There’s a massage for that?!
Idiopathic symptom & syndromes
When your back is achy and tight and your body doesn’t bend as easily as the day before most people consider scheduling a deep tissue massage, but not so much when they suffer from some of these other symptoms that can just as readily be triggered by excess muscle tension. Many of these are said to be idiopathic in nature. In other words, it is acknowledged by the medical community at large that we don’t really know what causes them or triggers flareups. This series of art icles will address these common issues that no one seems to connect with massage therapy.
now what? First we need to address the complicated web of meridians that all connect at the the neck and skull. We have over 26 individual myofascial meridians that help support our framework. They are almost like a full body rubber bands. We want to focus on the ones that run head to toe longitudinally ( SFL, SBL, SPL and LTL, see anatomy trains). Each meridian has areas it is like to be adhered. This causes the area to act like a hub taking in the overflow from other overworked areas of the body.
What is a myofascial meridian?
We are a complicated web of meridians that all connect our extremities to our center and out head to our feet. Most, but not all, of these bands run longitudinally from top to bottom. In total we have over 26 individual myofascial meridians that help support our framework. They are almost like a full body rubber bands. We were all traditionally taught that the skeleton is our scaffolding and our muscles are the pulleys and levers by which we ambulate.
At first glance, that seems correct but recent research has uncovered it is far more complex than first believed. Strange as it may seem, our skeletons are essentially floating in the non-Newtonian fluid that is our fascia.
Fascia is a catch all term applied to the outer coating of binding tissue around every structure in our bodies. And I mean Everything. Down even to an individual muscle cell, 20 micrometers thick, is covered in fascia. Those cells are bundled into larger and larger groups-all of them also covered in a layer of fascia. Turns out that tendons and the skin around your bones is also fascia. This goes all the way out to your skin. The thickest layers of fascia lies just under the subcutaneous fat layer, right on top of the muscle.
Systemic Symptoms:
Chronic Dry Cough / Bronchitis
Sinus Headache, Pressure, & Congestion: Sometimes you wake up and your sinus cavities feel stuffed up and you have no idea why. It could possibly be allergies but if traditional antihistamines' (most cold medicines) aren’t giving you much- needed relief, consider the possibility that tension in particular muscles of the neck, face, jaw, and skull can create a perfect storm preventing proper drainage from sinus cavities to the laryngopharynx- or back of the throat. This balance is essential and, though it is not widely known, trigger points in muscle tissue and adhesions in myofascial meridians can increase symptoms exponentially.
Vertigo / Dizziness
Double Vision / Blurriness
Throat Spasms
Tension Headaches / Migraines
Shallow Breathing / EIA
Side Stitch
TMJ Pain / Grinding Teeth
Numbness / Tingling