What do you mean by "Pain Relief Specialist"?

Many people have heard me, a L.M.T., say “I’m a Pain Relief Specialist” or “I help people have less pain and more range-of-motion” and I get such varied responses that I would like to use my first blog to explain what more about I mean. I've been providing therapeutic massage and neuromuscular therapy for pain relief since 2005 and I’d like to answer some frequently asked questions such as what makes Precision Neuromuscular Therapy (PNMT) different? And what conditions can be improved with neuromuscular therapy?

PNMT founder, Douglas Nelson, sums up the former well in one of his texts. “Precision Neuromuscular Therapy is less a modality than it is an approach to treatment of musculoskeletal pain. Rather than being tied to a certain treatment technique, PNMT is committed only to the end result. We measure accurately, treat precisely and aim for stellar results. If the results are less than remarkable we switch strategies instead of doing the same technique harder or longer than the first time.  PNMT takes time and effort to master the palpation, anatomical mastery and clinical reasoning processes”.

My colleague, Nicole Ftacnik (a Certified PNMT practitioner in Cincinnati, Ohio) has this to say about the kind of work that we do: “PNMT is a treatment using soft tissue manipulation techniques for dysfunction and pain caused by misalignment of the body by the muscular skeletal system. Misalignment or distortions of the body may be caused by muscle imbalance, which are caused by poor posture, repetitive movement patterns, and/or trauma. Restoring weight bearing equality and symmetry are essential for good health, which is why it is so important to bring people into neutral balance alignment!” That is exactly right.

Most of the pain I treat comes from one of 5 causes. When a client comes into my office presenting with pain I have to decide which of 5 elements of pain it is before beginning the journey to neutral balance alignment. The 5 arenas that cause pain are:

• Ischemia: Lack of blood flow to the muscle.

• Structural : Any distortion of the optimal position and carriage of the frame will have a negative impact on the muscles, connective tissues and joint function.

• Functional: This category includes muscular strength, length, ability to relax/release and the ability to fire in the appropriate and/or optimally efficient order

• Trigger Point/Referred pain: Includes the various kinds of trigger points that disturb muscle function, refer pain, or reduce muscle length. Referred pain is often pain felt at a place different than the origin of injury.  Carpal tunnel symptoms, for example, can be caused by problems in the neck, shoulder or upper arm that misaligns the muscles and tendons down the arm. The pain may not be felt in the shoulder, but instead pain that is similar to carpal tunnel. When the “carpal tunnel syndrome” is treated directly, it never seems to go away.

• Neural: Neural pain includes both the ability of nerves to affect muscular function and the capability for muscles to influence or entrap nerves.

By now, you have an idea that precise treatment (as opposed to broad, general gliding strokes) can restore your muscles to a more normal resting length (optimally, neutral balance alignment) and you may be wondering what conditions NMT can improve. Some examples of common conditions that PNMT is successful with include, but is not limited to: Low back pain, neck and shoulder pain, headaches/migraines, TMJ dysfunction, whiplash injuries, frozen shoulder, sciatica, osteoarthritis, plantar fasciitis, tennis elbow, carpal tunnel syndrome' shin splints, tendonitis, bursitis, muscles spasms, cramps, strains, postural distortions, fibromyalgia... and many more!

Hope this helps you on your way to a pain-free lifestyle once again!

Gina McCafferty, LMT