ART is a massage technique which focuses on the soft tissue system: muscles, tendons, ligaments, fascia and nerves. All the things that I have problems with.

My chronic pain has been quite a burden for the past 6 months. Although I was making some progress healing from the second whiplash injury in January, the muscle tension and scarring were still a major problem, and in some ways were getting worse as the muscles grew weaker. I had been having sporradic success with the NUCCA treatment in completely alleviating my TOS (pinched nerve in arm), but it was not consistent. When the back of my neck became very tender from the tension – about 3 months ago – I started to have even greater issues because my neck would simply get tired holding up my head.

After I recovered from the Norwalk virus, I decided to switch to a new chiropractor in a clinic that also has physio, massage and other therapies in a hope that a team would have better success in treating my problems. The chiropractor introduced me to ART, hoping it would have some success in breaking up the massive amounts of scar tissue and fibrosis. The scar tissue was making my muscles tense (shorter) and weak, and trapping the nerve in my arm.

My ART treatment is fast – just a couple of minutes, plus an adjustment. Right now my body can’t take really long treatments since my overall pain level is too high – if it flared up more, it would be too much for me to handle. So, we focus on smaller areas at a time.

ART involves pressing on certain parts of my muscles and having me move in certain ways. The treatments are aggressive – the pressure is hard, and the muscles are stretched far. Sometimes it hurts, but the effects are immediate.

The first few treatments were focused on the sides of my neck and the scar tissue along the left side of my neck/shoulder/arm. 90% of my problems lie on the left side, and much of the pain on the right is referred.

The first few treatments were hard. I saw noticable improvement in my posture, but with ups and downs of tenderness and swelling. About two weeks ago we switched focus to the back of my head/neck. This is where most of my pain is located – it’s what gets sore first, gets tired first, and causes the most pain when it gets bad. The area is not as badly scarred or tight as the sides of my neck, but focusing on the pain centre has been helpful in my overall well being.

Each treatment (2-3 times per week) has had very noticable improvement in decreasing my pain level. The tension is dissipating in the area and some of the problems that were surfacing from the treatment as I flared up – headaches, jaw ache – are dissipating now as well. I have not had more than some minor pain in my arm in 4 weeks – and no longer take medication for nerve pain.

My only current frustration is that after a treatment I feel amazing. But I do swell. And when it comes time to go to sleep, just putting my head on the pillow – foam or down – is horrid. The act of trying to go to sleep causes me pain and some of the tension returns. It’s rather frustrating. I hesitate to take medication to sleep but may have to. Any other day I sleep like a baby – just that first day with the swelling is difficult. And the tension, at this stage in my recovery, does not dissipate on its own, so I end up being tense and in pain again until another treatment. I use a lot of ice, as well as painkillers, anti-inflammatories and muscle relaxants, but it doesn’t seem to remove the sensitivity from the treatment that first night.

I am still too early in my recovery to begin any type of physiotherapy. Getting to that stage is my first goal – once the pain is down to a 3 or 4 out of 10 (I’m usually 6-10) then I am well enough to build up the lost strength. It will take a few months.

I plan to have 3 treatments next week in the hope that I can make enough progress so that my week in Chicago will be tolerable – I expect there will be a lot of pain, but making it manageable is my top priority.

It’s been a long year – this time last year was the beginning of my neck pain journey, and it’s been a very tough one. I have gone through more pain than I thought possible, have been very stressed as a result, have had to give up almost all activities, and have had to bear the financial burden of all the treatments. The medical system has frustrated me extensively, and I find it hard as a patient to know whom to trust and what is right for me. I didn’t always get the right advice, and have suffered and deteriorated as a result. Most doctors and therapists are insular, or biased, and sometimes what you need is a well-rounded approach. Someone to give you options. But, without landing on it yourself by chance, you can wander from one option to the next as I have done.

I am truly thankful that the issues with my arm can be treated without medication or other invasive means, and that I can expect to recover from that. I will probably always have some issues with my neck, but with many months of work, I hope to regain a more normal lifestyle. My goal is to be able to hike again next summer.

