Best Neuromuscular Trigger Point Massages in Los Angeles: The ‘Second Heart’ And It’s Role in Lower Back Pain.
The muscle that runs up the back of your calf — the soleus — is known as the ‘second heart’ because of the critical role it helps in pumping blood back up into your torso from your feet. It’s involved in back pain because of the structural role it plays in your posture, but according to a paper published in Massage Today, there’s more. A rare but potent trigger point that can form on the back of your calf can cause sharp pain in your sacroiliac joint (lower back) including causing the back muscles to spasm and become sensitive to the touch! Fortunately a qualified Neuromuscular/Trigger Point Massage Therapist can help with a simple, non-invasive therapy.
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According to a World Health Report, migraines are the nineteenth most common patient complaint worldwide with an 18% of women and 6% of men in the United States experiencing at least one migraine headache episode each year.
There is evidence that patients with migraines have an energy deficit disorder associated with their glucose intake. As such, adopting a strict ketogenic diet (in which ketones are the primary source of energy for the body in place of glucose) does appear to benefit patients with migraines.
A 2017 study set out to determine if it was the absence of glucose or the increase in ketone bodies that made the difference for patients. In the study, researchers provided four female migraine patients with a specially designed ten-gram beverage containing a specific type of ketone called B-hydroxybutyrate or bHB twice a day for four weeks.
After one month, their migraine frequency rate dropped 50% to eight days/month on average without any serious side effects. The patients also lost weight, presumably due to consuming less glucose in their diet. An additional benefit of higher levels of ketones in the body is that they have an anti-inflammatory effect.
A larger double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled trial is now underway with a group of 90 patients that will last three months The goal of the study is to determine if this nutritional supplement is capable of reducing migraine headaches without the significant side effects and associated disabilities that are currently associated with many migraine medications.
Neuromuscular/Trigger point massage also targets the root cause of headaches/migraines and is an important part of caring for the whole person. In fact, there is research supported evidence that neuromuscular/trigger point massage alone has a very positive benefit for migraine headache patients as noted in many studies regarding the effectiveness of manual therapies. Based on the outcome of this large-scale study, the use of ketone-based supplementation for migraines may become a new standard.
There are two types of muscles that help facilitate motion in our hips and lower extremities: tonic and phasic.
Tonic (postural) muscles are always working or contracting to keep us upright. Therefore, these muscles tend to be tight and short. When we sleep, they contract or shorten and are taut upon waking and need to be stretched on a regular basis. Examples of tonic muscles include the hamstrings and the iliopsoas or hip flexors muscles. Here are two great stretches for these muscles:
Iliopsoas stretch: 1) Stand and take a step forward with the left leg into a front straddled position. 2) Rotate the left side of the pelvis forward so that it becomes square with the right side of the pelvis. 3) Perform a posterior pelvic tilt by flattening the curve in the low back while rocking the pelvis forward to create a strong stretch in the left groin/front of the hip. 4) Lean backwards to the right to further increase the left groin/hip stretch. Hold for five to ten seconds and repeat this on the opposite side. Practice these stretches multiple times a day.
Hamstrings stretch: 1) Lie on your back and place the left leg on a door jam with the right leg flat on the floor extending through the opening of the doorway. 2) Push the left leg into the door jam and hold for three to five seconds and then scoot closer to the door jam to stretch the hamstring. Hold for one to two minutes and repeat this on the opposite side, multiple times a day.
Phasic muscles, on the other hand, only work when needed and tend to be weak. These require strengthening, not stretching. Examples of phasic muscles include the abdominal and buttock muscles. Here are two great strengthening exercises for these muscles:
Abdominal strengthening: 1) Lying on the floor, place your hands behind your low back. Bend one knee/leg while keeping the other straight. 2) Lift your breast bone toward the ceiling one to two inches (2.54 to 5.08 cm) and hold for ten seconds. Repeat multiple times until the abdominal muscles are fatigued.
Buttocks strengthening: 1) Squeeze your buttocks together multiple times a day when sitting or standing. 2) Lie on your back with your knees bent and your feet flat on the floor. Raise your buttocks so it lines up with your trunk while pushing your heels into the floor. Hold for ten seconds and repeat five to ten times.
Depending on the nature of your hip pain, your neuromuscular massage therapist may recommend further exercises that you can perform at home as part of your treatment plan.
Best Neuromuscular Trigger Point Massage in Los Angeles: It’s So Hip to Suffer Very Low Back Pain!
There are so many people suffering lumbar back pain that it’s easy to get lumped into the same category if your chronic pain occurs even lower down. But if your chronic pain is distinctly less lumbar and more tailbone, it might be that the pain you’re feeling has its origins not in the joints or bones, but in a muscle — in your hip! According to a study in the Journal of Exercise Science and Physiotherapy, skilled Neuromuscular Massage Therapy of the gluteus medius can release an uncommon trigger point that forms right along the hip-bone, and refers significant pain straight into the tailbone area. If your tailbone won’t quit hurting and no one can tell you why, ask a qualified Neuromuscular/Trigger Point Massage Therapist if your gluteus medius is a problem, and how she/he can help.
