Clients often come in for their massage therapy session and point right where they are feeling discomfort and say "right there, that's where I want you to dig in" I in turn make an "X" on the "human figure" drawing that is in their chart indicating where on their body they are feeling discomfort. After a few more intake questions or posture evaluations to try to get to root cause, I design their massage therapy session specific to their needs. One day as I began to work on a client's low back they quickly spoke up and said "No, my pain is not there, it is up on the right side of my neck" to which I replied "I understand however I would like to address the root cause of the problem first" (in this particular case).
You see, as I explain to my clients - the source of your discomfort is not always where you are feeling it. Our body has an amazing pain referral pattern or trigger points that send pain signals to different parts of our bodies. Furthermore, every muscle has an opposite opposing muscle to help maintain balance. If one muscle is tight, the discomfort can be felt in the opposing muscle, or the muscles above, or the muscles below, or.....you get the point - it is not necessarily the tight muscle itself.
So, when it comes to muscle pain or discomfort "X" does not always mark the spot!
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