Myofascial Therapy

[cjsmith]

Unsurprisingly, the gal who evaluated me at the Myofascial Therapy Center this morning thought I was a bit of a mess. Oh, she used nicer words, but I'm off balance this way and twisted that way and angled oddly over here and it's "amazing [I] haven't had a fracture" over there.

If you don't count the shorts she had me change into*, everything she did to me felt pretty nifty. I did indeed feel like various little pieces of me were moving in directions and ways they were utterly unused to moving. Apart from that it felt like a gentle and slow massage.

I got off the table and walked funny. She said "Can you feel your weight shift? When you're on your right foot, your weight has shifted to your right, and it shifts back to the left when you're on your left foot." Apparently I don't usually do that. (I attribute this to years of trying to walk like a boy. I don't regret that; I'd have been an idiot to do otherwise at the time.) 2.5 hours after the session ended I now sense no lingering effects.

It's $95 every time I walk in the door. Plus each appointment is two hours out of my day, due to the commute. I sure hope these folks are not yet another support system**. I am happy to keep doing this if it will make me able-bodied again, but I cannot and will not do it on an ongoing basis.

It did feel nifty though. I have no doubt that what she saw was really happening: off balance this way and twisted that way. I find it believable that I'll be happier and healthier if those things are fixed. Whether my foot pain will go away I have no clue.

Edit: [I also forgot to mention how pleasant this place was to visit. Some places are annoying, some places (or the people therein) are cold -- this one was genuinely pleasant. That's worth a lot.]

We'll see.

___________________________________________
* This is me being self-deprecating about the fact I never grew into an adult. The shorts were for a Normal Human Being(tm), which means that even with the drawstring pulled as far as it would go they'd fall straight off me. Fortunately, I had a safety pin.

** "support system": a name I just made up to cover the class of medical and semimedical things which do not attempt to solve a problem once and for all but instead must be used continuously in order that the patient can mostly live as if the problem is gone. Eyeglasses, orthotics, painkillers, blood pressure meds, chiropractic care, and underwire bras all fit in this category.

Comments

[layer.livejournal.com]

i love your support system definition. i'd add therapists in there as well.

[cjsmith.livejournal.com]

Most kinds, yeah, I'd put them there too. I read a great quote one time... mmm, google... ah yes, Cynthia Heimel. 'You seem to be reacting to your boyfriend as if he were your father', your shrink may say stonily (unless she is a strict Freudian, in which case she'll shut up and wait until you think of it yourself, a process that usually takes ten years. This is why strict Freudians have such lovely summer houses). I love that quote.

I understand cognitive/behavioral types at least *try* to work themselves out of a job... sort of like physical therapists are supposed to do. Hopefully this myofascial stuff is like that.

[layer.livejournal.com]

i love cynthia heimel. she's funny as hell.

and i hope so, too. and since i recently "graduated" from both my therapist and my chiropractor i am optimistic about your chances. :)

[cjsmith.livejournal.com]

Woohoo! I thought no one could EVER "graduate" from a chiropractor. Me, I just quit going. :-) I'm impressed!

[branwynelf.livejournal.com]

I love the support system definition too.

I'm glad this seems to be helping, although your comment about walking like a boy made me frown ... not asking for an explanation, mind you, just the implication of what you said is rather disturbing to me. :-/

[cjsmith.livejournal.com]

Amazing how much goes into that category, really. Insulin, asthma inhalers... There are a lot of things we don't know how to cure!

Probably more disturbing than it needs to be. I am and was physically fine, just emotionally twisted.

I love that icon!

[dizzdvl.livejournal.com]

Underwire bras are evil. That's being said by the girl currently wearing one.

I hope it isn't an ongoing basis kind of thing, but a real help!

[cjsmith.livejournal.com]

The only thing worse than an underwire bra is no underwire bra. I would wear flying buttresses if it would help.

Thanks! My fingers are crossed!

[quasigeostrophy.livejournal.com]

Sounds interesting. I hope it helps permanently.

[cjsmith.livejournal.com]

Thanks. At the very least, it's enjoyable along the way. I forgot to mention how *pleasant* the place was -- ok, some of the staff looked a bit harried, but the place had good vibes overall. So many places are just icky to visit.

[abenn.livejournal.com]

I love that you put underwire bras in the "support system" category. Of course, that's what they are by definition, but I still wouldn't have thought of it.

I'm not sure whether the diet I follow to control blood sugar issues falls into that category or a "general good idea for humans to eat this way instead of loading up on processed food and sugar" category. One could make an argument either way. I'd like to be able to share a nice piece of cake or pie or bread now and then.

Good luck with the therapy. I hope you have some lasting improvement.

