Trigger Point Treatment

Posted on April 7, 2011 by Cynthia Barnesky
Trigger Point Treatment
By Anita Boser (Guest Blogger)

Injuries are a fact of life, so most people will experience a trigger point that causes pain or a headache for a day or longer. In our technology laden world with hours spent with poor posture in front of a computer monitor or TV, trigger points in the neck and shoulders are more common than ever. In many cases, you don’t have to depend on pain relievers or a doctor. You can treat yourself with simple techniques.

Trigger points are tight bands or knots in a muscle that get activated by overuse or repetitive strain that create a specific pain pattern. The pain may be distant to the originating muscle, and then can cause a trigger point in that muscle with a cascade effect of soreness.

Start by warming up your muscles with gentle movement or in a shower. Then find the taut bands within the painful muscle. These are exquisitely tender knots, some as small as a pea and others as big as a golf ball.  Search the surrounding area, too, because there will be more than you think. Often pain in the neck starts with trigger points in the shoulders

Once you find the spots, you want to press them, but not with a vengeance. In “Pain Erasure,” Bonnie Pruden recommends a firm touch for 10 to 15 seconds. “The Trigger Point Therapy Workbook” proposes circular motions.
It’s important to get all of the contributing points, not just the one or two that hurt the most. Trigger points travel in packs.

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What Is a Trigger Point Massage?

Posted on April 4, 2011 by Cynthia Barnesky

What Is a Trigger Point Massage?

Cynthia’s Comments:

Hope this video has help you understand more about trigger points and how important it is to get them treated by a massage therapist or through self-massage. Remember that you can treat a trigger point yourself if you know how to do self-massage. Remember if you are doing self-trigger point massage, you can control the pressure and how long you need to self-massage yourself. Please be-careful and do not self-massage on your spine or around the kidney area. Listen to what your body is telling you, if it really hurts then stop it, but you have to remember with trigger points it will hurt as you press and release the trigger point. Continue reading →

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How to Overcome Back Pain Naturally

Posted on March 24, 2011 by Cynthia Barnesky
How to Overcome Back Pain Naturally
By Christine Crotts ( Guest Blogger)

Whether you lift ed something too heavy or became too excited at the sports game last night, back pain plagues the best of us. If you have simply “thrown your back out” there is not much that a doctor can do for you. Therefore, you are left to your own devices, searching for a way to cure your back pain naturally. There are several ways which you can overcome back pain naturally. Unfortunately, though, healing back pain naturally does not mean lying in bed having someone tend to your beckoning call for the next few days.

On of the mo st common misconceptions among back injuries is, curing back pain naturally will be accomplished through lying in bed for a week without moving. Recent studies have shown, however, that the exact opposite occu rs when the injured back is not mobilized. It is important that you try to go through your day as normal as possible (unless you are an avid mountain climber, in which case, you may need to tone it down quite a bit). Slow and gentle movements are advised when moving. It is always important not to push the pain too much, as that will have an adverse effect.

Within the first 24 hours after your injury it is imperative that you apply ice to the area. When using ice, the blood cells contract making the inflammation reduce and the pain ease.  It is important to never apply ice directly to your skin. Instead, wrap it in a washcloth. This technique prevents the damage that may occur to the skin if it becomes too cold.

After the first 24 hours, ice is no longer an effective way to relieve back pain naturally. Instead, substitute the ice for a hot bath. A nice, hot bath will relax the muscles and ligaments. Also, the heat will begin to open up blood vessels. As the blood vessel open, oxygen and nutrients begin to flow through that area.

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Self-Massage: Relief At Your Finger Tips

Posted on March 18, 2011 by Cynthia Barnesky
Self-Massage: Relief At Your Finger Tips
By James_M_Harris (Guest Blogger)

We all crave a good massage. Even if we are not suffering from any long-term problems or pains, almost everyone loves being pampered and getting maximum pleasure out of a relaxing experience. Having someone, or something to massage you with a therapeutic touch can be a very good experience.
Massaging helps to relax nerves, muscle pains, spasms and aches, anxiety, and most importantly – stress. It also works effectively on the unsightly cellulite build-ups on the body. Overall, it can improve your general health and well-being by improving blood circulation in the body. But how will you get the benefits of massage?

Going to massage spas and salons may not be a viable option as it may be financially taxing and will make your daily schedule go haywire. Often, the available time slots may not fit in with your schedule.  Add to that the inconvenience of the long durations of massage sessions. Not to mention, massages in spas and salons can be really expensive!
A viable alternative is “self-massage.”

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Massage Yourself Better – at your Desk

Posted on March 14, 2011 by Cynthia Barnesky

Are you in control or is your computer?

Here are some great tips, just watch!


Cynthia’s Comment’s:
This video gives some basic tips when you have to be at your desk and working at a computer, but sometimes even for myself I find that I get carried away working and do not take a break. In doing so, I also get sore back, neck, shoulders and even my arms and hands. We all have to remember is that your bodies are more important than your jobs. Without your health we have no jobs. Continue reading →

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Relieve Neck Pain and Back Pain Caused by Computer Use

Posted on March 7, 2011 by Cynthia Barnesky
Relieve Neck Pain and Back Pain Caused by Computer Use
By Sarah Court (Guest Blogger)

For the millions of us that spend our days working at a computer, it’s not at all unusual to experience chronic tension and pain in the upper back and neck areas. In this article, we’ll talk about what muscles are getting overwhelmed by this repetitive stress, and what we can do to get out of pain and integrate the upper back with the rest of the body.
The upper back and neck is an easy area to ‘hunch up’ and hold tension. The muscles there tend to volunteer themselves for all activities that the upper back needs strength for, like carrying groceries or a child, or reaching up for something on a shelf. They also tend to hunch up unnecessarily as we reach our arms forward to type on a keyboard, or drive a car, and sometimes get stuck! In this way they get stressed and overused, and other muscles that could support their function aren’t involved.

“Codependent” Muscles: They Want To Do It All For You!
A habitual place to carry tension is in the upper back and neck. The shoulder shrugging muscles have a tendency to jump in and try to do actions for us that aren’t their job (try this: lying on your back with knees bent, do an abdominal crunch, and then curl your right elbow to your left knee.

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