I’m excited to announce that I can now process your credit card for payments. Through my connection with ProPay, you can use your card with confidence and security for single sessions, maintenance packages, gift certificates, co-pays, and even “no show” fees.

Many people like to use their cards to accrue points or cash back as well as to establish and maintain good credit. Besides Visa and MasterCard, I can also accept Discover and AmEx.

By accessing my password protected account online, I enter your credit card information and snap! it’s done. I hope this makes receiving massage services at BTM easier for you. Your feedback is always welcome.

As you know one of my favorite topics is the concept of trigger points. But what are trigger points?

A trigger point is a tiny nodule in a tight band of muscle. Trigger points will be very tender when pressed on. One of the most fascinating characteristics of a trigger point is its ability to refer to a distant part of the body. This means that when a trigger point is pressed on, it is not only tender, but you are likely to feel a vague sensation radiating away from the actual point.

For example, a trigger point in the infraspinatus muscle (on the back of the shoulder blade) can refer sensation into the hand. Pain in the knee can be referred from trigger points in the quadricep muscles near the hip. Deactivating trigger points is an essential part of unlocking pain and restoring range of motion.

Trigger points have been studied for several decades now. Arguably, the most comprehensive work is Myofascial Pain and Dysfunction: The Trigger Point Manual (1983) which was written by Janet Travell, an American physician who treated John F. Kennedy’s post-surgical back pain. She released a second edition in 1992. Other books and workbooks are out on the market now as well.

For a fun and easy way to learn about trigger points to manage your own pain, join me for one of my Soft Tissue Detective Series classes: Pain Relief thru Trigger Points which are offered at Portland Community College. The next series is coming up in mid-May.

I recently read a report designed to study the use of massage for postoperative pain reduction. The report was published in 2007 by Mitchinson, et al in the Archives of Surgery.

The study chronicles the first five days after major surgery for over 600 veterans. Two hundred participants were in the group receiving a basic, daily back massage. The authors of the study found significant decrease in pain intensity and pain unpleasantness measured for the massage group compared to the control group.

The researchers conclude “massage is an effective and safe adjuvant therapy for the relief of acute postoperative pain in patients undergoing major operations.”

Here is a link to an article about this study. To read the full report you will have to have a subscription.