It is estimated that as many as 10 million Americans may suffer from fibromyalgia.  There is no one single test or screening that is used to identify this syndrome.  Also, a person can have other associated conditions at the same time, which can further complicate the diagnosis. 

Tender points can indicate need for fibromyalgia pain relief therapy

But one universal symptom of fibromyalgia is pain.  Those diagnosed with fibromyalgia (also called fibromyalgia syndrome or FMS) are often left seeking an effective treatment for the widespread stiffness, pain, and tenderness that is present with this condition. In addition to the overall body discomfort, specific localized areas of pain and hypersensitivity, known as tender points, have been used to help diagnose fibromyalgia.  Generally, when eleven or more of the eighteen points are present, fibromyalgia is indicated. 

The underlying cause(s) of fibromyalgia is not known at this time.  But PUSH Therapy has been used successfully as a fibromyalgia pain relief therapy.

Why PUSH Therapy as a fibromyalgia pain relief solution? 

At Foster Muscle Therapy, treatment and education are combined to create individualized programs for each client.  Pain, whether from fibromyalgia or some other source, is usually what drives people to take action.  But chronic muscle tension, and its elimination, is the focus of the PUSH therapy sessions.  Why?  

Muscles that are chronically tight restrict blood flow, reducing the availability of oxygen and inhibiting the removal of waste products.  This can result in pain and/or increased sensitivity to touch (a symptom of FMS).  Muscles contract whenever they are stimulated. That includes touch and applied pressure.  If the muscles are already tight and oxygen-deprived and they attempt to contract further, the result can be experienced as pain or discomfort.  

A longer, less-restricted muscle will still contract when stimulated.  

Need a fibromyalgia pain relief therapy?

But because the baseline resting muscle length is healthier, the tissue is not pushed to its limits where pain is felt.  Physical treatment to reduce the chronic muscle tension then becomes an effective pain relief therapy for fibromyalgia.

The educational component of the program helps clients see how they (usually unknowingly) have created a pattern of chronic muscle tension.  Helping clients understand how to perform all the daily tasks they need or want to do without rebuilding that tension is key to maintaining the positive changes achieved through treatment.  The idea is to prevent the recurrence of the muscle tension so that not as much treatment is needed to maintain a more pain-free life.  In that sense PUSH therapy is not so much a fibromyalgia pain relief therapy as a pain prevention therapy.

How long did it take before you had a diagnosis for your FMS?  Have you been frustrated with the lack of treatment options?  I'd love to hear your story.

If you would like to investigate PUSH Therapy further as a potential fibromyalgia pain relief therapy, please call (970) 590-2856. 

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When you need a heart doctor,  you see …..   a cardiologist

When you need an eye doctor,  you see ….. an ophthalmologist

When you need a skin doctor,  you see …..   a dermatologist

When you need a doctor for your muscles, you see ……???

Muscle doctors - they don't get any respect either!

Just about every other body part has its own doctor, but there isn’t a muscle doctor specialist.  Muscles are an afterthought, at best.  Since there is no doctor who specializes in the study and treatment of muscles, it is easy to overlook them as either the source of your pain, or at least a major contributing factor.

"Muscle is an orphan organ.  No medical specialty claims it.  As a consequence, no medical specialty is concerned with promoting funded research into the muscular causes of pain."

 David G. Simons, M.D.

Maybe someone who comes the closest to being a muscle doctor specialist is the late Dr. Janet Travell.  Dr. Travell was the White House physician during the Kennedy and Johnson administrations.  But before that, early in her medical career, she was working simultaneously on pulmonary (lungs), cardiology (heart), and general medical services.  Even if the patient had been admitted with a life-threatening condition, she noted that the most common daily complaint was of pain.  For example, three different patients, admitted with three different diagnoses might all complain of shoulder pain that was keeping them from sleeping on that side.

The resident doctor on the pulmonary service attributed the pain to some reflex from the lungs.

The resident doctor on the cardiology service explained the pain as reflex from the heart.

The resident doctor on the general medical service might encounter a secretary who spent her days typing and pulling heavy file drawers.  Her shoulder pain could be chalked up as ‘psychosomatic.’

In each case, there was no muscle doctor to suggest that all three patients might be suffering from muscle pain that was not related to their original diagnosis.

"In none of these patients did the doctors find objective evidence of disease to account for the patient’s pain, but the skeletal muscles had not been examined."

