Massage??

I've only had two professional massages. Dispite the pain, it's wonderful. There have been somethings that hurt me, like massaging my lower back as it hurts my stomach, but if you get through it you will feel so good. Talk to the terapist beforehand about your pain, just let them know you aren't the normal client, that you have special needs.

Well for me I have had both great and horrible experiences. Normally for me a good Swedish relaxing massage works really great after I have had about a 30 minute soak in my local massage therapy salons float rooms. This is a long hot bath in mineral waters and aroma therapy with soft music and lighting. Then I go for the massage I am sure you can look around and see if you have something similar in your area. It just is amazing even in mid flare. However Run Don't Walk away from any place that only does shi atsu massage this is deep tissue massage often administered with the persons elbows and forearms. Learn my lesson the hard way in germany when the girl behind the counter couldn't understand what I meant by relaxing massage lol what a mothers day gift that tuned out to be...OOOUUUCCCCHHHH!!!! I almost smacked the masseuse on the spot screaming what the hell are you doing. He had stuck his elbow with all his body weight right in my shoulder blade (ie what I lovingly call my chicken spot cause I look like a flightless bird trying to fly away frantically when someone touches it) . He jumped off and about 4 feet backward in a microsecond lol. Think I scared him as much as he traumatized me. I explained what I had asked for and he luckily was very apologetic for the misunderstanding and refunded my money.

I have had a LOT of massages by a lot of different therapists. I am planning to call the local tech school and see if I can get an appt to have a student give me a massage - to see if I can handle that.

I had one chiropracter in OH who had 4 massage therapists on staff - all certified. when you came in you got to lay on your choice of heat bed or massaging bed for a little while. Then you had a 30 min massage and THEN the doc checked you out and adjusted you. It was AMAZING. One therapist was great for my dh and sent me into a totally horrible flare. I thought he was going to rub the muscles off my bones! One therapist was so gentle it was totally ineffective, and there was one who was amazing for me. (Kinda sound like the Goldilocks of massage, don't I? LOL!!)

I have been to other massage therapists and mostly had good experiences. You want a place that is clean, with a clean cover on the table just for you, a clean cover for your face to be on the donut shaped thingy you put your face in.

I think the most important thing to remember is to TALK to your therapist. Tell them if it is too soft or too hard or just right. Tell them if you want them to work more on one area or less on another area.

If you are very sensitive, be SURE to talk to the therapist about it BEFORE the massage. Often the therapist has come across this if they treat many fibromites.

BTW, if your skin is so sensitive your clothes hurt, lyrica may help. Or neurontin (I think it is gabapentin). My rheumy told me lyrica is the "next generation" of neurontin, all I know is it has really helped with that feeling that my clothes hurt, my feet are on fire, my sheets hurt, etc....

If you haven't tried it, it might be helpful.

I am going to try the local tech school b/c a friend said it was less expensive (and our budget is T.I.G.H.T.) and that if you talk to the person they are very responsive.

G'morning Tina!

My massage therapist is truly awesome!!  One of her specialties is Fibro.  I started seeing her when I was having PT for a shoulder problem (2005).  (eventually I wound up having surgery on the shoulder).  I don't go if I'm in a major flare.  She spends a lot of time helping me with stretching.  She also uses theraputic heat stones on me... its so wonderful.  After she heats up my chronic pain areas with the stones it helps to loosen them up, so the massage isn't painful at all.  If I'm just coming off a flare she uses light touch massage.  But I can get deep tissue massage when I'm feeling good.  Muscle tightness in my shoulders and neck area can get pretty bad if I'm really stressed out and she just knows what to do and how to touch me.  Bare in mind I've been going to her for almost 4 years.  Of course, she's certified. I wouldn't recommend going to anyone that's not certified.  I can't afford to go as often as I would like, but I try to go about once every 6 weeks. 

Remember, everyone's pain is different.  I have an very high pain threshold.

I get a light massage once a month and this has helped me quite a bit.  But, make sure you have a good therapist that knows what they are doing.  That is the key!

Here is a link to a site that will help you find the right massage therapist in your area.  These people are true professionals.  My therapist is in this group and she is fantastic.  Hope this helps!

http://www.amtamassage.org/

Sherrine

Wow... this is the answer I got from the massage therapist regarding her experience with fibro patients:

Hi. Yes, I have several clients suffering from fibromyalgia. Have you had massage before? Are you having a flare-up? What are currently doing for your fibro? Meds? Exercise? If you would like to talk about it, please give my your phone number and a good time to call. You can certainly call my office, however, if I'm with a client you will get my answering machine and I will get back to you as soon as I can. Have a nice day. Denise

I'll have to give her my information and take it from there...yay!!

I'm a former massage therapist, and I've found that massage helps me quite a bit.  Whoever said that you need to communicate with your therapist is absolutely right.  There is a certain amount they can read as they work on you- tension in the muscles, the way you breath or shift.  But they aren't mind readers.  If something hurts you've got to speak up. 

On the other hand, there may be times when what they're doing is uncomfortable.  It's kind of like exercise.  It doesn't feel great at the time, but in the long run you're better off for doing it.  I took a break from receiving massage for a while, and the first one or two back left me aching for a couple of days.  But once those days passed, I felt much better than I had before the massage.  The more regularly you have massage the less that post-massage achiness is a problem.  And you want to drink as much water as possible in the 24 hours after your massage.  That will help a lot, too.  If you've got any knots, your therapist may want to work on those.  Be honest with them about whether or not you can handle that type of work.  If you do decide to let them, tell them if you get near your limit.  Rome wasn't built in a day, and neither was that knot.  It doesn't have to come out in one session either. 

When I was massaging, I would not have wanted to work on a client when the touch of clothes or sheets caused pain.  I don't see how massage could be anything but a negative at that moment.  I was OK with causing some discomfort for the client's eventual benefit, but never pain.  Pain means you're either damaging the tissue you're working on or increasing tension in the rest of the body as the client tries to guard against the pain.  Which undoes all the work you've just done.  "No pain, no gain" is not an appropriate attitude in a massage environment.