Pain relief

If you've ever had a massage, you know that you can start to feel better within minutes. We are biologically wired to respond to welcome human touch. The massage therapist begins to spread oil over your back. Skilled hands begin to massage tight muscles. Right away, you feel better and begin to slip into a state of relaxation. That alone is worth the price of admission. But there's more!

People come to massage for a variety of reasons. Many come primarily for relaxation and wellness. Experts estimate that at least 80% of doctor office visits are for health problems that are caused or aggravated by stress. Headaches, backaches, and many other of life's most common complaints are aggravated by stress. Anything we can do to counteract and alleviate the effect of stress is going to have a beneficial effect on our health. In The End of Stress As We Know It, author Bruce McEwen describes the effects that chronic exposure to stress hormones have on the body. Among other things, continued elevated levels of these hormones lead to higher cholesterol, a higher incidence of Type II diabetes, and increased accumulation of belly fat.

It is with great sadness that the massage community received the news that Dr. David Simons recently passed away at the age of 87. Dr. Simons co-authored Myofascial Pain and Dysfunction: The Trigger Point Manual with Dr. Janet Travell, the physician who helped President John F. Kennedy with his back pain.

I got a phone call from a client whose wife developed Carpal Tunnel Syndrome six months into her pregnancy as a result of swelling from water retention. The condition became so painful she would wake up at night in tears. Her doctor was not helpful. "It will go away after you deliver," was the only suggestion he had to offer. Not wanting his wife to have to endure this for another three months, my client asked if I could help.

I'm back! Yes, I've been gone for awhile. Those who know me personally will know that on 1/30/09 there was a fire at my office building. Fortunately, no one was hurt and my office didn't burn, but my room was devastated by smoke and water damage. After a month of scrambling to make do in the wake of the fire, I moved into a new office with a former office mate, Anne Thomasson. Anne, who was also displaced by the fire, practices massage and also teaches a form of therapeutic exercise called Gyrotonics. She now has a large, beautiful studio and I love walking into such a light, open space every day. We're both settling into our new spaces.

We recently attended the Missouri State Chapter meeting of the American Massage Therapy Association at Lake of the Ozarks. This was the 50th Anniversary of our state chapter and 230 massage therapists attended. There were a number of presenters. Anne and I chose the workshops presented by Paul St. John.

Perhaps the easiest type of back pain to resolve is simple muscle strain from overuse. Most of us have experienced this at some point in our life. We may have spent too much time working in the yard on a nice day when we haven't been accustomed to the activity. Perhaps we've been sitting too long at the computer, in meetings, or on a long car ride. Fatigue and overuse take their toll and we find ourselves feeling stiff with a dull, nagging ache.

Such a simple strain can respond well to rest and perhaps modest use of non-prescription pain relievers. It often will resolve itself in a day or two, although the symptoms may linger for longer periods. If this common back ache will pass with time and rest, why use massage therapy?

Mark asks, "Can you explain how massage helps each of the different types of back injuries: spinal (disc), nerve, and muscle (or tendon)?

Are there injuries where rest or exercise is the better treatment?"

That's an excellent question and a complex one. I'll try to answer as concisely yet thoroughly as I can, but the short answer is this: back pain can be a complicated problem and there is no short and easy answer to the question. However, in most cases I've encountered, massage therapy can be a helpful addition to other treatments, such as rest or exercise, and promote faster and more thorough recovery.

Fibromyalgia (FM) is a poorly understood chronic pain condition that primarily afflicts women. Patients with fibromyalgia complain that they feel fatigued and ache all over as if they have the flu. They are generally otherwise healthy women and there seems no obvious reason for their pain. Many were very productive before they became afflicted. Symptoms can range from mild to severe but will persist for years. There is no known cause and there is no known cure.

So many people live with unnecessary pain. Are you one of them? I'm astounded and dismayed at the number of people who believe that they have to live with their aches and pains, pains that could be alleviated, often quickly and easily. They seem to believe that there's nothing to be done. They say, "I guess I'm just getting old." Are you one of them?

Is that really true? Is pain an inevitable part of life at 40? 50? 60? If you feel that badly now, what will you feel like ten years from now? Do you really want to spend the rest of your life in pain when it isn't necessary? What kind of life is that?

How do I know that you can feel better now? Quickly, easily, and naturally? Because I've seen it happen hundreds of times and I've experienced it myself.