Archive for the ‘Pain Management’ Category

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Continuing my Education

Monday, June 7th, 2010

There are many different styles of massage.  You could say that massage is unique to the massage therapist and while each massage therapist identifies with certain schools of thought regarding technique and intention, the variations and possibilities are endless.    There’s no one style that can be absolute best.

This weekend I had the opportunity to take a 27 training in a practice called, Mana Lomi with Barbara Heard.    You may have heard of Lomi Lomi, a Hawaiia modality that is often described as a dance of rhythmic waves along the body.   Mana Lomi was developed by Dr. Maka’ala Yates D.C. who studied with Auntie Margaret, one of the pioneers of teaching this ancient art to contemporary practitioners, and further developed this art form into a deep massage modality.

The Mana Lomi technique is based on Hawaiian concepts of working with the”mana” of the body, mind, and soul of the individual(that’s you).     This holistic approach is what I really identify with, and more importantly the aspect of body awareness.    In both my yoga teaching and my massage practice, I try to get clients in tune with themselves.  Whether its an awareness of breathing patterns, eating habits, or even thought processes, awareness is key to getting to the root of things and initiating healthy change.

I am so glad that I found this modality and cannot wait to share it with massage clients.    A typical session is about an hour and a half, using both massage and motion to achieve a truly deep massage experience.   The massage client is key to the process so proper draping and pressure that suits the client is followed at all times.

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Shoveling Pain

Monday, December 14th, 2009

Let it snow. The first flakes came down, and quite heavy at that. Shoveling involves the arms as well as the back. While good shoulders help in the process, a strong back is key to proper lifting. Often, people tend to do a bit more than they should. Breaking up the task or shoveling at intervals throughout the day can be very helpful. The muscles most effected by the task are the quadratus lumborum, which I have written about several times. It’s that important and that prone to injury. It’s quite complex as far as muscles go. Often when people think of a muscle they think of ssomething like the bicep, an attachment, an insertion, and you can flex away. The QL however, is a bit more complex in its makeup, one insertion, but many attachments, it sort of fans out along the lower back from the SI up to the rib cage.
What can you do? Really take it easy when lifting, use your legs more and try to twist less. Shovel across the driveway instead of throwing it over your shoulder.

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The Shoulder and Sleep

Monday, December 7th, 2009

As a massage therapist I often hear about the shall we say “side effects” of pain.    Some of the most predominant are lack of sleep, especially among those clients with significant shoulder pain.   You may be accustomed to sleeping on your side, either directly on the injured shoulder, or leaving the injured shoulder in a somewhat lax position at the top, either of which can cause severe pain.     Unfortunately, there’s no fantastic answer for instant sleep, especially when pain is an issue.   However, there are a few things you can do that may make your rest a bit easier.

Lots of pillows is one way to go.   gather all the pillows from around the house, the couch, guest bedroom, maybe even some of those giant stuffed animals you won for your sweetheart at the fair.  I know you’re not a bird, but the pillows are to make a nest of sorts.    Give yourself some support on both sides as well as the head and leave an area in the middle not too big but enough to “sink in”.    You may have to test your bedding a few times before you get it just right.

Another method a massage client in West Springfield recommended is to sleep in a reclining chair.    While it is not recommended for sleeping in on a regular basis.   The few days it may take your shoulder to get to a point where sleep is no longer difficult in your bed will be a relief compared to other seemingly futile attempts.

As I stated earlier, there’s no simple answer, but you may have to make some seemingly drastic changes in order to ease your night-time discomfort.     If you follow the advice of your massage therapist, and take care of yourself, you should be feeling much better in no time.

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Sciatica, for real

Friday, November 13th, 2009

I have had quite a few clients that have told me they have sciatic pain, a few have even claimed to have Sciatica.  In truth Sciatica is generally caused by the compression of lumbar nerves L4 or L5 or sacral nerves S1, S2 or S3, or far less commonly, by compression of the sciatic nerve itself, and it’s truly debilitating.    Those that have “sciatic” pain often suffer from piriformis syndrome or related conditions.

