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Anyone try massage therapy, physical therapy or yoga for Fibro/myofacial pain trigger points?

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Fibromyalgia
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Posted 6/2/2011 4:00 PM (GMT 0)
I have Fibro and very tight, crackly, knotted upper back & shoulder muscles that are in constant pain. I just got a cervical MRI back and no surprise everything is normal. I have to do something about my back, shoulders and neck pain. I also have painful lymph nodes in the back of my head and neck. My rheumy suggested physical therapy because she said I have horrible posture and that's what is probably causing the pain...I say the pain is causing the horrible posture. I love getting a massage, I'd say about 8 out 10 times it helps and the the other times I feel like I've got Mono all over again. So just curious if anyone has seen a massage therapist or a physical therapist or perhaps tried Yoga and if it helped in anyway.
Thanks!
Posted 6/2/2011 5:08 PM (GMT 0)
I have tried massage before and did find it to be helpful. My only suggestion would be to make sure you find someone who is familiar with fibromyalgia and myofascial release.

I've had physical therapy multiple times for various back/neck issues and didn't really find it helpful at all. Maybe I wasn't getting the right kind of therapy for someone with fibro, but it definitely made me worse.
Posted 6/2/2011 5:13 PM (GMT 0)
I see a massage therapist once a month and it really helps me.  I get gentle massages.

 

Sherrine

Posted 6/2/2011 7:11 PM (GMT 0)
I have tried acupuncture, massage therapy, physical therapy, trigger point injections and none of it worked for me. What IS working for me is getting off prescription medications. I've written about this before, so I won't bore most of you again.
take care and good luck,
Miriam
Posted 6/2/2011 7:29 PM (GMT 0)
My psychologist uses massage as part of her therapy, so through my mental health insurance I can get massages. My bluecross wont pay for it. But I did get accupuncturre and it didn't really seem to help. Physical therapy didn't help me either. I do a lot of walking and that helps me.
The massage helps me too. I haven't tried yoga, but I understand that it really helps. I do meditation and that helps a lot as you are visualizing your muscles relax.

I have found for pain in the neck and back, there is a thing called a bed buddy. It really helps. It is a tube filled with rice (or beans) and you put it in the microwave to heat it up. Wrap it with a towel and put it around your neck. The moist heat relaxes the muscles.

I think that the physical therapy would do you good if you have bad posture. It will help you a lot. I would go for it.

I hope that you find what works for you.

Hugs, Karen
Posted 6/2/2011 8:27 PM (GMT 0)
I do gentle stretches myself that seem to keep my neck from going into spasm.  I have gotten three massages in my life.  the first two were very nice.  However, the last one put me in termendous pain for over a week after.  It did not hurt while I was having it done, but my muscles were not happy later.  It was awful.

I would talk to them about fibro and making sure the massage is gentle.

Good luck,

Susan

Posted 6/2/2011 8:51 PM (GMT 0)
My back and shoulders were the same way for a long time. What finally helped was physical therapy plus breast reduction surgery. I did PT for four months before and three months after my surgery, twice a week. It was a LOT of time and effort, but it did get my body back into shape when I had given up all hope of any improvement in my pain levels.

What I think made a difference this time vs. other times I'd done physical therapy was two things. First, obviously the surgery helped to deal with the fundamental issue that was perpetuating my muscle tension/poor posture/pain. Second, the physical therapist used lots of different modalities, including targeted massage to get rid of trigger points and get all my muscles functioning correctly. He was a really amazing therapist. He also was the first person to strongly suggest fibromyalgia, but I didn't get diagnosed for another 3 years.
Posted 6/3/2011 12:14 AM (GMT 0)
My rhuematologist also recommend PT and deep tissue massage. I went twice a week for 6 weeks. We did some simple stretching exercises and deep tissue massage. The massages hurt like the dickens at the time but gradually over time it really helped! I would highly recommend it :)
Posted 6/3/2011 1:04 AM (GMT 0)
Thanks guys...a lot of good advice here!
Posted 6/3/2011 1:18 AM (GMT 0)
Redheadbk - I have that same pain in my neck, shoulders, upper back and base of my skull (thus, I have a lot of headaches). My cervical MRI actually showed multilevel disc herniations, but in any event, it was treated with about a month of PT 2x a week. When the therapist was able to work on me via massage it was amazing - as described above, somewhat painful but in what I consider a good way. It was like she was working out the knots and she knew exactly where to massage. It was fabulous. Problem was, that was only for about 10mins of the 50 minutes of PT and the other 40 mins was lifting weights, machines, etc. That part seemed to only make my pain worse. I guess that's the point, but my non-PT-expert opinion is that it would seem more advantageous to get me to a point where I'm somewhat "stable" with the massages, then start working on strengthening. I was in constant pain at the time, so it was not appealling to me to go and put myself through MORE pain when it is all I can do to get through my days sometimes!

