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A typical experience

I had a new client the other day for an 80 minute massage. I asked him if there is anything that he wanted me to know.  He told me that he suffers from a herniated disc that he has had for a few years. He has constant low back and right hip pain that at times radiates down the back of his leg to his knee. He told me that he has had two injections in his low back and has to stay on anit- inflamtory medication.  Anything to avoid surgery. The pain is always there. I asked him if he ever saw a chiropractor for his pain.  He said yes.  But the adjustments hurt his hip so bad that he could not continiue.  So here is a guy that thinks he is on the verge of surgery. I knew that there was a very strong probubllity that was not the case. The vast majority of pain people experience is nocioceptive pain( soft tissue- muscle, tendon, ligament, facia).  MDs and Chiropractors see pain as neuropathic pain( nerve pain).  With that asumption they give the wrong treatments and therapies.  Now there is no denying that at times injections and surgery is needed. Not denying that.   But most of the time - NOT.  70% to 85% of all pain comes directly from trigger points.  Anyway I showed my client a testimonial from a client that I was able to help out of a very painful condition that she had delt with for a couple of years. I showed him that testimonial because all pain has a psychological eliment too it. I wanted him to start thinking maybe he is not on the edge of surgery.  I palpated his entire back upper torso, both hips, and right leg. I found a very painful spot on his right L5 erectors.  Another very painful spot on his right greater trochantor.  A painful spot in the middle part of his lower right hamstrings.  And also a tender spot on the right spinous of L3.  I knew that if Iwas able to eliminate all those painful palaptory spots that I would most likely eliminate his pain problem.  Because a healthy body had no painful spots even with deep massage.  Ive been hunting and eliminateing trigger points for thirty years now.  He walked out of the massage room pain free. He was pain free for the first time in years. All those other professional people misdiagnosed him because they assume neuropathic pain over nocioceptive pain.  I assume the other way around.  I'm a Massage Therapist.  

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Permalink Reply by Gordon J. Wallis on August 23, 2014 at 9:54pm

It was a busy day.   Typically, someone came in misdiagnosed.  Now its not that I'm diagnosing. I just know  a trigger point when I see one.  And she had one.  She was told she had Mortons Neuroma.  Pain in the ball of her foot.  She jogs and is fit.  She has had to stop running.  The docs said, Mortons Neuroma.  But it was a trigger point in the M. adductor hallucis muscle.  I know that because it vanished after I released it.  Mortons Neuroma is an irritated nerve(not easily delt with).. But trigger points are much more common and often misdiagnosed.  If you have read the entire thread and viewd the attachments, you know its not just me saying that.  View the attachment below and see her so called Mortons Neuroma.  TRUTH REMAINS HIDDEN.  If you want.  Look up Mortons Neuroma. That trigger point mimics it.  She gave me a big hug after the massage.  

Attachments:
Permalink Reply by Gordon J. Wallis on August 23, 2014 at 10:11pm

Specifically the M. adductor hallucis, Caput transeversum.  

Gordon J. Wallis said:

It was a busy day.   Typically, someone came in misdiagnosed.  Now its not that I'm diagnosing. I just know  a trigger point when I see one.  And she had one.  She was told she had Mortons Neuroma.  Pain in the ball of her foot.  She jogs and is fit.  She has had to stop running.  The docs said, Mortons Neuroma.  But it was a trigger point in the M. adductor hallucis muscle.  I know that because it vanished after I released it.  Mortons Neuroma is an irritated nerve(not easily delt with).. But trigger points are much more common and often misdiagnosed.  If you have read the entire thread and viewd the attachments, you know its not just me saying that.  View the attachment below and see her so called Mortons Neuroma.  TRUTH REMAINS HIDDEN.  If you want.  Look up Mortons Neuroma. That trigger point mimics it.  She gave me a big hug after the massage.  

Permalink Reply by Gordon J. Wallis on August 25, 2014 at 1:36pm

Another client came in the other day for a spa service.  Even though it was a spa service, I asked her if she had any aches or pains in her body.  She said no.  After reading one of my testimonials she then told me that when she wakes up in the mornings the top of her right foot hurts so bad that she has to hobble around for an hour or so before the pain goes away.  She went to a doctor who told her that she had Runners Foot( whatever that is?).  I palpated two very tender spots in her lateral ankle.  They made her flinch when I touched them.  After the spa service she told me her foot feels really good now.  I told her she needs a short follow up visit.  She then told me that her son has really bad back pain.  Low back mostly.  He has had MRIs and other exams , and they can't find anything wrong.  So its pretty much assured that his problem is Trigger Points( all the mean nasty stuff has been ruled out).  I will see them both in a few days.   Its always a trigger point day.

Permalink Reply by Therese Schwartz on August 25, 2014 at 1:52pm

Hey Gordon!  That's great!!

I have a new client; she's been here I think 4 times now.  She's been to lots of MT's in town after a double mastectomy 11 years ago and gets relief from the massages.  But nothing really gives her long-lasting help.  I've done scar tissue release and MFR on the right side which is the worst for her.  Today I decided to go with massage with oil and lo and behold, a whole army of trigger points showed up!  They were in her right Pec Major.  As I worked to release each one, the ROM of her arm got better and better, and she felt better and better!  She was really pleased.

