We at Healing Touch Charlotte, Inc. would like to welcome the newest member of our team, Jessica Bego, North Carolina license # 8377.  Jessica has been practicing massage therapy in the Charlotte area for the last 4 years.  She is a graduate of Southeastern School for Neuromuscular Massage and Bodywork.  Jessica joins Beth Butterworth, NC license # 7334, Kim Lewis, NC license # 10997 and David Turner, NC license # 900 as well as our office manager, Faye Turner, and our Marketing Director, Lori Mcadams to make up the Healing Touch Charlotte team.  To learn more about our team and what we can do for you please visit our website at www.healingtouchcharlotte.com or call us to make an appointment today at 704-996-1460.

If you have a stabbing pain in the bottom of your foot when you walk, especially when you first get out of bed then you may have Plantar Fasciitis.  Plantar Fasciitis affects almost 2 million Americans a year and is one of the most often-reported health problems relating to the feet.  The bottom of your foot is called the plantar region and the plantar fascia (connective tissue) is a thick band of tissue that connects the heel to the toe.  The plantar fascia is what creates the arch in the foot.  If this band of tissue is over-worked or stressed it can become inflamed and tight and can make walking difficult.  Another reason that the plantar fascia can become tight is if the calf muscle (the gastrocnemius) becomes tight it will pull and tighten the Achilles tendon, which will then tighten the plantar fascia.

When we sleep our feet have a tendency to dorsi-flex or point under the covers so that the calf is shortened and tight all night.  When we first get out of bed and put our weight on our feet it suddenly stretches the shortened muscles and tendons and sometimes creates micro tears in the tissue which results in a stabbing pain in the heel or bottom of the foot.  To prevent this from happening your doctor would probably recommend a boot for you to wear while you sleep.  This will prevent your toes from pointing so the muscles and tendons remain stretched throughout the night.

Another way to help treat plantar fasciitis is to have Deep Tissue massage or Neuromuscular massage on the calf muscles as well as the bottom of the feet. If massage therapy is done in conjunction with stretches, the calf muscles will remain loose and the pain will lesson and eventually heal altogether.

At Healing Touch Charlotte we have successfully worked on several clients who complain of Plantar Fasciitis pain.  If the client is currently under a doctor’s care for this or any other ailment, we work with the primary care doctor to create a comprehensive plan for the client’s health and between massage therapy and the stretches that we recommend, we can usually have the client on their feet again with little or no pain in 1 to 2 sessions.

Have you ever had extreme pain going down the back of one or both legs and didn’t know what to do to stop the pain? Every year millions of people suffer from a condition that can be extremely painful called Sciatica. Because there are different causes of sciatica, we always recommend that anyone complaining of sciatic pain have an x-ray to determine if the cause of the ailment originates with the spine.

The sciatic nerve is the largest nerve in the human body (about as big around as your thumb) and originates in the low back at the lumbar vertebrae and travels down the back of the legs to the feet. If the sciatic nerve is pinched or compressed somewhere along its length the result can be a burning and stinging sensation traveling down the back of the leg and can make it very difficult to sit or walk for long periods of time.

If an x-ray shows that the cause of the sciatic pain is bone spurs on the spine or a bulging disk pressing on the nerve then your doctor can best prescribe a course of action to correct the problem, as massage will not be able to stop the pain.

However, if an x-ray doesn’t show bone spurs or a bulging disk then the cause of the pain is most likely a tightened piriformis muscle. The buttocks consists of several muscles including the Gluteus Maximus. Under the Gluteus Maximus are six smaller muscles called the deep hip rotators that are responsible for rotating the hip out to the side. One of the rotators, the piriformis, lies directly over the sciatic nerve and if the piriformis is tight or shortened then it will impinge the sciatic nerve and cause the sciatica pain. If this is the case then manipulating the muscles in the hip using medical massage or neuromuscular massage can loosen the piriformis and bring relief from the pain.

At Healing Touch Charlotte we find that usually we can relieve the sciatic pain with anywhere from 1 to 3 sessions and have the client back to their regular routine in almost no time at all. After the massage we usually recommend stretches that are designed to keep the piriformis loose so that the pain won’t return.