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Best Neuromuscular Trigger Point Massage in Los Angeles: Latent vs. Active Trigger Points, the Trapezius, and Chronic Neck Pain.
Muscular trigger points aren't all the same — some are active, meaning that they cause pain either constantly or when the muscle is used; others are passive, meaning that they exist, but don't have any noticeable effects. Or do they? It turns out that a study published in the Global Journal of Health Science shows otherwise. 42 people filled out detailed questionnaires about their pain levels, especially chronic pain levels. Of them, 27 had latent trigger points in their trapezius muscles — 15 did not. And every one of the 27 who had trigger points scored higher in pain and lower in mobility scores than every one of the 15 who did not. While latent trigger points don't cause sharp pain, they do cause pain and disability. And, when released by a qualified Neuromuscular/Trigger Point Massage Therapist, the relief is palpable.
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Pain Management in Los Angeles: Vitamin D levels May Be Associated with Low Back Pain.
Blood samples taken from 600 participants with either chronic low back pain, sub-acute low back pain, or no history of back pain showed no significant difference in the prevalence of vitamin D deficiency among the three groups. However, the researchers did observe that the men and women in both of the back pain groups were more likely to have greater levels of vitamin D deficiency, which suggests that severe vitamin D deficiency may play a role in the development of low back pain. As a result, future guidelines for the management of back pain may include vitamin D testing and treatment. Massage Revolution
Clinical Rheumatology, August 2017
Mental Attitude: Dementia Linked to Osteoporosis?
French researchers reviewed the health records of 2,041 older women who had been treated for a peripheral fragility fracture and found these patients were three to four time more likely to have a diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease or another form of dementia than women of similar age in the general population. The Back & Neck Relief Center in Los Angeles.
Joint, Bone, Spine, October 2017
Health Alert (Manhattan Beach, CA) : Smoking Bans Help Protect Children’s Lungs.
A research review of 41 studies that included data concerning more than 57 million births and 2.7 million hospital admissions found that anti-smoking measures are associated with a more than 18% decrease in childhood lung infections requiring hospital care, a nearly 10% decline in severe asthma attacks, and about a 4% decrease in preterm births. Researcher Dr. Jasper Been writes, “Our study demonstrates that children’s health benefits substantially from smoke-free laws and raising tobacco prices.”
The Lancet Public Health, September 2017
Diet: Cocoa Compound May Delay or Even Prevent Diabetes.
A new animal study suggests that cocoa powder antioxidants may help slow diabetes progression. In the study, researchers found that when rats ate a high-fat diet that included a cocoa flavanol called catechin, their bodies were better able to control their blood sugar levels. It’s believed that the beta cells which produce insulin are particularly sensitive to oxidative stress and the consumption of catechin helps to protect such cells. Study co-author Dr. Andrew Neilson writes, “These results will help us get closer to using these compounds more effectively in foods or supplements to maintain normal blood glucose control and potentially even delay or prevent the onset of type 2 diabetes.”
Journal of Nutritional Biochemistry, August 2017
Exercise in the South Bay: Exercise Can Improve Children’s Brain Power.
In this study, children aged 7-13 years engaged in short bursts of high-intensity training (HIT) for just ten minutes a day for six weeks. Compared with students in a control group who maintained their usual routine, those in the HIT group demonstrated greater improvements in tasks involving memory, information processing, and behavior, including the ability to focus on task completion without getting distracted.
eLife, August 2017
Wellness/Prevention: Check Your Car for Recalls.
The National Safety Council reports that drivers of cars manufactured before 2012 are about half as likely to bring their automobile in for service in the event of a recall (44% compliance rate vs. 83% for newer cars). Experts from the council add that there are about 53 million vehicles on the road with unresolved recall issues. You can visit checktoprotect.org or recalls.gov to find out if any components on your car have been recalled.
National Safety Council, September 2017
“One lives in the hope of becoming a memory.” ~ Antonio Porchia
Carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS) is a common condition that affects around 6-12% of the population and can result in significant pain and disability. The financial costs associated with CTS can be staggering – ranging from $45,000 to $89,000 per patient over a six-year period when productivity loses are taken into account.
Historically, doctors and researchers have described CTS as the result of compression of the median nerve as it travels through the bony carpal tunnel at the wrist. However, there is recent evidence that CTS is a more complex pain syndrome with multiple studies showing women with CTS exhibit widespread pressure pain hypersensitivity, thermal pain increases, and what’s called “enhanced wind-up in extra-median nerve territories.” In other words, the central nervous system seems to be involved, affecting the whole body, not just the wrist and hand.
Traditionally, the management of CTS has included conservative interventions primarily focused on relieving wrist and hand symptoms using splints, manual therapies, modalities (ultrasound, laser), and exercise—with surgery recommended if the patient fails to respond treatment. In looking at CTS as a product of the central nervous system (CNS), therapies that target desensitizing the nervous system may be more effective.
