Sunday, April 27, 2008

Myotherapy As A Treatment For Fibromyalgia

Myotherapy As A Treatment For Fibromyalgia
Myotherapy is a treatment that relives pain; it involves
applying pressure at trigger points that are situated all
over the body. Trigger points are hypersensitive locations
that are responsible for pain when the individual is under
undue stress; emotional stress, physical stress, disease,
or injuries caused by accidents. Trigger points are
generally located away from the location of the pain
however rarely they may be located at the pain site.

Myotherapy is based on the principle that the release of
tension in the muscle followed by restoring new vigor to
the muscle by exercise and stretching helps healing and
reduces the tendency of the concerned muscle and nerve to
cause pain.

Dr Janet Travell, MD (1901-1997) developed a method of pain
relief called as the trigger point massage. Today physical
therapists and physicians all over the world use this
technique. Dr Travell was the white house physician during
the Kennedy and Lyndon Johnson administrations. Earlier she
had successfully treated President Kennedy for myofascial
pain that had almost threatened his political career.

Bonnie Prudden a fitness expert investigated the parallels
between injecting pain relievers in the locations as in
trigger point therapy to relieve pain. Pressure applied on
specific trigger point's relieved pain. Bonnie Prudden
after experimenting and investigating for four years
developed a new pain relief therapy and named it
myotherapy. "Myo" in Greek means muscle and therapy means
treatment or curative process. Today, certified schools
offer training programs in myotherapy.

Almost 95% of the physical pain can be eliminated by
myotherapy. Muscular discomfort is also reduced
significantly. Myotherapy has proved successful in patients
suffering from chronic pain in the head neck and back.
Patients suffering from carpal tunnel syndrome, arthritis
and fibromyalgia have reported significant relief after
myotherapy. The swelling associated with multiple sclerosis
is reported to have significantly reduced after myotherapy.

Pressure is applied on trigger points or nerve locations to
eliminate pain and swelling. The patient is given no
injectables or oral medicine. Myotherapy is the only
technique to relieve muscle spasms without administration
of internal or topical medication.

Myotherapy treatment involves a two-step process. The
therapist first locates the trigger point of pain and
relieves pain by applying pressure. The pressure applied
relieves the pain and relaxes the muscles, if the muscles
are in a spasm, the spasm is relieved. While the therapy is
going on, the patient is instructed to undergo a series of
exercises to stretch the relaxed muscles. It takes about
ten sessions for a patient to realize the full benefits of
myotherapy. The patient's age is considered in determining
the pressure points; as a person gets older a number of
trigger points accumulate resulting in increased number of
trigger points in older patients.

Patients suffering from fibromyalgia are benefited
immensely after undergoing myotherapy. Tender spots are
formed in various parts of the body in fibromyalgia. These
are hypersensitive to touch, and cause pain. A myotherapist
will identify the roots of muscular pain. Half the battle
is won if the root that is responsible for the pain and
limited muscle movement is identified. Pressure is then
applied on the trigger points to relieve the pain. The
patient is instructed to perform certain exercises to
stretch and stimulate the muscle. Exercises produce certain
chemicals in our muscle fibers that increase our pain
threshold. The myotherapist passively stretches the
affected muscles. The muscles are reeducated to return to
their normal state. The exercises are patient specific.

Myotherapy is a noninvasive technique that reduces or
eliminates pain totally in patients suffering fibromyalgia.


----------------------------------------------------
Hailey Harris is an expert in dealing with Fibromyalgia
after suffering for more than 10 years with health
problems. She is now symptom free and living a pain free
life. She developed Ridfibromyalgia.com found at
http://www.ridfibromyalgia.com to help others learn to do
the same. To receive tons of info, tips, and healing
strategies for free visit
http://www.ridfibromyalgia.com/how.html .

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