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IN THIS ISSUE |
Dear e-touch reader,This month in e-touch you can read a first-person account of the benefits of therapeutic massage for recovery after injury. Also, recent research into the benefits of massage for a variety of medical conditions, and a new exhibit on the history of pain. Enjoy the issue! Healing TouchBy Diana Lund You can’t fully imagine how bad it was. After I was in a car crash, my continual pulse of thoughts stopped dead. The only time I could generate an idea was in reaction to an event, such as when a person asked me a question, or when I tripped and fell. Otherwise, I lived in internal silence. But one day while getting a massage, in my fifth year of recovery, fluidity of thought returned! Now, in my tenth year of massage treatments, I recall my introduction to therapeutic massage and its role in my revitalization. In a makeshift room of curtain walls, a month after the four-car collision had taken away my mental and physical prowess, a physical therapist evaluated my body. After moving my arms, legs, and head every which way, as much as tension and pain would allow, she told me, “I can’t work with you.” “I’m permanently damaged?” I wondered. “Your body is so stiff, my only choice is to send you to massage. For about a month.” I’d been in a neck brace the first three days after the accident, and when it came off, I’d lost several degrees of neck rotation. The only way I could back up a car was by using mirrors. My right leg was a little shorter than my left leg, and my right arm couldn’t reach a glass on a shelf at eye level. In the third week, as my body shock began to wear off, an all-consuming, muscle-wrenching, eye-watering pain commenced.
At the rehabilitation clinic, the physical therapist handed me off to Cathy, an amiable, relaxed massage therapist. Soon, I was lying on my back, Cathy’s hands kneading my neck, shoulder, and upper back. While she worked, Cathy reported, “Neck muscles—tight. Shoulder blades—tight. Trapezius—very tight.” Unlike other massages I’d had over the years—I’d been a recreational soccer forward who’d occasionally had massages to soothe overworked muscles—this one didn’t approach nirvana. Instead, my soft tissue responded like a giant knot in an evenly-matched tug of war. It didn’t have much give. It fought manipulation. Even though Cathy touched me carefully, I winced from the contact and yipped repeatedly. Sweat soaked the underlying sheet. Experiencing more pain than pleasure, I willed the session to end. I didn’t want to skip the massage. I just wanted its end results faster. When the half-hour was up, my body seemed a little looser. That day, my physical therapist recorded: “Goals: pain-free cervical range of motion . . . [and] pain-free . . . shoulders, neck, lower back . . . at rest. Was involved in an MVA [motor vehicle accident]. Had concussion. Communication is strained due to cognitive/memory difficulty.” I must have arrived late to my next appointment because I could no longer track time, and instead depended on chance that I would glance at my schedule around the time I was supposed to leave. Having lost the ability to spontaneously think about the future, I didn’t feel any apprehension upon arrival at the clinic. When Cathy greeted me, I didn’t recognize her, but I probably pretended to know her. The manipulation mirrored my previous one—painful. Each session repeated until I eventually remembered Cathy, the pain, the relief from pain. Soon, physical therapy began in conjunction with massage. Over months of appointments, I saw many physiotherapists. Like an opening flower, my body’s tension unwound and my brain’s functioning improved.
After two years, my home exercise regimen was sufficient and I didn’t need to go to physical therapy anymore. But I continued on with another massage therapist, Wes, an amazing rejuvenator. He introduced me to craniosacral therapy, a rhythmic scalp massage and gentle pulling of the hair. Afterward, I sensed a freeness to my brain, like it had been lubed and my neurons’ signals flowed better. It was in the middle of one of Wes’s sessions that fluidity of thought returned to me. On another breakthrough day, after an hour’s session, my night vision suddenly improved and I could drive during darkness again! And Wes also finished what my physical therapist had started. He got my right arm to extend above my head—something a doctor initially told me I would never regain. Massage brings pleasure again and I owe the massage therapy community a debt of gratitude for their part in my condition’s improvement, and for accelerating the return of keen thought required to write. Thank you for staying with me for a decade, performing miracles I’d not dreamt possible. Diana Lund is a freelance writer living in the Chicago area. She is author of the memoir Remind Me Why I'm Here: Sifting through Sudden Loss of Memory and Judgment. To read more about her work, visit www.dianalundwriter.com. Did You Know?A number of research studies indicate that massage therapy can assist in patients’ recovery from many conditions. Studies have found use of massage to be effective in boosting the body’s immune system functioning, easing post-operative pain, easing alcohol withdrawal symptoms, and soothing chronic back pain better than other complementary therapies. Recent studies have also associated massage therapy with substantive relief of symptoms in cancer patients, such as pain, fatigue, stress, anxiety, nausea, and depression. To find a professional massage therapist in your area, go to AMTA’s Find A Massage Therapist® national locator service at www.findamassagetherapist.org. It's a quick and easy way to find an AMTA massage therapist to provide the massage you need. AMTA members listed in AMTA’s locator service must meet any and all local or state licensing requirements for massage therapists. All information included in the locator service is provided by individual members, and AMTA presumes all information to be true and correct. AMTA assumes no liability for incorrect information provided to AMTA for inclusion in this locator service, nor does AMTA represent these practitioners as competent. Source: AMTA's Massage Information Center, 2006. AMTA Co-sponsors Exhibit on History of PainA new exhibit titled “The Universal Condition: Enduring and Alleviating Pain” is now on display at the International Museum of Surgical Science in Chicago, Illinois. AMTA is one of the sponsors of this exhibit, which educates viewers about the history of pain and medicine’s quest to relieve it. “The Universal Condition” chronicles efforts to control pain from the ancient use of psychoactive plants to the development of modern anesthesia. Aspects of the perception of pain are explored, including the mind-body connection and gate control theory. Case studies in the exhibit provide an in-depth look at some common pain syndromes, explaining their causes and available treatments, both pharmacological and non-pharmacological. Massage, for example, is examined as an approach to alleviate the pain associated with migraines. In connection with the exhibit, the museum is offering a series of lectures called “Understanding Pain.” One of the highlights in this series will be a panel discussion on January 30, 2007, “Alternative Approaches to Pain Care: Art Therapy, Massage Therapy, & Acupuncture,” featuring Robert King, founder of the Chicago School of Massage Therapy and AMTA member since 1974. To learn more about this exhibit, the lecture series and the International Museum of Surgical Science, please visit their website at www.imss.org. Table TipsIs it carpal tunnel or shoulder tension?
As a massage therapist I find I have to be ultravigilant about keeping my shoulders down when performing massage or I start to get these symptoms. I’ve also found that many people experience these symptoms because of the tension they carry in their shoulders and neck. Tensing of these muscles is usually totally unconscious, and it doesn't take much to cause the symptoms. Even very slight contractions, held all day, can easily cause symptoms that show up at night. A simple way to help release this tension is to raise your shoulders and hold for a few seconds. Then pretend there is a heavy weight attached to your shoulders as you let them fall again. This little exercise should be done often throughout the day. Donna Lipson For a different massage tip each week, visit AMTA's Massage Room. Click 'n' PickHave you used any of the features for consumers available on the AMTA website? Let us know by taking this month's survey. It's quick and it's easy! See the results in next month's e-touch. AMTA MissionTo serve AMTA members while advancing the art, science and practice of massage therapy. |
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