Once the PT ended, I did have a really rough day and thought I'd try a massage supposedly geared towards fibro patients at a massage clinic. It was a waste of $75. Perhaps I just had a bad experience, but I was really shocked by how it basically did nothing for me, in contrast to what the P. therapist had been able to do. Makes sense as she is a "specialist" of sorts, though, I suppose.

I do use a silk bed buddy that I found at a dept store - it is AWESOME on bad days. Smells yummy, too. :)

Maybe your rheumy is great, but I don't know if I care for her answer to your complaint of pain - it's as if she's dismissing that your pain is caused by fibro and telling you that it's from poor posture. Maybe I'm just sensitive to this because I've dealt with doctors who say this kind of thing, but it's concerning that she doesn't seem to "get" that your pain is caused by...your fibromyalgia.
Posted 6/3/2011 7:41 PM (GMT 0)
Andrea11,
No you're totally right. I have hit the Rheumatologist wall. Super great in the beginning and then after 9 months of seeing her she's suddenly acting like I'm on the road to recovery and that if I just do some PT for my posture all will be well. It was like I couldn't get a word in edgewise... Her: " The savella seems to be helping you, great! and you seem much better then last fall, great!" Me: Well actually I wanted to talk to you about the Savella, it's effecting my periods. they are lighter, which is good I guess but it's still very odd." Her: "Gee I've never heard of that side effect. But it's helping you....perhaps because it's helping with the pain, your muscles are no longer tense down there so your periods are lighter." Me: "Um well it's not really helping my pain, it's just changed my periods, i think it's effecting my hormones levels." Her: "That's interesting, but anyway you can't go testing your hormones...there really isn't anything you can do there." So you're feeling better from last year and we'll just continue to monitor things and you'll do some PT."

At that point I was thinking....there it is...she's either having a busy/bad day and blowing me off or tired of the whole thing...needless to say it wasn't worth arguing with her. What threw me was she had never heard of Savella effecting your periods and geesh just googling Savella you can find people who have complained about this side effect it's not totally out of left field. If you're prescribing a relatively new drug, I would think it's essential to stay up to date on it's side effects. I have endometriosis and fibroids...so Savella seems to have some type of hormonal effect as I no longer have heavy, long periods, bloat and intense menstrual pain every month. I'm not a doctor but there is a connection between neurotransmitters and Estrogen ( and other hormone levels ) It makes sense that if something is effecting the way those neurotransmitters work, it could have an effect on your hormones in some way. Again I'm not a scientist, so I could be way off...but it's interesting. It's bizarre that I am thinking of staying on it, just for my periods alone.

Anywho...I think I may try massage therapy first and yoga and see how I do with that first. God I gotta be honest I am totally having a week where I'm just feeling like, forget this. No more doctors for a while. Only I need to get to the bottom of the occipital neuralgia as it seems to be the one thing out of all these wonderful fibro symptoms that makes me the most miserable. The worse the pain is the more out of it I am...adderall strangely helps but I think I need to at least TRY and get to the bottom of it. I dunno if it's swollen lymph nodes in my neck and back of head? Inflamed nerves? No idea and no idea who to see for it. :( Definitely getting the silk bed buddy!!! Thanks!
Posted 6/3/2011 11:51 PM (GMT 0)
Well, I saw a primary first (I literally never even had to go to a primary before all of this!), he referred me to a rheumatologist because we both agreed it sounded like I had fibro, I went to the rheumy and she ran NO TESTS and simply looked at the cervical x-rays I had which only indicated osteoarthritis. She then concluded I had fibro. I think she did check the trigger points and by all accounts all of my symptoms are spot on for CFS and fibro, but no tests?? Fibro is a dx of exclusion so one would think you WOULD NEED TO DEFINITIVELY EXCLUDE OTHER CAUSES! At some point in there I also saw a neuro due to 2 migraines I experienced and he said it was stress (trust me, I know from stress and have had it all my life, so no - no new, exceptional levels of stress going on..). The rheumatologist basically said I was type A and tense and do yoga and thus, it's all in my head - again, see above - I've had stress all my life and never had PAIN, so no, not buying that either. This from a doctor who is supposed to be a specialist in these illnesses! Finally I went to an ortho and he was great about ordering an MRI (and nerve conduction study, too)which did show that I had herniated discs which is very different than simply osteoarthritis. Please take note, all - ALWAYS push for MRIs. The ortho was nice, but ultimately referred me to some type of holistic place. Going back to the neuro soon. I would suggest you either go to a neurologist or a neuro surgeon. I would go to a neuro surgeon, but I don't want to start at square one again so I'm going back to the neuro and maybe after a year of still having headaches and now, increased pain, he may actually do something and help me. :( BTW, I think I've told you before, but I, too, noticed worse periods in the last few years (since the pregnancy, actually) and they really cause flares of the fibro and I am a mess the week before, during and maybe after. Oh joy! Good luck! I will let you know how the neuro visit goes as it is coming up.
Posted 6/4/2011 4:21 AM (GMT 0)
Yes definitely let me know how the Neuro visit goes. I'm so sorry you're dealing with similar issues. I used to get the whole "it's stress" thing too and even had a gynecologist ( the second one I had seen in 2 months) ask me if I was depressed, after I cried in her office, when I told her I was having intense pain and was pretty sure I had Endometriosis. First and only time I walked out of a doctor's visit. I then scheduled an appt with a Endo specialist and was not surprised at all when he told me I had stage 3 endometriosis and 3 apple sized fibroids.

