for TOS includes specialized exercise routines, massage therapy techniques, possible physical therapy, and in some severe cases, surgery.
Whiplash is a modern problem. Whiplash is also a very misunderstood problem. It comes in many forms and becomes a long-term condition if not treated correctly. After being evaluated by a physician, massage and bodywork is one of the most recruited modalities to help this soft tissue injury heal. When applied carefully and skillfully, massage therapy for whiplash can help clients find relief and prevent or begin reversing chronic pain. The information below will hopefully clear up some long-held confusion about living with whiplash and how to treat it.
Whiplash injuries are basically simple. During a collision (vehicle, contact sport, a bad fall), the head and torso are thrust in opposite directions in a very short period of time. The neck itself makes a whip-like motion bending first towards and then away from the point of impact. An S-shaped curve forms during the early phase of impact where the upper cervical spine flexes as the lower cervical spine extends. The most abnormal motion happens at the C4-C6 spinal segments and damages the longus colli and sternocleidomastoid muscles (muscles used to tilt the head or turn from side-to-side). Therefore, it is not surprising that most of the symptoms of whiplash center in that part of the body between the head and the torso – the neck – but can radiate into other areas forming long-lasting and highly uncomfortable issues if left untreated.
Many people walk around every day with whiplash symptoms and don’t realize it. They may simply associate their pain with “that’s just life” or “my bed is getting old”. Middle-aged adults who played contact sports in high school fall into this category. Some people experienced bad accidents in their youth but shrugged it off, not realizing that some of the chronic pain experienced into adulthood stems from these experiences. Whiplash injuries can have both a short and long-term impact on the accident victim. The first concerns involve the mechanical injury to the muscle, bone, ligament, nerve, and tendon tissue and the resulting pain, inflammation, and muscle guarding. Management of inflammation and pain is the main focus for mainstream medicine. Most attending physicians will prescribe anti-inflammatory, pain-killer, and muscle relaxant medications and send the patient on their way. The long-term concern is the effect of the neuromuscular guarding that can become neurologically habitual, causing health and postural problems years after the date of injury.
Healthcare professionals now say the best way to treat early whiplash pain is mobilization, not rest or a cervical collar. It is important to wait a few days after the accident to seek treatment. This allows the initial scar tissue to knit, which is an important part of the healing process. If there is a chance of a fracture, a concussion, any disc problem or other serious injury, the client should make sure to see a physician first. Myofascial damage is by far the most common source of neck pain in whiplash injuries. Therefore, a multidisciplinary approach is often the best and safest way to treat whiplash. With direct soft-tissue manipulation, massage therapy provides a quicker recovery process, avoiding a lifelong pattern of pain. Chiropractic treatment shows effectiveness in treating acute neck pain.
There are those of you suffering from chronic pain or spasms in your neck, shoulder(s), or mid-back. You’re beyond frustration. You’ve tried several healthcare providers, including chiropractors and physical therapists, all issuing different treatment plans but nothing has helped. You’ve even tried massage but that provided nothing more than temporary relaxation. X-rays and MRI results are normal. What is going on and why can’t you find relief? The answer could be First Rib Fixation Syndrome. A lot of people haven’t heard of this and don’t realize they have it.
Over time, a muscular imbalance occurs known as The Upper Crossed Syndrome which elevates the first rib. When this happens, shoulder muscles (the subscapularis and infraspinatus) load up with trigger points, resulting in weakness and pain. With muscles now compromised, the shoulder is unable to move normally. People then tend to compensate for the pain by rounding the shoulders forward and jutting the head out further from the neck. The neck muscles (scalenes, serratus anterior, and sternocleidomastoid) overcompensate and develop more active trigger points. Referred pain from these new trigger points manifests as what may seem like random, erratic symptoms. Since these muscles attach to the first rib, even more elevation occurs. The trapezius muscle in the back then goes into immediate self-protection mode, resulting in tightness and spasm. This has a tendency to compress the brachial plexus and subclavian artery to eventually throw the person into a possible state of Thoracic Outlet Syndrome. Vicious, isn’t it?!
