Sometimes when you have pain or discomfort you think, “I’m getting old.”

Or maybe you (or your doctor) says, “It’s arthritis.”

Well, maybe it’s arthritis.  Maybe not.  But it’s probably muscles and muscles are fixable.

Joint pain is often really muscle pain.  We think it’s joint pain because that’s where we feel it.  But here’s the cool thing:  When you ‘release’ or relax the muscles that cross over the joint, the pain goes away.

When you skin your knee (as I did recently–again) you can watch it heal over the course of several days.  But when the pain is inside, you can’t see it heal.

But it can.

And it does.

Bodies heal all the time.

You have a smart body and it wants to be well.  Give it what it needs:

1.  Movement, gentle and often.

2.  Good nutrients and lots of water.

3.  Positive thoughts of wellness.

4.  Massage for your muscles.  You can do-it-yourself or have professional therapeutic massage.  Muscles love a good massage!  Massage relaxes muscles and helps them function properly.

Oh, by the way…George Burns said it’s okay to get older as long as you don’t get old. 

As a neuromuscular massage therapist, I learned a lot from my clients, my instructors and my own body and pain.  That’s how I know that bodies want to be well. Sometimes they need a little help, but they are able to get better.

Bodies change all the time.  Bodies can heal. Bodies do heal.

That means your body, too.

Bodies are brilliant. Give them what they need, and they WILL get better.

So what do bodies need?

1. Your body needs nutrients to function well. Give it all the vitamins and minerals it needs–not a skimpy amount but the FULL amount–and it can repair itself. Not the “minimum RDA,” but enough to counteract all of the environmental hazards we are exposed to every day in our air, water, food, houses and cars.

2. Give your body the water it needs–your body is largely composed of water–and all of the cells will function optimally. Your kidneys will be able to flush out metabolic wastes and other unwanted materials. When you are well-hydrated, the biochemical reactions that are supposed to occur, will be able to occur.

3. Your body needs good posture. When you supply this “Vitamin P” all of your organs will function better. Your lungs will be able to fill fully with life-giving oxygen, your intestines will not be squashed, your heart won’t be compressed…your organs will have the space they need to be healthy. Your headaches and other physical pain symptoms will be less. You will feel better and look better, too.

4. You need “Vitamin T.” Touch is unbelievably important to your good health. Even if you do your own self-massage, you will benefit. If you can trade with a friend or loved one, or go to a professional massage therapist on a regular basis, even better.

5. Get rid of the junk. You know what I mean, don’t you. The closer you get to eating natural foods, instead of factory-created and chemical-laced “foods,” the healthier you will be. You will have fewer diseases and disorders. Eat as much colorful and fresh foods as possible. If you can buy at least organic butter and spinach, you will keep some hormones and pesticides–that your body doesn’t want or like–out of your body.

When you give your body what it needs to have happy muscles you will have less muscle pain.

Oh my goodness!  Don’t even get me started on the benefits of massage.

I am SO biased!  I LOVE massage!

Pain happens for lots of reasons but therapeutic massage can help with virtually ALL of them.  Why?  Because muscles are responsible for so much of your pain.

Massage ranges from so light it barely touches the skin to very deep, specific and corrective.  There are almost as many types of massage as there are  massage therapists!  

The very light or subtle forms of touch can help comfort people who are dying or who have fibromyalgia or RSD.  I remember barely tracing a path on the face of a woman who could hardly tolerate being touched because she had so much pain.  That simple act of lightly pulling one finger along her head took away her headache.

Rehabilitative types of massage can be very deep.  If you are in the hands of a good massage therapist, you may have pain relief AND that therapist may also help you get rid of the CAUSE of your pain, too.

How’s that?  Well, muscles are responsible for most pain.  Most doctors don’t know that but now YOU do!

One thing to remember:  It’s YOUR body.  YOU get to decide how much pressure you’d like or feel is best for you.   And please let your massage therapist know.  He or she does want you to feel better when you leave, not worse.

If you scroll down on the right side here at Simple Pain Relief to the CATEGORIES and go to the MASSAGE CATEGORY you’ll find more information including How To Find A Massage Therapist.

Another article will tell you Why Are Your Muscles Sore After Massage.  (That happens sometimes.)

I’d love to hear your experiences with therapeutic massage for pain relief.  Please leave your comments below.

Ice can help you heal and get rid of your pain much more quickly than heat.  My friend Bette Dowdell will share her experience with you.  Bette’s an endocrine specialist.  She LOVES ice!

Here’s what Bette says about ice therapy:

Muscle problems tend to accompany endocrine issues, especially adrenal glands that can’t or won’t keep up.

