Read

November/December 2001 Alternative Health
Back Pain

by Todd Pennington

Back Pain is one of the most common complaints of our society. Almost everyone has it at some time or another. The question is, do you have it now? Many people have movement restriction and do not realize that it is part of the back pain problem. In many cases the restriction has been there so long that you carry on with your life and may not even notice it. There is a possibility of help even if the pain has been there for years.

The spine is central to all motion in the body. If a nerve is pinched as it leaves the spine then the nerve function is interfered with, resulting in pain. If the disk between the vertebrae gets pinched or herniated you feel a lot of pain. If the difficulty progresses and the disk ruptures, then debilitating pain results. Ruptures last until they get taken care of, most likely by surgery. Taking care of the problem before surgery is best and provides the greatest relief. Many people who have back surgery have at least some problem for the rest of their life. Taking care of all of the causes before they lead to a herniated or ruptured disk would be the best course of action.

Flying lessons from horses, roofs, ladders, bicycles and skis can cause back pain, as can sudden stops, frequently involving high speed vehicles, tripping, sliding and falls. Then there are sporting activities, gardening, lifting and general exercising. This may just sound like life and that is exactly what it is.

Low back pain can originate from several areas. One of the most frequent is from tight muscles in the pelvis. Working the gluteals frequently helps to relieve a lot of the area known to low back pain sufferers as L5-S1. Those of you who know this term also know how painful it can be. Massage can help, if it is done in a way that will get the distant muscles to relax and allow the bones to reposition. Only as the tension is taken off of the disks between the spinal joint will the pain release long term.

Upper back pain can be nagging and in some cases will force changes in lifestyle to try to reduce the pain. There are many causes of upper body pain. One of them is the head being pulled forward by muscles in the chest and the neck. This forces the upper ribs to pull the top of the body forward. One of several results is that muscles of the upper back are pulled tight enough to cause pain.

Many think that shoulder blade pain is caused by the Rhomboid muscle; in most cases this is not true. It is caused by muscles that run vertically and not angled the way that the Rhomboid muscle is. Partly due to not understanding which muscle is causing the problem, many therapists have trouble getting these muscles to relax. When the muscles of the front of the chest, neck and the vertebral muscles of the back are worked together it is possible to relax a very tight and painful upper back.

Scoliosis is a side-to-side bending of the spine. One key to helping this is in knowing how to help the tailbone return to being straight. Forcing the bone is not likely to relax the muscle causing the problem. Deep massage, in the right areas, releases the tailbone easily and has a potential of releasing scoliosis. Also, each spinal joint has its own ways of being forced out of alignment and thus its own way of being relaxed. By understanding how to locate regions that are forcing the side bending it is possible to get long-term relief.

Long-term treatment by chiropractors frequently means that muscles are forcing the bones out of place. In many cases, chiropractors need to repeat the same adjustments because the muscles are always pulling out the bones. It is possible through massage to relax the chronic force so it no longer pulls the bones out of place.

Control Muscle Release Therapy looks at the muscles that control bone and muscles at a distance. The goal is to release the structure easily and gently. The easiest way to release the whole body is to relax the key regions of the body. In many cases long term (chronic) conditions can be improved.

I work on all the issues that I have talked about and many others. For more information on this and many other subjects check my web site or call and request articles that I have written. If you have one or more of the issues and want to make changes, call and schedule an appointment.

Take care of your body now and it will help to take care of you later.

For more information or an appointment call Todd Pennington, LMT , 10175 SW Barbur Blvd., Suite 306 Portland OR 97219, (503) 244-4427, www.penningtonmassage.com