Massage for Chronic Pain

What you have not heard about Chronic Pain…

Have you ever had a recurring bout of chronic pain that never “really goes away completely”? For example, when you get stressed, why your neck that had whiplash seems to be a magnet for pain and stiffness? The culprit is often called scar tissue and adhesion.

Let’s tell the story of Billy, a five year old child who falls out of a tree and lands on his shoulder. Chances are, he pops up, cries for a minute, and is on his way. End of story you would think. What actually can and did happen is trauma occurred and healing took place. When muscle fibers are injured, the fibers and the fascia (connective tissue) which surround it become short and tight. Part of the healing process produces adhesions that form within the fascia and the muscles. These adhesions are simply places in the muscles that actually bond to fascia and even to other muscles. They are your body’s way of protecting itself. At the time, the adhesions cause no discomfort or problems.

As times goes on, however, more adhesions form that result in decreased ROM (range of motion) and eventually you may feel adhesions in the form of knots. If you are feeling knots, “crunchies”, or ropelike bands of muscles tissue, you are in need of massage therapy. Most people either ignore these symptoms or go to the doctor and are given muscle relaxers to eliminate discomfort. The results are subtle but important to recognize: more adhesions continue to form over time, causing decreased ROM and decreased circulation, which eventually can affect other areas of the body. The effects of these adhesions can be transmitted through the fascia to other parts of the body, resulting in pain, numbness or a variety of other symptoms.

Let’s say little Billy is growing up and is 16 and on the swim team. He keeps feeling pain in his shoulder when swimming the butterfly. He said he stretches before and after swimming and feels he has done nothing to injure it. At this time, the adhesions are causing discomfort, but it is manageable and seems to disappear after swim season. Over the next few years he is involved in a few car accidents and works with computers for 8 hours a day. Overall though, he has stayed active and tries to live a healthy lifestyle.

Let’s fast forward to Bill at 40. He starts noticing odd symptoms. Low back pain is common from sitting for his morning and evening hour long commute. One day he wakes up and can’t turn his head much in one direction. He has tingling sensations running down his leg and sometimes his shoulder gets so stiff it feels frozen. Basically he’s a mess and can’t figure out what happened. What actually happened is that all those adhesions are finally taking over, but he never noticed the changes because they happened so slowly.

What’s next for Bill? The doctor will schedule many tests and may recommend medication or surgery. Hopefully, the doctor has caught the problem before Bill tears a rotator cuff or permanent damage occurs. A doctor on the leading edge of healthcare will recommend massage therapy or physical therapy first, in hopes of curtailing any further scarring. This is the best option for Bill since it accesses soft tissue which is pliable and responsive to certain techniques. Myofacial Release is an extremely effective form of massage therapy which separates adhesions and returns muscles to a healthy state. If Bill does require surgery, Complementary therapies such as massage, are often quite effective in rehabilitation and postoperative treatment. They help reduce chronic pain, discomfort, scarring and future complications.

Now that you have this knowledge, try preventative treatment to eliminate this cycle of pain and suffering. Regular monthly massage can effectively reduce or eliminate the effects of adhesions. In fact, there are many other healthy benefits to receiving massage therapy on a regular basis, such as relieving stress, improving posture, improving circulation, and even strengthening the immune system.

Next time you or your child have aches and pains, consider what’s really going on and address the problems from the cause not from the symptom: address the cause and the symptoms will disappear. Massage therapy will get to the root of your chronic pain, creating more freedom in your everyday life.