Deep Tissue Massage

[chewymix]

Hi

As I don't have a trigger point therapist near me - The nearest one is a plane ride or 8 hour car journey away I am investigating other forms of PT. Has anyone has experience of deep tissue massages on the abdominals, pelvic and thigh muscles? I'm thinking about 'Remedial Massage' or 'Sports Massage' Apparently they are very good at releasing muscle and ligament tension and they work on the abdominals, butt and thighs. I hear it is VERY painful as I presume its pretty similar in releasing tension in the pelvic and abdominal area. Lately I have found most of my pain seems to come from my buttocks and low back. I can only presume this is due to me tensing up these areas to protect my perineum when that has been most tender. I know it won't be as good as internal TP work but I think it will help me. I will report back on how I get on.

Another thing - I can actually itentify a traumatic event that has led to all this with me. Post sex I noticed that one of my testicles was a lump in my groin rather than in my scrotum! I pressed it back down again and it burned a bit but this seemed to fade over time to be replaced with my symptons of CPPS. That is pretty clear to me as I bet I tensed up like hell when my testicle was found to be missing and I don't really think I ever let go of that tension. My life prior to this had been stressful as it was so I think fr me this was my trigger. I have noticed though that my groin area where the testicle ended up has never felt quite the same - I'm hoping that this deep tissue massage might be able to 'free' sometihng up in my groin as I do have a level of sensory disruption in that area. I sometimes still get the burning and a sense of something being a bit stuck. I have been told by sports therapists that I may have trapped something against a ligament or something and more often than not this type of massage is very beneficial. I wonder if anyone has feeling like that in their groin or is it just me? Trying to work out if I have something else going on besides the chronic prostatitis / chronic pelvic pain syndrome or is that groin thing just a by product of the CPPS.

thanks for listening - I'll let you all know how the massage goes

[chewymix]

Forgot to mention - Been trying to do relaxation properely recently. In the past I would just have a good long soak in the bath etc.

Last night I lay on the floor and put on some 'Yoga' music - Lay there for around 40 minutes, although it felt like about 10!! I also noticed that I kept getting jumping sensations coming from my pelvis - like when you jump as you go off to sleep - Anyone noticed this?

[CppsDad]

Here are my few thoughts, although I am still new to the treatment protocol and am still in the height of my condition.

Abdominal, back, thigh, groin, and all the external muscles in the pelvic region are very important. All I had to do was push hard on the abdominal muscles to find trigger points that referred pain all the way to my sphincter through my testicles and perineum. The muscles there are connected to everything, and the nerves go from your stomach all the way down to the pelvic floor (check out an anatomy picture of the nerves). So in no way would you working on those muscles be a waste of time. In addition to trigger points, the shortening of the buttocks and hamstring muscles causes all the pelvic floor muscles to be more taut as well, leaving you very susceptible to inflamation and the condition in general. I think if we were all as flexible as gymnasts we would be less prone to have this condition, although that's a simplification. But flexibility is important to releasing tension to everything that is connected to those muscles.

I don't have much to say about the testicle. I know mine hang at different heights now ever since this problem started, and often times when the pain is the worst, the testicles are the most uneven. I think it's possible that there are some taut muscle bands that are holding the testicles at different heights. I notice in the bath that they often times even out. So it is quite possible that the muscle condition caused your testicle to recede or be in pain. HOWEVER, there are other medical causes for a testicle that has retracted into the body. Whether that "started" your chronic prostatitis / chronic pelvic pain syndrome or not is not possible to know. Yes, it's true that a traumatic event can start the spiral of tension and anxiety and pain response that led you here, but it doesn't really matter now. What matters is getting better.

Regarding physical therapy - I only say this because you sound desperate - my PT is 3 hours away, so I can't make many trips. But my PT showed my wife how to do things, and he didn't think it was that complicated. I know I'll get in trouble for suggesting it, but if you have a spouse, girlfriend, or even a REAL good friend, I'd do whatever it took to get them to help you and visit the PT with you. Dr. Wise trains partners all the time, and encourages it. I don't think it can be THAT hard. What was VERY important, however, was scheduling a number of sessions with the PT so that I knew exactly what things were supposed to feel like. After 12 sessions with him, we brought my wife in and now I can tell if she is doing it like him. The first few times she did it weren't great, but she is getting better, and I can always make the trip to the PT every once in a while for a checkup or a refresher. Well it's possible non-experts can make things worse and/or miss spots, I thought it was well worth the risk to have somebody in my own house who can help me. Eventually, be it now, or in 6 months, my wife will be a pro at this. But going to the PT first was key so I could feel confident in what my wife was doing and let her learn without me being fearful.

I hope my thoughts helped a little!

Michael

[scotsman]

...But my PT showed my wife how to do things, and he didn't think it was that complicated. I know I'll get in trouble for suggesting it, but if you have a spouse, girlfriend, or even a REAL good friend, I'd do whatever it took to get them to help you and visit the PT with you. Dr. Wise trains partners all the time, and encourages it. I don't think it can be THAT hard. What was VERY important, however, was scheduling a number of sessions with the PT so that I knew exactly what things were supposed to feel like. After 12 sessions with him, we brought my wife in and now I can tell if she is doing it like him. The first few times she did it weren't great, but she is getting better, and I can always make the trip to the PT every once in a while for a checkup or a refresher. Well it's possible non-experts can make things worse and/or miss spots, I thought it was well worth the risk to have somebody in my own house who can help me. Eventually, be it now, or in 6 months, my wife will be a pro at this....

Having your spouse/partner involved in PT is essential IMHO. My wife has been doing external triggerpoint work on me 2-3 times a week for 12 months now and does internal work on occasion (after been shown by my physio). She can now feel and identify triggerpoints when she comes across them.

Richard.

[urphil]

..........who does Trigger Point work in the Seattle area.