Our muscles get inflamed and “knotted up,” worse on some days than others.

Accupressure massage helps, but few therapists do it right. Several therapists have had at my back. Some felt like they were tickling me; some bruised my muscles and left me sore for days. Only one, Glenn Kippes, the physical therapist who treated me when I lived in Tucson, made a real difference. He’s a magician, but most aren’t.

Doctors usually advise hot baths–the exact wrong thing to do. Heat just inflames muscles all the more.

I know, I know. Heat feels really good. Problem is, all the while it’s feeling good, it’s making things worse.

Answer me this: A half hour or so after you get out of a hot bath or the Jacuzzi, are your muscles better or worse? And how much progress have you made with your muscle pain since you started treating yourself with heat?

A lot of people, especially men and senior citizens for some reason, won’t even consider giving up hot soaks, fully persuaded that some day they’ll work, and all the pain will disappear. It reminds me of when my kid brother was very young and liked to watch the same movie over and over–in case the ending changed.

The answer? Ice. Sheesh! Even in the Phoenix summer, lying on ice packs doesn’t make me burst into song. It’s more in the a-girl’s-gotta-do-what-a-girl’s-gotta-do category than the oh-yippee-it’s-time-for-my-ice category.

Several years ago, a man veered out of his lane and hit my car–right next to where I sat–at about 50 mph. Seat belt or no, my body parts flew in all directions, most of which God never intended. Besides a concussion and whiplash, I hurt in places I didn’t know I had places.

Doctors poked, prodded and x-rayed, then pronounced me fit as a fiddle. Good as new. And every muscle in my body said, “You’re kidding, right?” Well, no, they weren’t.

But I could hardly move. And wincing from the pain was giving me crow’s feet, which isn’t a look to which I aspired.

So Glenn went to work. He told me I would get better, faster results if I went to bed each night on ice packs. He gave me three 10″ X 13″ packs so I could start right away.

So every night for months, I lined up my three ice packs–which went from my neck to my tukus–covered them with a towel, and eased into bed. Ever so slowly, my muscles healed.

I keep my ice packs in the freezer, ready for duty, to this day. If I’ve overdone it, or twisted something–somehow done something to make my muscles unhappy, out come the ice packs.

I’m not a jock, but a do-it-yourselfer. Sometimes do-it-yourself ends up meaning hurting yourself in new and imaginative ways.

If my arms hurt, I ice the area where my neck meets my spine. If my legs hurt, I ice my lower back. If the pain s general, I line up the three amigos and park myself on them.

Life goes better with ice packs.

A closing word: Muscles that scream at top volume can’t always take the full power and glory of ice packs at first. Cover the packs with two or three towels to tone down the effect. You’ll build tolerance for full power over time–as you heal.

Bette Dowdell
http://TooPoopedToParticipate.com

P.S. Remember. I’m not a doctor, just a patient like you. Luckily for both of us, I’ve been studying this stuff for years. Knowledge is power.

Let’s say that I sit for eight hours a day at a desk. Maybe I walk around for ten minutes during the whole day. My muscles get used to being in that seated position. Some muscles are shortened in that position. Some muscles are being unused, so they shut off.

Or maybe I drive around all day in my pickup. I like to stick my left elbow out the window and keep my right hand down low, on the gear shift. Of course, I have my right foot on the accelerator. By and by, when I get out of my truck, those muscles will stay where they have become used to being. My muscles now think that this new position is comfortable. Now when I sit on the couch, I assume the same posture, because now it is “comfortable.”

We are always most comfortable in our disfunction. Whatever we get used to is what feels comfortable to us. Is it best for us? Will it help us grow older strong and straight? The answers are no.

What muscle imbalance does do is cause us pain. Sometimes current pain, always future pain. When we lose that nice balance we used to have, when we were toddlers, we are setting ourselves up for future pain and dysfunction.

Headaches, migraines, neck and shoulder pain are all caused by muscles complaining. Upper and lower back pain, carpal tunnel pain, almost any pain you experience is caused by muscles. When muscles are unhappy, they complain. When muscles complain, you experience pain.

It is never too late to get back into balance, and start getting out of pain. It takes some work and dedication, but is well worth the payoff: Having straight posture with a strong back will take us into old age in a healthy, happy body.

If you are already doing an exercise program of some sort, be sure to incorporate exercises to strengthen the backside of your body from neck to knees. Squeeze your shoulder blades toward your spine. Do exercises to strengthen your shin muscles.

Get more information on how to strengthen your whole backside at http://SimpleStrengthening.com.

Be strong and be happy.