It tells the brain to take action against whatever is causing the pain. This is usually an involuntary action, such as when your hand jerks away when pricked by a pin or when you touch something very hot. Thus, it prevents further injury.
Though the sufferer finds pain all too real, it is often difficult to describe. However, it is essential to try, for description will help your massage therapist diagnose. Continuous throbbing pain indicates swelling or inflammation in a restricted space, as in a carbuncle or tooth abscess—intermittent stabbing pain results from the stretching or swelling of a tube-like part of the intestine. A dull, continuous ache can strain muscles and ligaments.
Exactly where you feel the pain is also essential in diagnosis—it may not necessarily be considered the actual injury site. Referred pain, as it is known, can be felt down to the left arm and fingers in some conditions, for example, while an abscess under the diaphragm causes pain in the shoulder.
The pain threshold
Tests have shown that the pain threshold—the point during the painful stimulus at which pain is first felt—is roughly the same among all ordinary, healthy people. On the other hand, the pain tolerance point varies significantly when the pain becomes unpleasant.
However, several factors other than the immediate cause of the pain can influence the threshold. Illness, hunger, extremes of climatic temperature, swings in temperature, and pain caused by another condition all work to lower the threshold, causing more significant pain. For example, many arthritis patients find their pain worse in spring and autumn, when the swing in temperature is at its greatest.
Pain and psychological conditions
Worry, fear, anxiety, fatigue, stress, depression and insomnia all play a similar role. For instance, pain often worsens as the day progresses, and your tiredness increases.
Other psychological factors work in the opposite way to raise the threshold and ease the pain. When you believe strongly that pain gets better, it often does, and faith in your doctor, massage therapist, or treatment to make it better may have the same effect. And so do concentration of the mind and emotions such as happiness and excitement. You may be so absorbed in catching your train that you fail to notice that your shoes give you a blister. Then, there are the physical pain relievers, such as analgesics, anaesthetics, and a host of conventional and alternative remedies and body massage treatments. However, all practitioners are only too aware that muscular pain is often an early warning that something is wrong, whether it is a physical problem or an emotional condition, and will aim to diagnose and treat the root cause. Sufferers should bear this in mind, too – if pain persists, Massaggi refers clients to specialists, consultants, or doctors.
Killing pain the natural way.
The human body produces its powerful painkillers. Endorphins and encephalins are examples—proteins occurring naturally in the brain that have effects similar to those made by opiates. The body synthesizes them from an amino acid in the protein in your diet.
Dopamine and the so-called stress hormones adrenaline and noradrenaline, which are produced by the adrenal gland, are similar proteins. Their release is triggered by stress and exercise and can prove very effective. For example, the player may not become aware that he has been injured until an exciting and strenuous game is over, and many wounded people have little or no pain at the time of their injury. The hormones can also relieve chronic (long-lasting) pain.
The body produces dopamine and hormones from the amino acid. The body cannot synthesize this; it is an essential amino acid—the diet must provide one. Cheese, nuts such as peanuts and almonds, avocados, bananas, lima, beans, herrings and sesame, and pumpkin seeds are good dietary sources.
Like vitamins and minerals, DLPA is a dietary supplement from health shops. However, you should follow the manufacturer’s instructions carefully and ask your doctor about taking the supplement if you are pregnant or are being treated for high blood pressure.
What massage therapists recommend
Massaggi therapist investigates and helps you with a condition causing the pain. For the pain itself, Massaggi recommends the following:
Pressure points and self-massage treatments to reduce pain
- Rub a part of the body when it hurts, so do this initially if it helps to lessen the pain.
- For general pain, apply pressure in the hollow behind the outer ankle bone, pressing inwards and a little towards the ankle bone.
- For pain in the upper body, apply pressure at the end of the crease in the web between the finger and the thumb, pressing towards the finger bone.
- For pain in the lower body, apply pressure one hand’s width above the crown of the inner ankle bone just behind the shin bone, pressing inwards beside the bone.
Pain relief and massage treatments with Ben Pianese
Ben Pianese’s approach to dealing with stress, joints, and nerve pains includes a holistic look at the body and employing several massage techniques designed to rapidly relieve pain and help re-balance the body’s natural muscle alignment. The results are often described as miraculous, with chronic pain sufferers finding relief from their ailment after just a few massage therapy sessions.
