pain
It’s easy to move through the days and not think much about the many coordinated, minute movements the body must make to do each task. It’s easy, that is, until we are in pain. I recently had a week of intense back pain. I had been working on weeding the yard, cleaning up the trees, amending the soil, and planting some new plants. I bought and carried three bags of bark, then three more bags a couple days later. And then it happened. I sat down on the edge of a bed, and I heard ‘pop, pop’ in my back. I pop all the time, so I didn’t think much of it, but by that evening, it was hurting severely. And during the night when I was trying to sleep, the muscles were in spasm whenever I shifted at all. Even when I would breathe or think about moving, it would spasm.
The next morning, I reached out to the chiropractor, but they were closed. I received a call back that I could see the doctor the following day. I made it to the chiropractor, and was again able to get a little relief. I’m so grateful for my LMT friends – I was able to receive two skilled massages which reduced the pain considerably and allowed me more movement. My friends reminded me about the effectiveness of applying ice, heat, and topical mediations, which I had forgotten in my fog of pain. My second visit to massage and then the chiropractor early the following week corrected the bone position issue. It took another two weeks for the area to feel more balanced and relaxed.
Pain is a challenging feeling to work with in our body and mind. In meditation, it is often said that an ‘object of mind’ – something that we can focus on during the meditation – is helpful. We can do that with pain. Where is the pain? What causes it? What areas of the body are not affected by this pain? What can I do with the body that doesn’t cause pain? Bringing curiosity to our experience can help.
And yet, that only goes so far, because we can’t sleep. We can’t sit. We can’t stand up if we do sit. We can’t pick something up. We can’t put on our socks. Daily life is deeply affected by pain. It touches more and more of each day. Cooking? Too hard to stand for that long. Laundry? Too hard to bend and lift. Yard work?? No way.
Receiving massage can be challenging during times of intense pain. Sometimes removing clothing or getting onto the massage table can be daunting. Sometimes the thought of someone touching the area that is hurting is so scary that it seems better to live with the pain than to try massage. But massage can be extremely helpful for both the muscles affected by an issue and the brain responds very well to touch.
The Gate Control Theory of Pain says that the brain prioritizes pleasant sensations over unpleasant ones. So if we offer the skin gentle massage, those messages will travel up the nerves and will crowd out the pain messages. This gives the brain a short break from the ongoing pain signals. Receiving massage often during a pain episode, combined with therapeutic work to reduce the pain, can really change the situation for the better.
Perhaps you could receive massage seated? Perhaps you could receive massage through clothing? Perhaps you could receive several shorter sessions rather than one long session? Perhaps you could use heating pads, ice, BioFreeze, or other topical applications between massages to help aide relaxation, reduce muscle spasms, dull pain, and stay as loose as possible? Perhaps slow walking is possible to keep the body gently moving in ways that don’t hurt so that recovery may be quicker? Does the chiropractor or massage therapist recommend a brace of any type that may stabilize the area and prevent further strain or deeper injury?
When we’re in pain, reaching out for help can feel like an overwhelming task. Yet, offering the body direct and targeted support can be the quickest path to recovery. I love seeing people be able to resume activities they enjoy and value. I am honored to have been able to help many people find paths through and out of pain. I am humbled by the amount of trust people have placed in me. I am grateful every day to be able to do this work in the world.