I’m often asked what systems within the human body massage therapy effects. It’s a fantastic question as massage positively affects ALL systems in the body. The remarkable fact about regular massage is it slows down the aging process universally. Of course aging still occurs, but the human body ages better with regular massage than without. Below is an overview of how massage affects each system within our bodies.
Our skeletal system is made of bones, bone marrow, and joints. As the supporting framework for the rest of our body, it protects important organs, acts as a lever by providing areas for muscle attachments, and allows movement in various planes (joints). It also manufactures blood cells, stores fat, and is our main reservoir for minerals like calcium and phosphorus. Anyone who has experienced a deep tissue massage so firm it feels as if the bones themselves are being massaged knows that is not a pleasant experience. However, well purposed massage has the following benefits to our skeletal system:
Massage therapists are perhaps the most skilled technicians when it comes to treating neuromuscular issues. Muscles and nerves have such an intimate symbiotic relationship they both go hand-in-hand (pun intended) when it comes to massage and bodywork. The brain, spinal cord, nerves, and supporting tissue coordinate the activities of all our body systems and work in the shadows undetected by us consciously, until something goes wrong. The beneficial effects of bodywork on the nervous system is undisputed, but are too complex and difficult to explain, with many aspects still a mystery. Changes throughout the nervous system could be reflex effects, such as:
Our heart, blood vessels, and blood keep us alive, after all “life is in the blood,” according to Leviticus. Massage has a significant effect on this system:
Our nose, nasal cavity, pharynx, larynx, trachea, bronchial tubes, and lungs work hard every second of our lives to bring in oxygen and release carbon dioxide. Massage helps bring this overworked system relief by:
I am a nag about people’s daily stretching routine. More times than not I learn that people have good intentions to include stretching in their day but “don’t get around to it.” We are all guilty of this! But why is stretching so important? There is a science to it.
Protect the Lower Back – for any stretch done standing it is crucial to keep knees slightly bent and pelvis tilted forward to protect the lower back. Otherwise, as you’re getting a wonderful stretch in the target muscle, you compromise the lower back and scratch your head why your back feels like it’s “ready to go out” a few days later.
Having a hard time finding how to use your flex spending account? Good news! Massage therapy could be covered. A little investigation could prove fruitful. According to Morgan, Section 213(d) of the Federal tax code (did I just bore you?) stipulates that a qualified expense must be to “alleviate or prevent a physical or mental defect or illness,” a.k.a. treat an injury or condition.
Choosing ice over heat for injuries is very important as icing calms damaged and inflamed tissues. These tissues are already swollen and carrying heat, a normal process for the body, although painful. Adding heat during this time feels great initially but only creates increased pain
It’s not a good idea to use heat if you’re already sweating or overheated. And ice will only make you feel worse if you’re shivering. The brain may misinterpret these situations as an excess and a threat. Shake things up to help out the brain. If you experience an injury but you’re already freezing, warm up in a hot shower and then throw an ice pack on the injury afterward. Or bundle up in a robe and blankets during cryotherapy. Same with heat. If your legs are cramping and you’re overheated from the work-out, jump in a cool shower then slowly turn up the heat to help relax the muscles.
After lubricating the skin with oil or cream, the area to be treated is scraped (to client tolerance), until the Sha is drawn to the surface in the form of a mild rash. The marks are usually red, although their colour can range from pink to dark purple depending on the condition and the severity of blood stagnation.
Because of the twisting and flexing motion in the arm and hand necessary for certain sports, especially golf and baseball, and the grasping motions required in some occupations, you may have tenderness and pain at the tendon attachments on the inside portion of the elbow. This is called Medial Epicondylitis. Like other therapists, I do not believe people have to live with pain. So let’s look into this nagging condition.