Sciatica is debilitating, it doesn’t just hurt, or cause a bit of tingling and loss of feeling.  It makes movement very difficult, extremely in fact.   Think having to move your leg with your hands.    This whole walking upright thing is quite complex.  The low back and especially the hip are quite prone to dysfunction.   Take a look at an anatomy chart sometime.  There are quite a few muscles with many different actions to be a part of.  Oh and there’s a pretty vital nerve running through or close to the aforementioned piriformis which makes this little guy one of the top five seeds of trouble in the body muscle wise.

I do not mean to dismiss those who have pain and want to name it.  Often, being able to just name your pain is beneficial on many levels.   Anything that brings us towards a better understanding of our bodies is a good thing.    Any information you can provide your massage therapist about your pain can benefit your massage session.  Simply knowing where the pain is coming from and what effect it has on your activity and mobility helps with any treatment you may get. Getting informed about different conditions can be helpful, but claiming you have a condition that has not been diagnosed by a doctor can impede your treatments.   WebMD or answering a few brief questions about your condition does not a diagnoses make.

If you have pain, see a practitioner that’s comfortable for you, whether it be acupuncture, massage, chiropractic or your medical doctor.   If the pain is truly symptomatic of a particular condition any of the first three should recommend you consult your physician for a medical evaluation.    Try to find a practitioner that is familiar with other specialists,  every one in the health field who is concerned about health often knows the other practitioners in the area.

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Making the Call

Tuesday, October 20th, 2009

Recently, I had a client come to me for massage after she was referred by her chiropractor. I later found that another massage client of mine is also a patient of this same chiropractor.
Chiropractors and Massage Therapists can get along wonderfully. Typically chiropractic deals with the bones and how they line up. People often raise their shoulders at even the thought of a chiropractor. Why? Alignment is key for everything in your body to work properly. This is a good thing. Where does massage fit in you ask? The body is very much a tensegrity structure, without bones the muscles would have no way of standing on their own and without muscles the bones wouldn’t last very long on their own either.
Your chiropractor should know a good massage therapist and vice versa. We all want people to heal and our work can be very complementary, leading to your good health long-term when utilized for maintenance and faster recovery when combined for acute pain and other ailments.

Personally, I have a list of chiropractors that I know well and recommend for nearly every town in the Valley. There are a few that are stellar, but if someone’s not willing to travel more than a few miles, their often someone in their neighborhood.

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Head, shoulders, ….

Monday, October 19th, 2009

This weekend I had quite a workout followed by some yard work. Not having any forethought I decided to do a shoulder workout, which was followed by use of a scythe. This was part of a cooperative effort in our neighborhood to clear some invasive plants. The scythe is an effective tool, however, it’s very shoulder-heavy in terms of work. You have to hold it and cut across your body, like sweeping in a way but much heavier in terms of work load.

The shoulder is such a magnificent feat of engineering. The scapula is actually not as attached to the body as one might think, being held in place more by muscle than any bone to bone contact.

The reason I title this head, shoulders …. is because shoulder pain can often refer to muscles in the neck such as the scalenes. The infraspinatus in particular runs along the top of the scapula and attaches underneath the deltoid. Thus the pain can be thought to be more in the deltoid and along the top of the shoulder. The pain can feel as though it comes from movements of the head, as when you bring one ear to your shoulder or when you raise the shoulder up toward your ear.

Frankly, the moral of this post is think before you work out, what will you be doing next. This is really where overuse injuries present themselves. Doing too much of a similar action for an extended period can lead down the path of pain. Try to break projects up and if you’re going to say ride your bike for a few hours, you might want to do so a day or two before the big hike or climbing up quite a few flightss of stairs. Keep your muscles happy by breaking up the work.

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