In basic terms, fibromyalgia is a chronic overstimulated nerve condition that includes general pain and tenderness across the body. Over 5.8 million people in the United States are diagnosed with fibromyalgia, mostly women.
What are the symptoms of fibromyalgia?
If you are experiencing any of the below symptoms, it is wise to consult a physician:
Aching all over, often with specific points more painful than others.
Chronic fatigue
Swelling
Depression
Anxiety
Difficulty Sleeping
Brain Fog
Headaches
Incontinence
Abdominal Pain
Stiffness
These symptoms can often be overlooked because of their similarities to autoimmune, hypothyroidism and other disease processes. So it is important to get tested. Take time to write down your observations and experience so that you can share this with your doctor.
For people wanting to include an integrative protocol to improve their health while diagnosed with fibromyalgia, read the below studies on how Craniosacral Therapy works and its associated benefits.
Common trigger Points found to diagnose Fibromyalgia:
Helping to Relieve Symptoms of Fibromyalgia.
Craniosacral Therapy has shown good results in helping clients to feel better overall, relieve stress and pain conditions, and to find a better outlook in life. It is a very gentle approach to healing and wellness that can be applied to almost everyone.
If you would like to find a Craniosacral Therapist in your area, please check the Upledger Site to give you a list of therapist in your area. Check for Certification and Advanced work to find the most experienced and qualified person for you.
Don’t let fibromyalgia interrupt your daily joys and activities!
A large percent of clients that come through my door have experienced lower back pain without relief.
But unless you have actual nerve impingement that needs medical attention, massage and bodywork can be very helpful in releasing those pain patterns that are keeping you from work and having fun. Invest in yourself and it will pay off. Stop looking at massage as a luxury, and give yourself what you need.
An article I just found on the AMTA’s site provides you with an informative study:
Massage Therapy Can Help Low-Back Pain
In a study published in the February 2014 edition of Scientific World Journal, researchers investigated whether chronic low-back pain therapy with massage therapy alone was as effective as combining it with non-steroid anti-inflammatory drugs. The study was conducted on 59 individuals divided into two groups, all of whom suffered from low-back pain and were diagnosed with degenerative changes of the spine, other intervertebral disc diseases or spine pain.
In both patient groups, the pain measured was significantly reduced and the level of disability showed significant improvement compared to the baseline. Researchers concluded massage had a positive effect on patients with chronic low-back pain and propose that the use of massage causes fast therapeutic results and that, in practice, it could help to reduce the use of anti-inflammatory drugs in the treatment of chronic low-back pain .
Working with the Craniosacral System, the Fascia, and the Muscles to come into balance can change your whole attitude about life. When your pain goes away, life seems a lot easier and brighter.
Massage relieves back pain through soft tissue release
You don’t have to stay in bed for the week. Find a massage therapist who can get you moving and back into life!
Are you one those people who believes Massage is a luxury?
Would you believe that over 38 million people in the United States have received at least one massage therapy session?
Of all these people, my bet is that the majority received some wonderful health benefits. The question is not how much will massage help, but will you commit to giving yourself the physical help you need when you are in pain?
For those of you who know, when you find the right connection with a person who listens to your needs and has the skill to work with your body therapeutically, it’s hard not to walk away feeling less stressed and feeling great. Not only that, many massage therapists have specialities that help in specific situations. In order to stay licensed, each LMT pursues the type of work that interests them to enhance their bag of techniques that work for you. Each modality is geared to specialized issues. For example, Craniosacral Therapy is wonderful for balancing the nervous system. For clients with spine issues, high levels of stress, fibromyalgia, ADHD, this type of work can truly make a life difference. Structural Integration is another modality that layers deeply through the fascia and reorganizes how the body stands and moves in relationship to gravity. This type of work can be very gentle but also very deep and transformational. It depends on your level of comfort. Structural Integration, very similar to the Rolfing method, creates an excellent road to better posture and flexibility. Some people prefer an even lighter touch such as Reiki or other types of energy work like Brennan Healing Science. It’s important to interview therapists and ask them questions so that you find the right practitioner for you!
Massage and Bodywork: Would you rather take a pill or receive an hour long session?
I did get caught up tonight in looking at a Youtube that came up on “favorite things”.
I wondered how this subject would be broached. My takeaway after watching, one that my mind seems to often go to, is feeling good means being aware in our bodies. Being tactile and being conscious make sense to me. When we notice scents, touch texture, hear music and see colors… when we taste rich dark chocolate or jump into the wind- we are living.
If we could only allow ourselves to do our favorite things more often, we might be able to easier let go of judgments, find more joy, and stop being so angry. We might reach for each others hands rather than turn the other way. We might forget our differences and feel into the things that bring us together.
We as human beings are meant to have pleasure and to feel it down to our very tippy toes.
