Hurts So Good!

By Ross Ashcraft

Pain can show up in the most inconvenient places. Aches and pains grab our attention and push on our awareness and focus. Most can relate to a dull headache that causes the eyes to squint, the eyebrows to scrunch, and forehead to wrinkle. Although a common complaint it does not have to stay that way.

Trigger Points can be the major cause of this misery. Trigger Points are places of damaged tissue in the muscle. They are caused many times by a buildup of metabolic waste or lack of full range of motion in that muscle. When inflamed this damaged area refers pain to other part of the body. Most people intuitively know of this phenomenon. If you have ever rubbed your temples or shoulders to make your head stop hurting you were working with referred pain.

Damaged tissue in any of these spots can cause pain in this areas.

Damage tissue in any of these spots can cause pain in these areas.

Learning to work with Trigger Points is a major focus of most massage curriculum. If you find yourself in pain please seek out a willing therapist and enlist their aid.

This week I’d like to show you a technique that requires a willing partner. Some spots are very difficult to reach and require either a specialized tool or help. I’m going to show you a technique that doesn’t require any special skills. It only requires a firm thumb or if you’re brave enough—an elbow!

Technique:

1. Sit in a comfortable chair that has a low back and let your arms dangle at your side

2. Have your partner rub your shoulder for a few seconds to loosen them up

3. Ask or guide you partner to find the spot indicated in the picture below

4. Have them apply firm thumb pressure

5. Then with your arm dangling to the side, begin to you rotate your shoulder

6. Do this for 20 seconds and then reverse directions

7. Repeat this procedure to the same spot on the other shoulder

8. This should give you a “hurt so good feeling.”

If it causes sharp jolts of pain down your arm or numbness have your partner back off the pressure or stop.

Please try the technique on a family member and then have them do it on you. Let me know what you think!

Below you find a great website with great pictures and information on more pain referral patterns.