Permalink Reply by Gordon J. Wallis on August 25, 2014 at 2:15pm

Way cool Therese!  Think about this when working on an injured muscle.  RECIPROCAL INHIBITION.   Its about muscles on one side of the joint relaxing in order to accomodate contraction on the other side of the joint.  When one muscle contracts its antagonist relaxes.  If you are just squishing out a trigger point, fine and dandy.  But if you have the nervous system working with you to relax a contracted muscle( trigger pointed).  Your work is much more effective.   

Permalink Reply by Maryshka on August 25, 2014 at 9:15pm

Is that you Gordon, in the video?

Can you explain what you are doing? I'm quite interested in the technique.

Appreciate all you're teaching me (us).

Gordon J. Wallis said:

Acupressure kills a trigger point in a second.  This is a real client,  and it was a real trigger point.  

Permalink Reply by Gordon J. Wallis on August 25, 2014 at 9:56pm

Yea thats me in the video.  It's pretty hard to teach via just typing.   So I don't want to try.  However, later tonight or tomorrow I will give some insight to that technique and video.  I just got home from work and need to relax a bit.  

Maryshka said:

Is that you Gordon, in the video?

Can you explain what you are doing? I'm quite interested in the technique.

Appreciate all you're teaching me (us).

Gordon J. Wallis said:

Acupressure kills a trigger point in a second.  This is a real client,  and it was a real trigger point.  

Permalink Reply by Maryshka on August 25, 2014 at 9:58pm

Thank you Gordon. Totally relate to needing down time after a day of work. Holding my horses...

Permalink Reply by Gordon J. Wallis on August 25, 2014 at 10:32pm

"Somebody showed it to me, and I found it by myself." - LEW WELCH

I'm not going to teach in here, however I will give insight.  When I retire in two to five years, then I will teach.  Watch the video and look at the attachments.  

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Permalink Reply by Gordon J. Wallis on August 27, 2014 at 9:53pm

A further follow up.  I saw the carpal tunnel client again today.  She no longer has it.  She fixed herself for goodness sakes with a $20 electrical massager.. lol  She told me that her friend has been diagnosed with , get this, Double Carpal tunnel.  Uhm, I somehow seriously doubt that.  Hopefully this friend will come in to see me, and I will know in a matter of a few seconds to one minute, if she has real carpal tunnel or not.  Not denying her pain.  But most of the time it is not real carpal tunnel, even if nerve tests say its so.  It all depends on her response when i touch her.  If the friend comes in I will let you guys know.  Ive been doing massage for 30 years.  I can only remember a hand full of clients that really had carpal tunnel.  All the rest had Fake Carpal tunnel(the vast majority).  Debilitating for sure, but easily fixed( most of the time).
Gordon J. Wallis said:

   I saw the lady that was worried about carpal tunnel surgery.  When I first met her, I told her that she definately did not need

Surgery.   That she had myofacial pain syndrome, not carpal tunnel.  I told her to order this $20.00 electric masssager and massage her forearms with it at night anywhere from 5 to 20 minutes at a time. .  I told her that it might take a month,  but that her problem is over.  Well she has had this massager for a week.  And her carpal tunnel is  gone.. lol   Give me a break. lol.  I don't know???  But truth somehow remains hidden????  She fixed herself.. Truth remains hidden.   MYOFACIAL PAIN SYNDROME( trigger points in the forearm).

Gordon J. Wallis said:

Well in the case of the client today.  It was only the extensor muscles in her forearms.  From my experience, thats what it is most of the time.  I check everywhere.  But yea.  It can come from the front of the neck.  But I have not found that to be common.     But what is really not common is True Carpal Tunnel.  That is rare.   Trigger Points are not.

Gary W Addis, LMT said:

Scalenes or pec minor, or sometimes in the arm itself.

Permalink Reply by Gordon J. Wallis on August 28, 2014 at 9:05pm

Had a new client recently.  I asked her what she needed from the massage, and she told me that she was a bit nervous because she never had a massage before.  I told her that I have a very high skill set after working almost every day for 30 years.  I also told her that my massage was not any better then anyone elses, but when it comes to removing pain, I'm working at a high level now.  She told me she has plantar fasciitis in her right foot.  And her left knee hurts do to surgery from a long time ago.  Her knee won't fully extend and the back of her knee is very painful.  She also comented, Not much you can do about that.  I told her that there was a very good chance those pains would be gone or greatly diminished after the massage.  She looked at me with a very skeptical look.  I found several painful trigger points on her body.  All the tender spots made her flinch on palpation. A painful spot on the border of her left shoulder blade,  left QL,  center upper edge of the sacrum,  left Glute med., and left piriformis.  Those were painful spots on palpation.   Her symptomatic pain on the back of her knee came from a very painful trigger point in her hamstrings(see attachment).  and a very painful trigger point on the bottom heel of her right foot( calcaneus) was her plantar faciitis pain.   She left the spa pain free.  She is moving here in a few weeks and will come in for follow up sessions.  It was all trigger points. So she is going to be much better in the near future.  Its cool to help somebody that does not expect to be helped.   

Permalink Reply by Gordon J. Wallis on August 28, 2014 at 9:09pm

I screwed up on the attachment. So here it is.

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