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There
are pains that can be helped only medically -
broken bones, torn ligaments, pregnancy,
cancer, etc. This article will talk about pains
that can be helped using massage therapy and
bodywork. Some pains can be really helped, for
example carpal tunnel syndrome, and some can be
just relieved, for example arthritis pains.
Experiencing
pain is a sign from the body that something is
off. Imagine that your car starts having
trouble and throws a red light. Would you just
turn off the red light on your car? Or would
you fix the problem? In the case of the body,
turning off the light is equivalent to taking
some pills, drugs, or escaping and denying in
any other way - drinking, working, dating,
sleeping, ... Whatever will make you
"forget" about the "red
light." But it doesn't really go away...
It gets worse if unattended. So, what do we
do?
Step
1 is to get informed, monitor, do some self
repairs, and eventually take your body to the
body mechanic.
Let's
expand on what we talked about in the
introduction.
What
can be causes of pain?
1. Organ malfunction, due to some "clogging" in the
function of the organ. For example, if you
drank too much last night, the clogging of the
kidneys and liver will cause terrible tight
neck and back, and pains there. Constipation
due to traveling, stress, lack of exercise,
wrong foods, etc. will cause tight lower back.
Intestinal spasms due to whatever cause - e.g.
being allergic to something you ate yesterday,
being allergic to your mother in law visiting,
stress at work - will definitely throw the
lower back. Having a bladder infection, kidney
stones, liver overload, etc. will all unbalance
the back.
2. Tightness in the connective tissue, due to stress of some kind -
injury, emotional stress, bad posture, poor
ergonomics, extra weight, lack of stretching,
... For example, let's say you sit at the
computer all day long and never stretch. Will
that cause discomfort or not? Especially if you
add the deadlines and office politics? Or,
let's say you went running for 10 miles and
came home limping. Or, pulled a really heavy
box off a shelf. Or, carried the crying baby
around all night long. Or, you carry the baby
in and out, up and down, all day long, every
day.
Items
1 and 2 are related, like chicken and an egg.
If tissues are tight, the organs will
malfunction, and vice versa. For example, when I severed a bad long distance relationship over the phone, I
promptly developed a sore throat, in the sunny
warm Hawaii, in the middle of the summer. I
just wanted to shout at that sob and my whole
neck was super tight. The throat pain went away
instantly when I massaged my neck. The main
healing was to let go of hoping about the
boyfriend.
So,
as we can see, our bodies respond to
everything. There is a definite connection and
it cannot be ignored.
In
short: there
is no shortcut. The underlying causes have to
be identified and addressed. It takes time and
effort, but is worth it. We live only once. Do
we spend it this way or that way is up to us.
Telling it as it is, from a lot of experience
:)
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