A 2017 randomized clinical trial compared manual therapy with surgery for improving BOTH pain and central sensitization (“nociceptive gain”) in CTS patients. Here, researchers randomly assigned 100 women to either a manual therapy group who received one session per week for three weeks including “desensitizing manoeuvres of the CNS” or a surgical intervention group (50 in each group). The research team evaluated pressure pain thresholds (PPT), thermal pain thresholds (hot or cold – HPT or CPT), and pain intensity at baseline, three, six, nine, and twelve month intervals following the intervention.
After one year, those in the manual therapy group experienced higher increases in PPT over the carpal tunnel at three, six, and nine months and greater decreases in pain intensity at three-months than those who underwent a surgical procedure. Otherwise, the outcome measurements were similar for both groups.
The significance of this study supports that a non-surgical, manual therapy approach (in which neuromuscular/trigger point massage specializes) is more effective in the short term and equally effective in the long term as surgery for BOTH pain and central sensitization (PPT only – not HPT/CPT for either group).
Best Neuromuscular Trigger Point Massage Therapists in Los Angeles: Different Muscle Cause Lower Back Pain Travelling Vertically vs. Horizontally.
A fascinating study published in the Journal of Bodyworks and Movement Therapy validated a longstanding theory held among myofascial therapists. There’s long been a strong correlation between the ‘line’ of lower back pain people feel — whether the pain extends along the belt line (left to right), or along the spine (vertically) — and the source of the pain. According to the author, who examined several other studies and correlated their data, a significant majority (over 60%) of patients reporting vertical back pain had their pain reduced with a release of one or more trigger points in their IlioPsoas muscle group. A similar amount of people who reported with horizontal belt pain received relief when a qualified Neuromuscular/Trigger Point Massage Therapist released one or more trigger points in their Rectus Abdominus muscles.
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Best Neuromuscular Trigger Point Massage in Los Angeles:Neck Muscles Cause Neck Pain – Surprise!
In the world of myofascial trigger points, pain often originates far from where it’s felt — but sometimes, not THAT far. That was the case in a study published in the Journal of Manipulative Physiological Therapy, wherein 20 patients reporting neck pain were treated — half with proper release of trigger points in the sternocleidomastoid (a muscle the runs up the sides of the neck) and the other half with simulated release of the same muscle. Both were applied by qualified Neuromuscular/Trigger Point Massage Therapists The half receiving an actual myofascial trigger point release reported significant neck pain reduction and significantly increased range of motion compared to the half that did not.
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Best Neuromuscular Trigger Point Massages in Los Angeles:Pain in the ‘Wings’? Maybe It’s Myofascial Trigger Points!
According to a study published in the Archive of Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation, 72 patients who turned up with pain in the upper back — between the spine and the shoulder blades. An amazing 61 experienced “moderate” to “profound” pain relief when a qualified Neuromuscular/Trigger Point Massage Therapist addressed one (or both) of two trigger points in their lower trapezius muscle. Most fascinatingly, the same release also caused 49 of the 72 to experience a reduction in neck stiffness and general tension as well!
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Neuromuscular Trigger Point Massage in Los Angeles:Along With Upper Back Pain, If Your Pinky Hurts, Check Your Breathing.
The world of referred pain is a weird and wild one. Case in point: a study by the International Society of Physical and Rehabilitation Medicine found that when labored breathing — such as when you’re participating in sports, or in the case of a lung disease like emphysema — and your pinky hurts, the culprit is often under your shoulder blade in most (70%+) cases. That’s because when trigger points form in the serratus posterior superior muscle, the pain can show up in the muscle itself, and/or anywhere on the line from the pinky tip back to the wrist. Fortunately, while the muscle is below the shoulder blade and hard for most people to get at on their own, a neuromuscular massage expert can handle these trigger points fairly quickly.
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Best Neuromuscular Trigger Point Massages for Back Pain Bending or Twisting:If You Twist and Shout…in Pain, It Could Be This Muscle.
If your back is often stiff, and bending or twisting causes twinges of pain that make you want to yelp, there are quite a few potential causes. If you’ve gone through a normal regimen of standard doctor’s orders, and it hasn’t helped to any noticeable degree, a study from the University of Westminster suggests that the problem could be a number of trigger points in the erector spinae — the muscles that help you back to vertical after you’ve bent at the middle. Trigger points in these muscles tend to stack in bunches, and the pain often appears most strongly as you bend or twist. Talk to a neuromuscular/trigger point massage therapist about having any trigger points along your spine released — there’s a significantly good chance that it will help.
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Best Neuromuscular Trigger Point Massages in Los Angeles:Back Pain When Reaching — Solved With an Expert Touch.
According to a series of case studies by the Jordi Gol i Gurina Foundation, if you have a pain at the point of your shoulder blade that spikes in intensity while reaching above your head or stretching forward, the problem is probably in your armpit. The cases studied showed that each of the subjects presented with either a nerve pinch (3 of 7), or with a trigger point buried in the outer edge of the lattimus dorsi muscle, just beneath the back edge of the armpit. Fortunately, a Neuromuscular/Trigger Point Massage Therapist is highly skilled at releasing these points with relatively little effort and put you back on the pain-free track.