 Preface to Travell and Simons’ Myofascial Pain and Dysfunction, The Trigger Point Manual Vol.1

The PUSH Therapy program focuses on muscles and other soft tissue (tendons, ligaments, connective tissue).  From my own experience dealing with chronic pain and from working with hundreds of clients at Foster Muscle Therapy, I have come to firmly believe that muscles, and the havoc that unhealthy muscles can cause, are too often overlooked.  Chronic muscle tension can play a part in ailments as varied as slipped discs, sciatica, plantar fasciitis and bursitis.  I have seen clients with diagnoses of Restless Legs Syndrome, Fibromyalgia and Osteoarthritis all improve when they were treated appropriately for their persistently tight muscles.

There may not be a muscle doctor, but you can show your muscles some respect.

If you have been struggling with finding lasting pain relief, it might be because your muscles have not been properly treated.  Call (970) 590-2856 to get started on your pain-free life. 
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Don't let pain stop your exercise program!

Are you already struggling with your New Year’s resolution to ‘get in shape’ this year?  Perhaps you started up an exercise program after the first of the year, determined to lose weight, get toned and feel better.  Maybe your doctor had been encouraging you to exercise.

Then pain showed up. 

Not the soreness or discomfort that comes from putting your body through a new routine, but a shoulder that 'zinged' you when you tried to slip your arm into your jacket sleeve or bursitis knee pain that kept you up all night.

Most people see this type of progression:

First you EXERCISE

So you can LOSE WEIGHT

And then you FEEL BETTER

What if exercise pain stops your best intentions?

But if your body isn’t capable of the exercise because of an underlying problem or you are unwittingly using poor body mechanics, the cycle can look like this.

First you EXERCISE

The PAIN is too much

 So you STOP EXERCISING

Now you are discouraged and you FEEL WORSE

I have had a number of clients over the years that have fallen into this cycle.  Every time they started a new exercise program, their bad back flared up or their joints started to ache too much.  Even if they initially saw some results with weight loss and increased stamina, these gains were soon overshadowed by persistent pain that sapped the fun out of the workout and/or left them with pain that lingered all day.  Their exercise program brought on too much pain.

If you work at feeling good first and eliminating the chronic muscle tension that can produce exercise pain, you are more likely to achieve success with your New Year's Resolution. – Maria Foster

By incorporating the PUSH Therapy program a positive cycle can be started.

First FEEL BETTER

Then start to EXERCISE

So you can LOSE WEIGHT

Then you FEEL EVEN BETTER

I had a client who was an active eighty three year old.  She enjoyed taking classes several times a week at the Senior Recreation Center.  But then she developed some debilitating mid-back pain that made everything, including exercise, a trial.  Using treatment, we made headway on resolving her pain.  But her sessions also involved a lot of education around how she was using her body in ways that unknowingly created a lot of chronic muscle tension.  I didn’t want her to stop doing what she loved.  But she needed to learn that if she kept doing her activities in the same manner, she would likely continue to encounter the same pain issues.

As it happened, she originally came into the office around the holidays, so her exercise classes were suspended for a few weeks.  She was feeling much better by the time her classes resumed and she told me that the first day back, she tried to do everything just the way she had done before.  The result:  the back pain returned with exercise.  The following day when she returned to her class, she still did all the exercises with everyone else, but she modified them slightly based on what she had learned from her sessions with me.  The result:  no back pain with exercise.

The average person watching her would be unable to tell that she was doing anything different from everyone else in class.  She got the benefits of exercise without developing exercise pain.  She worked on feeling better first, so that she could keep exercising.  Being able to exercise made her feel even better.

If you are struggling with your workout and starting to develop exercise pain, don’t get discouraged.  Schedule a consultation today by calling (970) 590-2856.  Let me help you feel better, so that you can go out and achieve your New Year’s resolution. 

Don't let your exercise pain ruin your plans!

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Do I have a slipped disc?

That is often the first question someone with neck or upper back pain asks the doctor. Although a slipped disc may be the first thing that comes to mind, it is not the most common cause of neck pain.

In fact, many people have a slipped disc and experience no pain.

But what exactly is a slipped disc?

Discs act as cushions between the vertebrae in your spine. They have a fibrous outer layer that surrounds a softer cartilage in the center. When that disc is no longer confined to the space between the vertebrae, it can be described as a slipped disc. 