This week it seems like I’m seeing more frozen shoulders due to immobility after surgery. If someone has surgery on a shoulder and keeps it stationary too long, then scar tissue will form around the incision site as well as in the shoulder joint itself. This can cause the muscles of the shoulder to become very tight and the shoulder “locks up” so that the person can’t put their hand to their low back or raise the arm above shoulder height without extreme pain.

I find that in most cases of “Frozen Shoulder” the rotator cuff muscles located on the back of the shoulder become very tight and immobile as well. These muscles (above, on and under the shoulder blade) can be loosened using Neuromuscular Therapy, then, using a Myofascial Release technique, light stretching of the shoulder joint itself can help to decrease pain and increase mobility.

Depending on the severity of the “Frozen Shoulder”, it seems like it usually takes 3 to 5 sessions one week apart to get at least the majority of the mobility in the shoulder back. Sometimes though, with really severe cases, I’ve seen it take up to 2 months of treatments once or twice a week to achieve a return of flexibility.

The best way to avoid “Frozen Shoulder” in the first place is to begin moving the shoulder joint a day or two after surgery (if approved by your doctor), then as the days and weeks go by slowly increase the range of movement and begin strengthening stretches and exercises. If this is done then most people can avoid a lot of unnecessary pain and suffering after their surgery.

Do you have headaches, jaw pain, clicking of the jaw when you open your mouth wide and neck pain? One possibility could be TMJ.

TMJ (Temporomandibular Joint Syndrome) is a dysfunction caused by the misalignment of the jaw. This syndrome can cause pain and clicking when the jaw is opened. It can be caused by grinding of the teeth, or if the teeth are too high or too low, and can cause a variety of symptoms including headaches, jaw pain, loss of concentration, neck and low back pain.

There are a few ways to fix the TMJ disorder including Neuromuscular Massage. At Healing Touch Charlotte we have successfully worked on many clients who have complained of the pain associated with this condition. The massage often includes working the Masseter (jaw muscles) as well as the muscles of the neck and throat and head, and on occasion we have to work the muscles on the inside of the mouth.

Most clients that receive Neuromuscular Massage for this condition report feeling almost immediate relief, although sometimes 1 or 2 additional sessions are required to help re-align the jaw and to keep the muscles loose. If the problem is caused by misaligned teeth however, the client will need to see their dentist or oral surgeon for a more permanent solution.

“Tech Neck”

One specific type of pain has become so common that massage professionals have given it a nickname: “tech neck.”

A lot of my clients, including my wife, experience this pain because their jobs require them to use a computer for extended periods of time. When a person does computer work, they unconsciously move their head towards the screen. This causes the muscles in the front of the neck, the scalenes, to shorten. Over time, the scalenes remain shortened, and the muscles in the back of the neck try to pull the head back to a neutral position. Since they can’t do this because of the shortened scalenes, the muscles in the back of the neck become tired and sore. The person now feels pain between their neck and shoulder blades.

To alleviate many types of muscle pain, I not only work on the muscles that hurt, but also some muscles that don’t hurt. Why? In order to relax the painful muscles, I have to work on the muscles that are causing the pain, but may not actually be hurting. To relieve “tech neck,” I have to lengthen the scalenes that have shortened in the front, so that the muscles in the back can relax. This is what ends or lessens the pain.

I also give my clients tips on how to avoid causing the pain in the first place. Proper ergonomics, or proper body movement and desk layout, can help prevent “tech neck” and other pains. A few simple things you can do to prevent or reduce “tech neck” are:

• Try to be conscious of the position of your head and neck. If you find that your head had moved too far forward, pull it back to the neutral position. Awareness is fifty percent of the battle to prevent unnecessary pain and discomfort. Your awareness will improve with practice.
• Do neck stretches and neck rolls. If this hurts, then stretch only to the point of pain but not beyond. Keeping the neck stretched is going to go a long way towards helping alleviate the pain in the neck and shoulders.

Clients’ awareness of the daily activities that are causing them pain is the way for them to take an active roll in their health and healing.