The lesson there i guess is that you know your body and you know when something is wrong. We may not entirely understand why it's happening but we have to be our own advocate. I keep trying to remind myself of that when I want to just give up on this. Hard to do lately.

I did get an MRI of my cervical spine and it was normal. But I am supposed to schedule another MRI for my head. I have to be sedated so it's been annoying trying to schedule childcare and a ride to and from but I know I need to do it. I am going to talk to a neurologist though.

Well, wishing you luck with everything!
Posted 6/5/2011 3:33 PM (GMT 0)
I would like to try it.I am having the crackly,poppin,achey chest and arms today.
Posted 6/15/2011 4:15 PM (GMT 0)
I see a deep tissue massage person and a chiropractor monthly.  The massage always hurts during and after she is done, but then the pain subsides.  I couldn't live without my chiropractor once a month neck cracking!  Same thing, it hurts for a couple of days then subsides.  I wish I could afford to do both twice amonth. 

I also swim laps twice a week (when not in a flare up) and some gentle stretching at night before bed.  The swimming helps keep my muscles strong and somewhat limber. 

Walking my dogs is the most painful, always hurts that night at bed time.  Mostly good for my soul!

Nothing helps me when there is an actual flare up, except bed and Bio-Freeze spray, and ibuprophin. No other pharmacy medications really help.

Stress is always involved in a flare up.  I also listen to meditation massage music in my car, it helps keep my mind of off thinking too much and stressing. 

Hope this helps ...

Posted 6/15/2011 6:33 PM (GMT 0)
I saw a massage therapist who is familiar with fibro three weeks ago. It hurt quite a bit the next day but I had overall improvement afterwards. I went again yesterday, and the massage itself was easier to handle and it only hurt last night, today my arms and shoulders feel really good, only mild pain twinges for the most part. I go back in a month and i really think its something you have to do regularly to get a real benefit from.

I've done a handful of yoga classes in the last month, some days are easier than others, but usually I feel loser the next day. Make sure you are doing the yoga that starts with an H (can't remember the name now... hatha?) And tell your yogi about your medical issues so they can give you alternative poses if they move on to something you find too challenging. The yogis I've worked with have been really accomodating and always remind the class to only do what is comfortable for them and say yoga should not be painful.
Posted 6/15/2011 7:16 PM (GMT 0)
I am still undiagnosed, but I have tried a number of exercises and therapies for relief. During my massage, I noticed that my back was very sensitive to pressure and touch- I had to turn over and lay on my stomach for the whole massage because the pressure on my back and neck made me feel nauseous. Has anyone experienced this before? As for acupuncture, I trembled and shook during the treatments but often felt a little relief afterward. Daily stretching and yoga were the least painful and yet very helpful. Hope you find some relief!
Posted 6/16/2011 6:21 AM (GMT 0)
I just finished about a month of PT due to all the pain, mostly in my back. I have osteoporosis, with past multiple back fractures. So I am not going to try a chiropractor. Too scared of a new break. The therapist I saw massaged my back and whenever he hit a trigger point I really let him know it. he focused on my lower back and mid back. I agree with a previous poster about whether the poor posture causes the pain or vice versa. After the massage, they put biofreeze all over my back and I felt great for a couple of hours. Then pain started back. I have to say that I loved the couple of hrs with lessened pain. Too bad I had to leave for work about the time it wore off.
Posted 6/16/2011 12:28 PM (GMT 0)
Andrea11, you just described my experience with PT, exactly.  The massage was great, the rest made things worse.
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