More precise terms to use instead of slipped disc are bulging disc or herniated disc. A bulging disc does not involve a rupture or tear in the disc. The bulging disc may resemble a hamburger patty that is too big for its bun. The disc is no longer staying neatly between the vertebrae, but there is no crack or tear in the outer layer of the disc. When that occurs the disc is said to be ruptured or herniated. This tearing allows some of the softer inner material of the disc to escape.

There are many documented cases of people who are not suffering from pain or discomfort, but upon  examination are found to have a bulging or even herniated disc. Tests, such as MRIs or CT scans, are necessary to diagnose these conditions.

On the other hand, muscle pain is a very common cause of neck and upper back pain. It may or may not be associated with a trauma or accident. I see this all the time in my practice with clients seeking pain relief. Chronic tension in resting muscles can cause a host of problems, from pain to stiffness to lack of range of motion. I assess muscles for excessive tension by performing a posture analysis and physically palpating the tissue, using PUSH Therapy protocols. I do not diagnose, but I can describe what I see and feel.

I am often frustrated by what I believe is faulty logic. Many people have slipped discs and yet have no symptoms (no pain, numbness or weakness). However, if someone is exhibiting those symptoms and a test reveals a bulging or herniated disc, it is assumed that is the cause of the problem. But in either case, whether or not there is a problem with a disc, there is sure to be muscle tension. However, if a test reveals some sort of structural abnormality, the muscle tension is immediately relegated to a secondary status.  Sometimes your core strength is weakened – pay attention to any muscle weakness on your body for optimum health.

If you have neck pain, there may be more than one contributing factor. But the most common cause is not likely to be a slipped disc.

What is fairly universal in people complaining of neck pain, however, is chronic muscle tension. A better place to start in treating neck pain is to change the health of the muscles. At Foster Muscle Therapy, we create long-lasting positive change in the tissue, first through direct treatment of the muscles, and second through education and awareness to create and sustain better body mechanics.

Pain relief through muscle therapy can avoid costly, invasive surgeries.  These surgeries are designed to fix a problem (slipped disc) that may not really be the source of the pain.   

Have you ever been told you have a slipped disc? Do you know anyone who has? Are you trying to avoid surgery or have you had surgery and still have pain? Call Maria Foster at (970) 590-2856 today to discuss your options. Whether or not you have a slipped disc, pain relief might just be a phone call away.

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Conventional treatments for bursitis knee pain:

• Rest
• Ice
• Anti-inflammatory medications

Treatments for more chronic bursitis knee pain can involve injections of cortisone and potentially surgery to remove the bursa.

At Foster Muscle Therapy the focus for treatment of bursitis knee pain is not so much on the bursa, but on the surrounding tissue. Many bursae are located such that they keep a tendon from rubbing on the bones in the joint. These lubricated, fluid-filled sacs protect and cushion the joint. However, if the tendon crossing over the bursa becomes rigid and hard, it will tend to saw into the bursa, causing irritation. The inflammation of the bursa is secondary to the poor health of the tendon.

How does the tendon become rigid to cause bursitis knee pain?

Tendons connect muscles to bones. If the muscle has become chronically tight and stays contracted even when at rest, the associated tendon will become rigid. The tendon will then apply more pressure on the bursa.  The result can be bursitis knee pain.

Busitis Knee Treatment

Treatment of knee bursitis at Foster Muscle Therapy begins with restoring the health of the surrounding large muscles that control the knee joint. Focused treatment of the muscles allows them to lengthen to a healthier resting state, which reduces the amount of tension or pull on the associated tendons. The tendons then do not press into and irritate the bursae. Once the inflammation subsides, the tendons can be treated in conjunction with the muscles to further improve knee joint health.

This type of bursitis knee treatment has another advantage:  it improves overall blood circulation to the joint. Excessive tension in a muscle compresses blood vessels, limiting blood flow to the area. By improving the resting health of the muscle, more blood can flow into the joint, bringing oxygen and other nutrients necessary for healing.

When the bursitis knee pain is seen as a symptom of a larger problem, rather than isolated to just the bursa, better results can be obtained. It also means that more invasive procedures, such as surgery and injections, can be avoided. That is a solution that is important to many people afflicted with this condition.

Have you had any difficulty with bursitis knee pain? What was your experience? How can we help you with your pain relief?

Just call Foster Muscle Therapy at 970-590-2856 and let's start lengthening your muscles and minimizing your pain today. 

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