So I am going to share this youtube with you. I found it on www.digg.com . Notice how you feel as you watch:)
Sharon Hartnett LMT
(614) 372-6598
Columbus Ohio
PS. My favorite thing besides my human family? Horses… What’s yours?
Sitting outside at sunset listening to the birds, and hanging out with horses.
Our bodies are created as a result of a creative force, our thinking and our actions.
When we stop living fully in our bodies, our life force diminishes, we loose our spark and joy.
So What does this mean to you?
Well, through life, most people encounter some type of suffering, discomfort or pain. When this happens, we have different ways of coping. We may ignore the pain and push through … we may disassociate from what the body tells us and disassociate… we may pretend that everything is alright with a happy face when we don’t feel that way at all. There are many type of coping mechanisms that help us to avoid pain when our thinking is trying to leave the situation.
The Challenge is that when we oppose what our experience is telling us, that information stays stagnant until we stop defending against it whether subconscious or not. That energy of pain that is not originally felt waits to complete its cycle into health and integration. To unwind these patterns, it is necessary to include unwinding the body too. It is through opening and feeling deeply that we can restore our energy levels and wellbeing.
My experience as a professional Structural Integration Therapist is that there is soft pain that is often tolerable. This is a basic natural reaction to getting physically or emotionally hurt. For example, a child falls off a bike and has a boo boo. He/she goes to Mommy gets a kiss and bandaid and all soon is well. It hurt but was taken care of with kindness and sensing. This is a positive interaction because it allows flow but also keeps our physical being safe and wise in interacting with our environment. This type of pain is helpful in keeping us alive physically. What causes the real suffering is not feeling deeply into it when it occurs in the moment. An example of this might be a soldier goes to war and the experiencing is overwhelming. When home, PTSD or other biological processes need to be integrated because the experience was just too much. Our defense systems assist us when life feels overwhelming and intolerable. This intelligence has its benefits. Yet when that defense system becomes a habit, and it often does, it is important to question the benefits of maintaining its system.
Pain can stay numb or can show up later in life if it is disregarded longterm.
What has helped me assist clients is to work with people in their zone of comfort.
I enjoy being a bodyworker with a lot of modalities under my belt. But one of my favorites in giving and receiving is Structural Integration. That is because by layering deep into the fascia, all that cellular memory begins to awaken. The tissues soften, rehydrate and the body actually reshapes itself from its own wisdom. Structural Integration is a wonderful method to help the body find its proper alignment, leading to more ease and freedom in the body, mind & soul.
Now Rolfing has had its negative popular opinion. Historically it has been known to be to rough and abrupt. Some people have claimed that it is painful in itself as a treatment. And it is true that when the tissues are felt, the natural defense systems kick in and that closed system is not necessarily happy to be unprotected. The mind is smart and wants to to keep things status quo. Yet if the body is not allowed to stay open, relating, and communicating as a whole, we become segmented.
Structural Integration as I have learned it is the same as the Rolfing method, but as with the Rolfers, many practitioners have learned to slow down and stay in the zone so there is no re-injury. Yet I have to say that Structural Integration is not for that half-hearted. It will be uncomfortable at some points and there may be some pain involved. But that is the pain that already exists in the body and is being touched and awakened. Often clients tell me that it hurts, but it is the good kind because as the resistance dies, new energy can surge in that is very healing and helpful. At the end of a session, clients can be very giddy and happy because they have let go of old patterns that have kept them down. It is wonderful to witness this.
It is my promise as a Professional Structural Integration Therapist, to help you to feel deeply into your body. I will do this at your pace, in your time and with your consent. In order to keep in the zone, we set up healthy boundaries of communication. If anything feels over the top, then we slow down or give you a rest. Now I don’t want to scare you off, but I am being honest that this work does usually include discomfort. The key to a great session is to listen, allow and be in the moment. The mind will resist at some point the changes that are happening, and I will ask that you feel this softer discomfort when it shows up. But your dialogue and wishes are always respected.
When clients finish going through the 10 series of Structural Integration, their whole body changes. They stand straighter, they feel more energy, and the pain in their body diminishes quite a bit. Life is general changes just because people feel better after a series even if they can’t put their finger on it.
Because this takes a commitment to your overall health and wellness, take your time and consider the possibility of Structural Integration. As Marianne Williamson says in one of her quotes, “Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure.” Opening to feeling vitality and joy means moving through inner resistance… mental, emotional and/or physical. It’s easier to stay in our habits than to break through.
Here is a quote by Byron Katie that I think about when I consider Structural Integration Work in relationship to the mind:
I also offer more gentle modalities like Craniosacral Therapy, Brennan Healing Science, Aromatherapy and more. This is just one road to healing. As I mentioned in the beginning, each person’s make-up is unique, and if we are to heal, we need to be met where we are.
When you decide to ask for help… interview, ask questions. Find the right practitioner for you.
