Jan Lipuma on sun 11 apr 99
Hello all,
The reoccuring topic of pain in wrists, shoulders, back, neck, etc. has
prompted me to share these letters with a physical therapist who is a close
friend. He has written the following letter to Clayart:
>Letter for Clayart Regarding Trigger Point Massage
Carpal Tunnel Syndrome is often a misdiagnosis.
This is the belief expressed by Doctors Janet Travell and David Dimons in
their classic medical text, Myofascial Pain and Dysfunction, the Trigger
Point Manual. Their contention, well supported by clinical practice and
growing medical research, is that symptoms of pain, numbness, tingling,
burning and swelling of the wrist, hand and fingers are phenomena referred
from trigger points in muscles some distance away.
Discomforting sensations in the shoulder, arm and hand commonly come from
trigger points in the scalene muscles of the front of the neck. Other
sources are the pectoralis major and minor, the subscapularis (a rotator
cuff muscle), the serratus muscles of the chest wall, the brachialis and
triceps of the upper arm, and the flexor and extensor muscles of the
forearm. Healthcare practitioners who actually succeed in ridding people
of their "carpal tunnel" symptoms find that the condition is rarely caused
by any kind of problem in the wrist itself.
It is my belief that *trigger point massage* is the safest, cheapest, and
most effective cure for pain, nearly all of which is being sent by trigger
points in some other location. The trick and the skill, which not all
massage therapists possess, is to trace the *referred pain* and other
symptoms to their source. Once the true cause of the problem is found,
standard massage techniques--even self massage--can very quickly put an end
to worries about surgery on the wrist.
I suggest that anyone with intractable chronic pain in any part of their
body that hasn't responded to conventional treatments, such as pain
killers, exercise, stretching, magnets, diet and so on, seek out a massage
theapist in their region who has the gift for interpreting referred pain
and for finding the blameworthy trigger points. Clinical massage of this
sort, although not usually paid for yet by insurance, is far less expensive
than other kinds of treatment. And it definately works.<
Although I will never remember all the names of the muscles, I have
learned enough self massage and location of trigger points to frequently
help myself.
Hoping this information will be of help to someone,
Janice Lipuma
in the Bluegrass of Kentucky
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