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Myofascial Release Therapy (MFR) for treating compression and pain
Neuropathy | Last Active: Apr 6 3:26pm | Replies (315)Comment receiving replies
Thanks for the reply. Yes, she has been through more PTs than I can count. We just started Myofascial release with someone trained in the Barnes method, but it's a 50 mile drive every time. We have a small handheld ultrasound that we use regularly and that provides some, minimal, help.
She has had two nerve ablations. Many rounds of PT. She does egoscue posture exercises. She works on SI joint, hip flexors, and glutes. But, no one has given a definitive diagnosis, which is what is so frustrating. This journey consists of ups and downs, more downs than ups.
The past week has been really bad. She can barely put weight on her left leg. Getting out of bed in the morning is one of the hardest things. I know there's no magic bullet, just always on the lookout for something that will provide some help.
Replies to "Thanks for the reply. Yes, she has been through more PTs than I can count. We..."
Good evening @ssiem37 and @sueinmn. I am another one of those chronic pain folks who is forced to find something or anything that brings relief without using techniques that increase rather than decrease my SFN (small fine neuropathy) pain. My MFR therapist has spent hundreds of hours in MFR training with John Barnes. She now owns her own clinic that focuses on pediatric patients as well as her MFR Expert work for adults. She is often called into the hospital to handle infants who need MFR to straighten out the fascia to help close skull openings and other abnormal body issues.
For me, I started with a once-a-week hour of basic MFR techniques. The goal was to keep the progressive neuropathy from taking over my life. It has now been 5 years and I cannot imagine how I would have survived without MFR. I now have two sessions a week and in so doing have eliminated all forms of pain medication other than medical cannabis. I should mention that very often on a treatment day, my body is pretty painful when I leave the clinic. Fascia has been stretched and then released. In so doing, I am left with discomfort by the end of the session. However, when I wake up the next morning I have my best and least painful day in front of me.
I think Sue addressed another issue and that is to be aware of what you should be doing for yourself between MFR sessions. Actually, my Yoga and Mindfulness teacher came up with a list of about 10 daily yoga stretches to keep my muscles flexible and calm until the next session. Mindful mediation, which I practice daily, can also provide me with a release of tension that could lead me right back to the pain game. As Spring brings melting snow and warmer weather, I will start walking along the river trail for up to 2 miles a day. This also is another supportive step to staying ahead of the fascia restrictions.
As we all know, there are no magic pills and no free lunches. Keep trying......don't give up.
May you be free of suffering and the causes of suffering.
Chris
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I'm going to bring some friends into the discussion - chronic pain is a beast, and sometimes it takes a lot of ideas, false starts and retries to find what might work. Let's ask Rachel @rwinney , Jennifer @jenniferhunter and Chris @artscaping if they have any ideas to offer.
I encourage her to keep trying - and I love hearing that she is working to get better, because no one can fix it without her effort. Tell her I appreciate how hard it is to keep going when nothing seems to work for very long.
Sue
Oh, one more thing - she should ask the MFR therapist what to do between sessions. My best "therapy friends" at home were a 6 foot cotton webbing strap 2" wide with a hand loop sewn on each end, a rolled up thin old hand towel and a tennis ball sized ball with small bumps all over it (I think it is a dog toy)