QuestionQUESTION: Hello,
Yesterday when I got up in the morning I notices a familiar twinge in my left upper back. By early afternoon it was a full blown raging spasm in my left upper back spreading down my side. Since the Friday before I had 8 trigger point injections I did not expect to have this problem The cramp was so bad it was painful just to breath. I went to the doctor who gave me an injection of Torradol and told me to take the muscle relaxer I have at home. By late that evening, I could breathe better and the pain was much more manageable. However, this morning, I moved the wrong way and now I am in the same position as yesterday/ I was thinking perhaps some deep tissue massage might be more effective but wasn't sure if that was the best way to go. Do you have nay suggestions? I am not big on taking medications so I would like to alleviate this in another way but this pain is really wearing me out.
ANSWER: Hi Sandi,
Pain can be really wearing! I truly believe in my heart that massage is the best drug in the world! For some reason I think you are in Florida. If so, I can recommend a brilliant therapist: http://stjohn-clarkptc.com Paul St. John is highly skilled and he straightened me out but I'm sure the other therapists there are very skilled, too.
Someone with that much skill and ability to look at the body can figure out the cause of pain and could get rid of the cause.
It sounds like you have a long-standing issue here and I don't have quite enough information to address what is causing your left upper back twinges.
Here are my suggestions:
You may know now what the wrong move is that causes your symptoms to recur. Don't do it. Rather, do the opposite move. Move in the opposite direction. That may cause some correction for you.
You can use cold packs on your painful areas BUT you still have to get rid of the causes. We don't want to just treat symptoms--it is important to figure out what is causing your pain. It is important to get rid of the cause.
If you just treat the symptoms (the pain) it won't go away. Gotta get to the root cause.
Here is the link to several articles about massage. You will also find an article about how to find a massage therapist in the older posts.
http://simplepainrelief.com/category/massage/
I would also suggest you look for the blue trigger point book on the right hand side of that page. It is a self-help book and it is terrific. Easy to read and to do. Either click on the link to purchase or ask your librarian to get it for you.
There are lots of articles about upper back muscle spasm at http://SimpleBackPainRelief.com
I hope this helps you finally start to get rid of your severe muscle spasm in your upper back.
Take care,
Kathryn
---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------
QUESTION: I do have a long standing issue. I was electrocuted about 8 years ago in a science lab. I lost consciousness hitting the lab bench and floor in the process. Since then I have had lots of neuromuscular issue. This particular problem only gets this bad about once every 2 years or so and it is an acute sort of thing. I never know exactly what movement causes it but once it happens I know what aggravates it. I am in Florida but about 3 hours from Clearwater (although I grew up in Largo right next to it!). Mostly I was wondering if deep tissue massage is best or something else at this point. Thanks for your help.
AnswerHi Sandi,
It's a bit of a drive for you but I will tell you that if you can get an appointment with Paul St. John it will very likely be worthwhile. But I also have another thought.
It's not just a matter of 'deep tissue.' The thing is, some therapists understand how to look at a body or measure a body to determine the cause of a pain issue. But other practitioners just blast away on everything in the same 'deep tissue' technique with no rhyme or reason.
A skilled therapist who does myofascial release may be a very good thing to try. Myofascial Release (MFR) is slow and deep. It is a gliding technique but uses extremely little lubricant. One of my students loved deep work and was sure she wouldn't like myofascial release but she loved it! Because it is so slow it can be very deep without discomfort and it allows the muscles and other soft tissues to release.
Because of your science lab event, there may be restrictions in the soft tissues (everything that is not bone.) MFR stretches those restrictions and it is not at all uncomfortable as deep tissue can be.
Thank you for writing back. I'm glad you are in Florida because you have a ton of massage therapists to choose from. Do lots of communicating with the one(s) you choose to get the best results. Also, please do be sure they work all over, not just where it hurts. The actual areas that cause your pain most likely don't complain but they do need treatment.
At http://SimplePainRelief.com scroll down on the right hand side to the Categories and find the Massage Category. There is an older article that explains how to find a massage therapist who can help you.
If the practitioner works ONLY on symptoms that doesn't help. They have to treat whatever is CAUSING the symptoms.
Take care,
Kathryn
