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January 28, 2006

Being Put To The Test

One of my on-and-off-again clients suffers from chronic neck and shoulder pain caused by an automobile accident they sustained 20 years ago. Their doctor has diagnosed them with degenerative disc disease. In an effort to avoid surgery they use massage, chiropractic, and weight lifting in an attempt to keep their pain under control.

This past Christmas, when their pain had reached a level that brought them back to my office, they decided to conduct an experiment. Weight lifting was helping them control their pain, but there is a fine line between an amount which is helpful and too much. Chiropractic helps them feel better as well, but following their experiment, they felt that massage helped them feel better just slightly longer than chiropractic.

I reminded them that massage which acts on muscle tension, is cumulative. However, because of their condition I doubt massage would "cure" their condition because of the constant irritation to the nerves. They committed to two months of weekly appointments with the recollection that in the past the reason they stopped is because they felt better.

Posted by linda at January 28, 2006 9:30 AM