For anyone out there with chronic pain, I understand what a hard journey it is, and what a confusing one. Most people will tell you that nothing can be done to help you, or will give you empty promises. Only you can know what is best for you, but it can be hard to find the right path. My suggestion is to keep going and to talk to as many people as possible. If I could redo this past year (or 3, for my arm), I would have taken it upon myself to get more opinions from therapists, chiropractors and other physicians before deciding upon any one treatment. Your health is more important to you than it is to any doctor, so only you can push to learn about it and to understand what you can do.

Tags: art, chronic pain, active release, tos, active release technique, chiropractor, chiro, massage, active release therapy, thoracic outlet syndrome, pain, medical system, therapy

The down pillow served me well. It was the only pillow which allowed my head to sink down far enough to release strain on my neck. But it had no support whatsoever. After two recent incidents of waking up with a twisted/tilted head (quite literally) I decided enough was enough.

Dr. Foran recommended a new type of pillow. The Therapuetica Pillow, which is made in Canada. 

Yes, it looks crazy. The side portions are raised for side sleeping – higher than traditional so you don’t slouch your shoulders or neck. Also has cavities to ensure the jaw relaxes. The centre is contoured for back sleeping. The wedge bit is a different support from other foam pillows with the roll formation, to gently lift the neck but not strain it.

It feels weird. Slightly hard to get used to in terms of positioning. But once I’m asleep, I’m asleep. And without pain. So though I may find it uncomfortable, it is not painful. Something I cannot say for the other half dozen pillows I have tried.

I am confident I am doing something good for my neck by sleeping correctly. I am hesitant to sleep on my side still, since my last 10 minute side snooze on the old pillow caused me to go off balance by 33lbs, but my initial testing of the side sections was comfortable. Perhaps some day when my muscles are not quite so weak I’ll give side sleeping a shot.

I am tempted to also get the travel pillow, which is a mini version with only the back sleeping portion. And heavy travelers might want to consider the commuter pillow.

Tags: pillows, ergonomics, sleep posture, posture, neck pain, whiplash, neck injury, foam pillow, contour pillow, therapeutica

Since milk intolerance is still common, the scientists believe it to be related to this "milk gene." This gene produces the lactase enzyme which breaks down the lactose in milk.

Dr Mark Thomas, from UCL, said: "The ability to drink milk is the most advantageous trait that’s evolved in Europeans in the recent past.

"Although the benefits of milk tolerance are not fully understood, they probably include the advantage of a continuous supply compared with the ‘boom and bust’ of seasonal crops, its nourishing qualities, and the fact that, unlike stream water, it’s uncontaminated with parasites, making it safer.

In Europe, this gene is not present in 5% of the Caucasian population, but in other parts of the world and for other ethnicities, this gene may not be present for the majority of the population.

It’s an interesting study into our history of animal husbandry and evolution. Will be interesting to see how it plays out in our future of gene therapy. 

Via boing boing ; Tags: milk tolerance, lactase, lactose, milk gene, evolution, science, dairy, animal husbandry

Well, drop that idea. A massage in your mouth is anything but kinky. It’s one of the most painful procedures, ever.

What the heck am I talking about? Well, it’s a therapy technique to release the tension in the neck, head and jaw by massaging the mouth. From the inside.

Prior to accident #2, the tension in my neck was causing me to grind my teeth. I was making a lot of progress here, and don’t clench my jaw so much now. However, the injuries from accident #2 have caused the jaw to tense up again, more from the bottom than the top.

Here are some diagrams to explain:

[source][source]

The muscles of the neck, back, head and jaw are all one and the same. If something is out of alignment or injured, everything can suffer. Right now my jaw is just a tad crooked. If I try to bite down it feels incredibly off. The muscles on one side are just yanking it out of line.

My massage therapist has been working externally to help heal the injuries, relax the tension in the muscles and fascia, and relax the neck/jaw/face. However, working from the inside of the mouth is a much more effective means to reaching some muscles. The mouth itself is incredibly sensitive. It’s called "intraoral massage".

[Source]

By pressing on certain areas of my mouth, having me open/close my mouth, some tension can be relieved. But it makes me kick. Oy, I hate it. The areas of focus are right under the tongue, the muscles of which you can see connect to the neck. As well, the soft palate around the tongue and my lower teeth, and the back of my jaw where I would have wisdom teeth if they were not yanked.

