Learn About Some Real-Life Advanced Bodywork Pain Relief Examples

All names are changed to protect privacy.

Whiplash

1. Neck
2. Head
3. Whiplash
4. Headache
5. Neck Pain

Kathy couldn’t figure out the cause of her frequent neck pain and headaches. When we went into her history during her intake assessment, she revealed that 6 years ago she was rear-ended in a motor vehicle accident.

Kathy’s doctor said she had whiplash and sent her for physical therapy, but she never followed through with the suggestions of her therapist. Now she couldn’t fully turn her head nor could she move it very far forward or backward without pain. Her regular headaches were putting a damper on her life. I asked Kathy to try four sessions of my Extensive Neck Protocol. She did, and after just one session she noticed a huge difference in her flexibility. Her headaches also lessened. With further sessions of the focused type of therapy for her neck coupled with the gentle muscular energy techniques I taught her for self-care at home, by the third session Kathy got full relief and felt like a new person.

Man Has Insomnia and Spinal Pain

1. Spine
2. Back
3. Ankylosing Spondylitis
4. Insomnia

Austin had insomnia nightly accompanied by spinal pain. His doctor diagnosed Ankylosing Spondylitis (AS).

I didn’t use my ordinary spinal protocol on Austin as it isn’t suited to his condition of Ankylosing Spondylitis. But I did another kind of muscular therapy. When I called him 2 days later, I was delighted to hear he was nearly pain free and finally sleeping. Massage therapy doesn’t eliminate Ankylosing Spondylitis, but it certainly brings much needed temporary relief and a good night’s sleep.

Shoulder Pain and Can’t Zip Dress

1. Shoulders
2. Restricted movement

Pat came to me with shoulder pain unable to reach her arm back to zip her dress. After one session with my Rotator Cuff Protocol, Pat returned to say not only did her shoulder pain subside, but that she could she zip her dress. To her amazement she was full of energy. She asked if that was related to the treatment. I explained that the shoulder pain she had was draining her energy.

Drinking From Glass Causes Arm Pain of Tennis Elbow (Lateral Epicondylitis)

1. Arm
2. Tennis elbow

Frances had classic symptoms of Tennis Elbow (Lateral Epicondylitis). She had severe pain in her arm near her elbow every time she went through the motion of drinking from a glass or bottle. It was hard to lift a half gallon of milk out of her refrigerator due to the pain. After just one session of my Arm Protocol with accompanying ice applications and stretches done at home, the severity of Frances’ arm pain diminished greatly.

Piriformis Syndrome, Sciatica Symptoms Cause Pain in Butt and Leg

1. Butt
2. Leg
3. Piriformis syndrome
4. Sciatica

Piriformis Syndrome, which causes sciatica symptoms, was the diagnosis from Kim’s doctor. Sometimes Kim’s terrible pain went all the way to her foot. After diagnostic tests, her doctor said she had tight gluteal muscles pinching her sciatic nerve and prescribed ineffective muscle relaxers. After three sessions of my Hip/Gluteal Protocol and stretching regimen, Kim is out of that awful pain.

Plantar Fasciitis and Foot Pain

1. Feet
2. Plantar fasciitis

Linda had the foot pain of Plantar Faciitis (PF). As a hairdresser she was on her feet all day. The bottoms of her feet were painful, especially first thing in the morning. Some days she found her self hobbling. Her doctor said she had Plantar Fasciitis. When Linda came to see me I found she had tight calves. After coming for my Leg Protocol four times, icing regularly and following stretching instructions, Linda is well on the road to recovery.

Lower Back Pain on One Side

1. Back
2. Imbalance

George made an appointment with me for low back pain on his right side. During our discussion in the evaluation process, he informed me that he sits on his wallet, which he kept in his right back pocket. This uneven sitting position caused an imbalance of a muscle in that area for such prolonged periods of time that it became stuck in contraction. This proved to be the cause of George’s pain. These symptoms can also be caused by sitting on an uneven chair, habitually leaning to one side or carrying heavy things on the opposite side. George’s issues were treated with the Spine & Back advanced bodywork protocol.

Upper Back and Shoulder Pain

1. Neck
2. Back
3. Incorrect head posture

Mary came to see me with neck and upper back pain between her shoulder blades. She was a secretary by profession and spent long hours at her computer. Her postural habits became evident during my physical evaluation. Her head was forward and her shoulders rounded. This was key to Mary’s pain. After my neck and upper back protocol she said she felt 70% better.

