I posted on this once before. Several years ago I discovered that intense shoulder pain could be eliminated for extended periods of time months or even years by a simple massage technique. I showed the technique to a few friends and they are getting the same results I am getting. In almost all cases the patients were diagnosed with tears or calcium build ups. One of my friends improved on the technique a bit and it seems just as effective. I haven’t been writing anything down but it appears about 30 people in the past year have had this massage and only one of them went ahead and had the surgery. The rest of them reported no pain within 2 days of the massage.
One guy was scheduled for neck surgery because of a bulging disk, he had lost partial use of his left arm and was in extreme pain. 1 massage and he reported going back to normal with no surgery. I was telling me Dr. about this and he had zero interest. Wouldn't you think that even though it is a very small study the dramatic results would at least warrant further investigation?
The technique that I was using involved finding the tight painful muscle which was always present and needing it like dough between my fingers. My buddies technique is a lot easier he has been using the palm of his hand to smash the muscle and work it. It is slightly painful but only requires about 5 min work. The pain usually starts reversing within the hour and continues reversing for about 72 hours.
No I think You have the same response that keeps a lot of simple solutions from being recognized as helpful. Contempt before investigation leads to a big nothing. I saw it published over 30 years ago that a Dr, was treating shoulder pain with antidepressants his theory was similar, the patients would stop tensing up in the neck and shoulder area.I don’t claim to have invented anything beyond recognizing a connection between a properly applied massage and shoulder relief. The lady at the massage parlor told me she has had patients coming in for years because of shoulder issues. My question is why doesn’t the medical profession recognize such a simple possible remedy.
See myofascial pain syndrome and trigger point release therapy. The science on what causes so-called ‘trigger points’ is far from accepted but the general notion is that contractions in the fascia prevent effective blood flow and cause persistent or reoccurring pain and loss of muscle action which is resolved by some form of deep tissue massage or manipulation like foam/ball rolling. This is different from muscle soreness or tearing although it can feel similar, and can be debilitating for athletes and hikers.
It is always recommended to pursue therapeutic and rehabilitative avenues to dealing with pain in preference to surgery or long term opioid use if there is no obvious trauma as the traditional medical treatments often prove ineffective in pain management. The human body has a remarkable ability to tolerate skeletomuscular injuries and heal itself despite the adverse ways it is often treated (excessive sitting, overly compliant bed mattresses, bad occupational ergonomics, poor nutrition) provided that an injury or insult is allowed to rest, be lightly exercised (stretching, massage, functional training), and not constantly aggregated.
A rotator cuff tear would not necessarily coincide with tight painful muscles. Both of my shoulders have partially torn rotator cuffs and the pain, when it flairs up, is in the tendons and ligaments, not the muscles. Given the fact that rotator cuff tears are a very common shoulder injury, the technique described in the OP seems best defined as another tool that can be used when recovering from certain muscle-based shoulder injuries.
From my experience, they do. I have tears in both shoulders, and my doctor has sent me to physical therapy multiple times for treatment. The physical therapy has always included an intense massage of the area, along with exercises and sometimes electrical stimulation. The treatment has been very effective for me.
I had deep tissue massage that released enough of the myofascial tension to regain mobility in my left shoulder. Alexander method, I think it was called? It hurt, briefly, as the therapist dug into the adhesions, but it allowed me to use an entire limb again, almost immediately.
That was 20+ years ago.
Most of the same people I worked with had done therapy but they were not putting enough pressure on the tight muscles or tendons whatever it is that becomes so tight.
You should never put pressure on tendons (which connect muscles to bones at joints) ligaments (which connect bone to bone and stabilize joints), or apply pressure to muscles in such a way as to overstress tendons and ligaments, which will exacerbate injury or inflammation in connective tissue! Connective tissue injuries or inflammation should be addressed with removing the insult (generally repetitive stress or overload) and proper nutrition (high quality protein that includes high glutamine content, preferably from rendered tissue such as connective tissues, bones, and skin). It used to be thought that connective tissue injures should be protected against use but it is now understood that light use which does not aggrevate an injury aids in the repair process by stimulating the body to deliver nutrients to repair the tissue.
I’m with you. I’m amazed at the push back from both medical personnel and patients to your line of thinking. If my back goes out I use a simple exercise to get it back in shape. It provides immediate relief to make me mobile and then repeated use over a week or two eliminates all pain.
I really don’t know if it is muscle or tendon, I just know that it is tight like a banjo string and painful to the touch when you first start, after a few minutes it becomes less sensitive to pressure.