So, that was my massage for the day. Not fun, not pleasant. But effective for the time being. Be warned – if you are ever offered a massage inside your mouth, it will work. But you’ll hate it.

Tags: intraoral massage, massage therapy, massage inside mouth, mouth massage, jaw, tmj

NUCCA is the National Upper Cervical Chiropractic Association, and they specialize in treating the neck for optimal body balance and treat a lot of whiplash patients.

NUCCA is totally different from other chiropractic options. There is no popping of the bones. The adjustment of the bones is done via pressure. The focus is on the very top of the spine – this misalignment of this bone can throw out the entire body – the rest of the back, the hips, the legs and result in many problems, including pinched nerves. The adjustments are meant to restore the position of the neck and help the body realign and heal itself. 

I spent more than 2 hours getting a full work-up at the NUCCA office of Dr. Foran on Thursday. I had a full set of 3D x-rays on my neck – one set having to be done three times because apparently my neck is quite crooked – a check on the anatometer, a physical exam, and an sEMG test. The sEMG provides a computer printout schematic of the body (like this one) – it assesses the muscle activity and uses thermography to infer things about the spine. The NUCCA approach is more technical, rather than by feel. It approaches the treatment mathematically, and tests are repeated after each treatment to guage the changes and subsequent angles for readjustment.

My test results showed an extreme case of pain (indeed) with a reading of 168% at the top C2 level and 56% at the level where my bra is – both very severe subluxations. The axis of my neck is turned, so my head is not straight, and my neck is too straight (versus having a C-curve to it). As a result, my back is off in many places, muscle tension runs all to the left (my problem side), my hips are twisted by 5 degrees and my left leg is .75" shorter than my right. So… I am definitely a little wonky.

I plan to scan or somehow get my sEMG printouts online, and perhaps keep them updated as my treatment progresses. I am interested to see in how this new chiropractice treatment will go. I believe strongly that my neck is having major issues on my whole body and hope this new approach will have some results.

Now, although my NUCCA practitioner has asked for exclusivity in my treatment, I have done my research and know my body. I plan to continue my massage treatments once per week. From what I read, the release technique used by my massage therapist is effective at breaking up the scar tissue and improving the body’s ability to heal itself. Plus, it helps me manage my pain.

For those interested in muscular dysfunction, chiropractic and the use of sEMG’s, I found this article very interesting.

Tags: nucca, chiropractic, chiropractor, health, science, whiplash, car accident, massage, massage therapist, semg, emg, subluxation, body alignment, muscular dysfunction, tos, thoracic outlet syndrome

The chiropractor I am seeing believes that I am hypermobile. According to wikipedia, this means that my joints stretch further than is normal. Hypermobility may be genetic, but the research seems new in that area.

Hypermobility can cause people to be injured more easily than others, often in situations that would not hurt others. I can recall many stupid ways I have been sprained. Like walking or lifting laundry. The joints just gave way on me.

Now, there are many different types of hypermobility, some more serious than others. I will need to ask my doctor about them and to see if I can have any tests done. I know I do not have joints quite as flexible as the testing would indicate I should, but my symptoms are spot on for the rest of it.

I was reading up on some research about hypermobility and back pain, and found this:

Hypermobility may present as increased movement compared to what is expected. It may occur at one joint, one segment, in just one direction of movement, or as a more generalized phenomenon. More commonly, we see compensatory hypermobility occurring when trauma to the ligamentous structures has decreased the movement of the adjacent joint.

The initial response to the increased segmental movement is a reflexive increase in tone of muscles that share common innervation or are directly attached to the corresponding segment. This is the body’s attempt to stabilize the affected area. Over time, prolonged, increased tonus will decrease the blood supply and increase the build-up of lactic acid.

To me, this could explain why, 5 years later, I developed TOS. So, I will be talking to my doctor. From what I have read, my treatments now are spot on between my massage and chiropractor, so that is encouraging. I have even had one small window of no pain since my last visit, and I am hopeful that there will be more in the future.

Tags: hypermobility, hypermobile, tos, health

So, medicated sleep it is. Truly, a wonderful thing. It’s no fun tossing and turning in pain, waking up all the time, and making things worse.

The pills I’m on are called Gen-Zopiclone, which a hypnotic agent and addictive. I can only take these for a short time, but I hope during that time my neck will heal enough so that the pain won’t keep me from sleeping.