Musician’s Hand and Arm Massage Therapy

1. Arm
2. Hand
3. Musician

Suzanne is a musician who had never been to a medical massage therapist. She worried about tightness and stiffness in her arms and hands. As a keyboardist, she played both piano and organ. Her doctor suggested she stop playing keyboards from four to six weeks to give her arms and hands a rest.

This was unacceptable to Suzanne. Her finances couldn’t withstand putting her career on hold. During her desperate search for help, she saw an ad for advanced medical massage for professional musicians with arm and hand problems. After contacting and speaking with the medical massage therapist, Suzanne felt reassured and decided to give the medical massage treatment a go. Thoughts about the long Beethoven piece she was scheduled to play the following week were daunting, since her arms and hands lacked their normal strength and flexibility.

When Suzanne arrived for her arms and hands massage, the massage therapist evaluated her arms and hands and educated her about her condition. The massage therapist proceeded to work specific muscles and tendons of Suzanne’s arms and hands. After the session, her arms and hands seemed to come to life. With a sigh of relief, Suzanne played her Beethoven piece later that week in front of a live audience with arms and hands that “felt loose and flexible like those of a 10-year-old!”

Medical Massage for Shoulder Pain, Neck Pain, and Headaches

1. Neck
2. Shoulders
3. Headache

Nothing the medical doctor in Nashua NH did could help John’s neck pain and shoulder pain, which were causing headaches. John had assumed this was a medical condition. He looked into alternative treatments in Nashua such as massage therapy to ease his pain. He soon found massage therapy places in Nashua NH that treated headaches. The relaxation massage he got in Nashua massage therapy places was good, but it didn’t help his neck pain, shoulder pain or his headache. John came to me for deep tissue and medical massage, which were better than relaxation massage. He found this kind of therapeutic massage therapy eliminated his upper body pains, including his headaches.

Connecting Mind to Body to Cure a Headache

1. Shoulder
2. Neck
3. Headache
4. Computer User

Ever since I became a massage therapist who deals with people’s pain, I became interested in the theory of mind-body as a unit. An amputee swears he can “feel” his missing leg (phantom pain). A controlled study finds that a placebo group spontaneously healed without medication. A “voodoo” victim dies not from the voodoo curse of cancer, but from the heart attack caused by the belief he has voodoo-induced cancer. Our minds our so powerful they can create limbs, heal us without medicine, and kill us based on a belief. Massage therapy is a profession where understanding these dynamics can lead to alleviating the causes of pain. Mary came to my office with headaches. She had been to two medical doctors. Nothing was wrong — that they could find. X-rays and MRI’s proved it. One doctor gave her oxycontin — a highly addictive narcotic — for her non-existent problem. The first thing I noticed about Mary was that her right shoulder was higher than her left. Mary had been unaware of the difference. Her doctors hadn’t mentioned it. Sitting incorrectly at a computer can cause head and neck problems. Mary’s headaches began, she told me, after she started her new job. We assessed the height of her chair, desk and computer. These were all correct for her height. Was the job stressful? The required skills, she said, were well within her range. So what was different?

Well, at her old job, Mary said, her boss trusted her to get the job done. But this new boss didn’t seem to trust her at all. The boss was always hovering over her shoulder, telling her how to do the simplest of tasks. Mary felt angry and untrusted. Mary was used to being trusted. At her old job when she did a good job her boss told her. Her boss never told her how to do her job. But now, whenever Mary even thought of her boss, her body went into defensive armor-mode. Her shoulders moved up toward her ears. Her back muscles tightened. Her headaches began.

Enjoy the Gift of Pain Relief

As a licensed massage therapist (in New Hampshire), my role is to help relieve pain. As a student of the mind-body connection, I also like to help discover the causes of the pain. Now that Mary is aware of her body’s reaction to her boss, she can be more conscious about keeping her shoulders out of her ears.

Combined with neuromuscular and trigger point massage therapy, Mary’s mindfulness of her body’s reactions has kept her headaches away now for many months. Massage therapy can be effective without examining the mind-body connection. It’s just more effective with it.

Eliminating the pain’s cause is the most powerful gift you can give yourself.