Tag: massage

Deep Tissue Massage for Fibromyalgia

Bones

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My acupuncturist had a family emergency last month which meant he was off for about three weeks.  During that time I had some fairly considerable trigeminal neuralgia flareups and, in a pain induced panic, decided I must see someone … just not someone with needles.

I looked around online for massage therapists near me and stumbled across this one particular one that had good reviews and wasn’t overly expensive.  I got an appointment for the next day and went in, hoping some massage would ease the fire in my face.

It didn’t.  Oh boy did it not.  What it did do, however, was loosen some knots that haven’t been released in decades, knots my shiatsu massager just would never be able to reach.

Now I’m not talking about your normal relaxation massage where you go in and they kneed you for an hour.  No, I’m talking about the massage where the therapist actively finds the painful spots and then digs her thumbs into them for an hour.  It’s painful.  I make some truly spectacular noises and groans of “oh god” while she’s doing this.  It’s amazing.

I left feeling battered and bruised and nauseated, like I always do with any body work that releases tension, but after a few days I felt revivified!  I went back the next week.

This time she discovered even more knots.  See, now that she’d begun relaxing the superficial layer, she was able to find the deep knots, the ones that cause problems.  The ones that haven’t seen the light of day (or rather, felt the “tender” touch of a massage therapist) for decades, nay, eons!  Well after this session I felt so light headed and dizzy I couldn’t quite function for the rest of the day, or the next three days after that.  She’d knocked something loose in my back that had really done my head in.

I’ve just revisited her today and I am definitely noticing an improvement in how my body feels, despite the pain from coming off Tegretol (another blog post in and of itself!).  I’m also noticing an improvement in how my body moves, which is really rewarding.

My theory is this:  I have a lot of knots.  I have a lot of muscle tension.  I have a lot of muscle fuckery.  This will all be amplified by fibromyalgia, causing me both excessive pain, and excessive stiffness.  If I can work out these knots, release this tension, and improve my muscle health through deep tissue massage and gentle exercise, this will reduce the level of pain I will experience from fibromyalgia, because there is less muscle pathology.

So far I think it’s working?  It’s a bit hard to tell, what with exams, the stress of losing a friend, and coming off Tegretol.  To be honest I’m just throwing everything I can think of at my fibromyalgia and trigeminal neuralgia and hoping something sticks, so identifying exactly what is having exactly how much of a positive impact is going to be a bit tricky.  Here’s hoping the deep tissue massage sticks!

Either way, it’s making me feel better, and that’s the most important thing right now.

Massage Therapy and Fibromyalgia

Bones

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I have always found I benefited from a deep tissue massage.  When working in my more boutique workplaces, we would have heavily subsidised 15-20 minute back massages every fortnight in the office.  The good ones would get right in there with their thumbs and elbows, while the not so good ones would give a formulaic “back rub”.

Unfortunately for me the waiting list for the local (good) masseuse is … rather long, and they’re not exactly cheap.  Which is good, they are worth the money, only it’s money I don’t have for regular massages.  So when a shiatsu massage pillow came up for sale on one of the facebook groups I’m on, I leaped at the chance!

I’ve had it for just over a week now.  I’ve used it every night.  It is amazing.

The first night I wholeheartedly over did it.  I slowly worked my way down my entire back, pressed the shiatsu balls to my hips and legs, to the pressure points around my knees.  It was too much at once, and while I felt sick the next day, I also felt less painful.

I’ve used it almost every night since and I have seen a tremendous improvement in my overall wellbeing.  I typically spend an hour slowly working my way down my back.  I really notice when I haven’t done my lower back properly – my hips ache a lot more if I haven’t.  I go all the way to the ischial tuberosity in the butt cheeks.  If I have time, I do the undersides of my thighs and my calves, by propping the massage pillow up on another pillow while sitting on the couch.

For me, I feel like a lot of my issues stem from nervous innervation from my lower back – these are the areas that are most affected for me, from my gastrointestinal tract downwards.  It stands to reason, then, that heated massage to bring circulation and relaxation to my lower back would improve things.

And it really, really has.  I haven’t been using my cane as much.  I’ve been doing more, feeling better, having a clearer head, and being in less pain.  It has been amazing.

I’m now eyeballing what I can get to do the entirety of my back in one sitting, instead of having to ease the pillow down step by step (and missing bits of my back) over an hour.  I’m sure there’ll be something suitable!