I started off on half doses, but was only making it to 5am. I progressed to a full dose, and that did the trick. Last night didn’t work, but that was my fault for working till 11:30pm then going straight to bed. Even pills can’t turn off the turning wheels.

Tags: sleeping pills, sleeping, insomnia, zopiclone

So, although there is much to report, I think I have enough things to report on the health side to justify a whole post.

First, the background. After 1.5 years, doctors have tentatively diagnosed me with TOS. Tentative because my symptoms are constant not intermittent. I have since begun massage therapy, which significantly increased my pain as an old whiplash injury has surfaced with a vengeance and severely impacted my daily life. At first, I spent much of my time on the couch and avoided the car, which caused my neck to absorb the vibrations of the road.

So, we bought a new car. Better suspension. That helped. Slowly, I was able to stay upright for longer periods of time, but I still had significant neck and posterior shoulder pain. In a very timely coincidence, I was speaking with Ianiv’s new colleague, Mark Schneider, who suffered from chronic pain as well. He recommended I switch massage therapists and managed to get me referred quickly to his own, who is a naturopath of sorts.

This person is a craniosacral therapist and has approached my pain from a more well-rounded perspective. She is incredibly forthcoming about how she wants to treat me and is very good at what she does. Instead of painful massage sessions, she keeps me longer, releasing surface tension before doing deep tissue scar repair. This has been very successful thus far, and although I may not understand what she does, whether it’s Ch’i or color baths or Chinese medicines, I am happy with her progress and hopeful she can help.

My search for the perfect pillow was sort of successful. I tried so many pillows, it was incredibly frustrating. I spent 2 weeks looking for a latex pillow recommended by my doctor, and found it at Walmart, of all places. However, although better than others, it was still too high in the rise. I then tried a Tempurpedic one. Too hard. So, I gave up on my quest for comfort and support, and just went for comfort. I went to a linens store and tried all their pillows. I chose a soft down pillow, which allowed my to sink to bed level without applying pressure. They were out of stock, of course, so they had a new one made. I was very excited, but a few nights proved that it was not as soft as the one I had tried. I cannot sink without pressure. I believe that this is due to the fact that the demo pillow was used more, so I will stick to it.

So, my sleep is 50% improved. Some days are better than others. I still toss a lot, and sleep too much on my side, which ends up hurting my neck, but at least I can sleep some. And my headaches are reduced.

After speaking with my doctor, my headaches were identified as a result of an additional injury to my occipital bone. Although they feel like migraines, they are not. The medical condition is called occipital neuralgia, which is the result of muscle tension and damaged nerves. Fun stuff. The symptoms of this are chronic neck pain, with additional pain to the back of the head and behind the ears. When the back of my head is very bad, it causes a headache. You can actually onset one with simple application of pressure. At this point, we are not treating this condition outside of massage, although we may have to.

Now, I have had another MRI and another EMG. Both clean and healthy. The vascular surgeon thinks that my TOS will be treated via repair of the soft tissue injuries, so I will stick with the massage, but also add on a physiotherapist, chiropractor, a rehabilitation specialist, and a spinal injury specialist. If possible, I will also attend a Feldenkrais physiotherapy clinic and, although I would like to avoid it, I might need injections into the muscles to force them to relax.

How I will have time (or money) for all of this, I am not quite sure yet, but at least there is some progress in my diagnosis and treatment, albeit frustrating progress that feels somewhat like we’re going backwards instead of forwards. Only time will tell how successful these treatments will be. For others with chronic pain, I hope my notes will help you also find better treatment options.

Tags: health, chronic pain, tos, thoracic outlet syndrome, occipital neuralgia, headaches, migraines, pillow, pillows, whiplash, neck pain, spinal injuries

As reported in the Daily Mail, a group of severly brain-damaged patients in comatose states are awakening after receiving a common sleeping pill, Zolpidem (also known as Ambien, Stilnox, Stilnoct, Hypnogen or Myslee).

In an odd state of discovery, this sleeping pill, instead of sending comatose patients into a calm slumber, is awakening them from their vegetative states.

