Herniated Disc Progress Report part 2

This March wasn't the first time I had back, neck and/or arm issues. Back in 2005, I had a recurring tingling in the right hand and arm that became troublesome. This was the first time I had ever visited a neurologist and had an MRI, which confirmed disc herniation and was deemed the source of the tingling.

Back then, the combination of physical therapies, acupuncture, massage, exercise and other techniques managed to cure my condition in 6 weeks. It was also the first time I had traction, which seeks to gently pull apart the discs and relieve the pressure. The first traction session produced an uncomfortable spooky feeling of soreness after. But by my second session I had this tremendous sensation of well being after as if it truly did release the pent up energies pushed between the discs.

In 2007, due to over practice for my new recording (still unfinished)I had lower back issues. I returned to the physical therapy clinic and received more treatments. Again I was able to resolve this in around 6 weeks. 2 for 2

This past February I started having pain between the shoulder blades and right hand tingling that would not go away. With the good track record of physical therapy prior I returned to the clinic hoping for a similar result. My luck ran out. My symptoms actually got worse. And finding the treatments resistant to therapy caused some of the staff to look at my case as problematic and one even suggested that the problem was mental. In addition to pain I was also now developing swelling in the arm.

During massage I was first introduced to the terms "trigger points" and "referred pain". I had a doozy in my right ribcage just below the armpit and when it was touched I literally jumped off the table. In response to this uncomfortable eureka moment, I bought the noted Claire Davies books on self-massage which uses the famous trigger point mapping volumes by Travell & Simons for targeting and treatment of the various trigger points.

I will tell you about the results next time.