[cjsmith.livejournal.com]

Sometimes I say I'd give up a cup size to be an inch taller, but that's a lie: I'd give it up for nothing at all.

I'm not sure what to say about such a diet either. It's probably both. Your body insists on it more strongly than most, but I'd be shocked if it wouldn't be a good idea for most of us. I've been eating a lot less sugar lately (not zero, but way way less than I used to) and I do feel better.

Thanks for the luck wishes! :-)

[lesliepear.livejournal.com]

Underwire bras don't bother me. I must be weird.

I can't stand padded ones though.

[cjsmith.livejournal.com]

Underwires don't bother me either. Were it not for them I'd be walking around with duct tape on my torso all day. I get frustrated because I wish I didn't need them, but that's a whole different question. :-)

I'm definitely in agreement with you about the padded ones. Those are not for me!

[firecat]

If you think that practicing how to shift your weight from right to left would be helpful, Tai Chi is a really good way to practice that.

[cjsmith.livejournal.com]

Thanks!

I do shift my weight when I move slowly, or when I'm thinking about it. If I pick up one foot and hold it up, I'd better have my weight shifted. ;-) I was surprised to learn I didn't do it when I walked. (I wonder how much of that is my now-habitual compensation for the foot pain: I lift my foot flat, not heel-first.)

I've been walking around and randomly freezing in place with one foot lifted, to see what I do. Mostly I'm okay but sometimes I lean and realize I was indeed off-balance. All this AWARENESS is going to be really weird!

[rampling.livejournal.com]

Glad to hear about a positive theraputic visit. I like the optimistic sense that they're doing stuff that's appropriate and matters. Hope it continues, but preferably with some sort of permanent effect (instead of that "support system" eternal wallet and time suck).

[cjsmith.livejournal.com]

Yeah - I'll ask next week about the support system concept. I could have asked this time, just didn't think of it. If they do say that's what they are, then I get to decide how many treatments *I* think is worth it, and quit on 'em when my budget runs out.

[sunnydale47.livejournal.com]

I have been trying to comment here for two days. My computer crashes, I get a phone call, I have to go do something else.... =sigh= But I'm determined to get this comment posted! (But my, how it's grown in the interim, as my brain chewed on it!)

The place sounds wonderful! I'm green with envy. I don't know that I could afford those prices, but it would be wonderful to dream about that treatment -- it sounds marvelous! I've had PT, but it was always strictly symptom-based ... traction to fix my herniated disc, exercise and iontophoresis for my knee post arthoscopic surgery, moist heat and massage for my upper trap muscle spasms, etc. Having your walk evaluated and being taught how to walk properly sounds terrific.

"Support systems" are how I survive. My meds (for pain, sleep and inflammation) are absolutely essential.

I see my acupuncturist every two months -- the minimum she'll "allow" me to come. I really should go at least once a month, but I can't afford it, even though she gives me a discounted rate. (I'm not sure what her regular fee is by now, but it's somewhere between a 20% and 33% break, just out of the goodness of her heart because it's the only way I can see her at all.) But if I wait three months, my body starts falling apart and I end up having to come twice, so it's more cost effective in the long run to go every two months. Even though the cost is high for my situation, it's definitely worth it.

I couldn't read , use the computer , or find my way around without my glasses. (I can't read very easily with them, either, but that's a whole 'nother story.)

I consider well-made shoes and running shoes in the category of what you call "support systems," too, and that runs into quite a bit of money fairly frequently. (I don't give a damn about shoe fashions, I'm talking about fit and cushioning.)

I never thought of lumping all these things into a category like that, but I like the concept. Thanks!

And good luck with the therapy!

[cjsmith.livejournal.com]

The place sounds wonderful!

I admit, if money were coming out my ears I would be considering adding this to my list of things to keep doing. Keeping my body in proper alignment seems like a good idea. Money is, however, not coming out my ears. :-)

"Support systems" are how I survive.

They're why I'm still here, I'll say that much. That'd be the anti-inflams for pain control, of course. I've had glasses since I was a wee tyke, and now I've got orthotics.

I don't give a damn about shoe fashions, I'm talking about fit and cushioning.

The only way I give a damn about shoe fashions is a low-grade frustration at how impossible it is to find anything acceptable to society rules that's also healthy. I have a wedding to attend tomorrow, in GIRL CLOTHES of course (hiss), and it's a full-on, dress-up, stand-for-a-lot-of-the-time Catholic mass. I can't imagine a situation worse for my feet. Ah well, the extra inflammation will be gone by next Wednesday or so.

Thanks for the good luck!

[jupiter29.livejournal.com]

I hope the treatement turns out to be something positive for you, and with a goal at the end that you are able to reach. I can definitely understand your frustration with "support system" between my glasses and my asthma medicine. :)