It all started with Louis Viljoen. Louis was in a persistent coma after being tragically hit by a lorry while on his bike in South Africa five years ago. His nurse had noticed that he might be in some discomfort, as he was spasming, so she gave him Zolpidem to calm him. Instead, Louis awoke and began to speak.

GP Wally Nel, who treated Louis, has been trying to get to the bottom of this miraculous discovery.

"Since Louis, I have treated more than 150 brain-damaged patients with zolpidem and have seen improvements in about 60 per cent of them."

An accidental discovery. But a miracle which will awaken the slumbers of thousands and restore to them precious life. Patients given Zolpidem are awakening and reporting improvements in speech and movement. Continuous administration of the drug restores more and more function. A 60% recovery rate, from a simple sleeping pill!

"We did scans before and after we gave Louis zolpidem. Areas that appeared black and dead beforehand began to light up with activity afterwards," he said.

"I was dumbfounded, and I still am."

Medical trials have now begun in South Africa, and around the world, to understand how this drug is reviving once-dead brain cells. Not only does this revolutionize the treatment of comatose patients, but it is a discovery into how the brain works and our understanding of it. To discover that "dead" cells are indeed not dead is a major breakthrough in science.

There is so much scientists do not know. The medication I take, gabapentin (neurontin), is an epileptic medication that, also by accident, was found to be successful with nerve pain. I am thankful for this accident, to be sure, but they have no idea how it works or why!

Picture Source ; Tags: miracles, health, coma, comatose, vegetation, vegetative state, science, health, hope, miraculous, sleeping pill, zolpidem

Lesson #1: Massage therapy is not massage.
Lesson #2: It has to get worse to get better.
Lesson #3: Pain is an enemy within that fights for control.

Massage therapy is intensly painful. My sessions are for an hour and focus on my back shoulder areas, my neck, and the front of my shoulders. The "massage" consists mostly of grabbing, squeezing and pulling the muscles very slowly. Pushing down a lot. I spend my time focused on relaxation and breathing. Being tense would only make it worse.

What I’ve slowly been learning is that the massage pain is "good pain". That through the pain comes healing. During the sessions I try to focus on understanding the muscles and the tenseness. Pay attention to what is going on. Now that my muscles are indeed relaxing during the sessions, learning to accept the treatment, it’s quite a noticable sensation. As if the muscles explode with pain and then sigh… and relax. Just a bit so far, but noticably I can feel the relaxation. And sighing is the best analogy I can make.

I’ve learned a lot about my body from the massage. Two particular areas on my neck and shoulder flare up an exlosion of pain in my head – which explains to me why I’ve been having headaches this year and not before. I’ve learned from the resulting pain what makes it worse and what better. When my neck was fine before I would probably abuse it. Sit sloppy or lie on my side. Things which probably overall made me worse off, only now I can feel when I do things I shouldn’t.

After the massage sessions I have some aches but not the intense pressure. The first massage session brought up the pile of issues in my neck and shoulder that I didn’t know about before (hidden issues which could be the cause of my nerve pain), and now we’re addressing that new pain in each session. The pain in my arm is a secondary pain to that I have now. I know how to deal with nerve pain now, but the muscle pain is a new experience.

After the massage I have a window of about 2 days (growing longer) when the pain is less intense, but then the muscles begin to tense and it returns. Then I spend most of my time lying down with heat and/or ice on the neck and shoulder areas. It’s rather boring. Anything requiring me to hold up my head, basically anything, affects my neck. I feel all vibrations, from that in music to that in cars. My sensitivity is extreme.

I had my latest massage today. My neck feels better than yesterday (a bad day that started at 5am and involved lots of couch time) but my shoulder is pinched a bit.

Pain is like another person within me. I daily fight to be in control of it, not it of me. Most days I can shunt it to the side, place it in a mental box and know it’s always there, but that it is not the forefront of my thoughts. Some days, especially recently with this new and unlearned type of pain, the pain controls me. "I" get placed in the box off to the side, and the pain rules my day. It takes control of me mentally and physically and that is incredibly frustrating.

I am working to learn this new pain. To understand how it works to overcome it. The therapy is one resource. Hopefully after seeing my specialist I will get the Botox to relax some muscles. But mentally I will need to understand my latest enemy and to conquer it.

Tags: pain, chronic pain, therapy, massage therapy