Myofascial Pain Syndrome Support Group
Myofascial Pain Syndrome (or MPS) is a term used to describe one of the conditions characterized by chronic pain. It is associated with and caused by "trigger points" (TrPs), sensitive and painful areas between the muscle and fascia. The symptoms can range from referred pain through myofascial trigger points to specific pains in other areas of the body. It may be related...
Hello all,
I was diagnosed off of one visit last December with Fibromyalgia, but after extensive reading on several topics and no help at all from doctors, I have come to the conclusion that the problem is less fibromyalgia (and possibly not that at all) and more MPS.
My problem started with more a knee problem. Many doctors, MRI blah blah blah and the end result is "Sorry. We don't know what is wrong with you and there is nothing we can do to help you. You'll just have to get used to it." Then 9 months later it was the hip on the opposite side. I ignored that. Another 8ish, 9ish months later, my shoulder started to hurt. I went to doctors again trying to chase that down, but after xrays, meds and physical therapy I was told again "Well just get used to it."
About a year ago, we moved and I went from a high stress job and a high stress situation to a low stress situation and no job (Which I guess was stressful). I found part time work and during that time and then my elbows went. I am a professional musician, and not being able to straighten my arm and losing 80% of my lift capacity was a scary prospect so I went back to the doctors. This is when the fibro dx was thrown out there. They prescribed tramadol and trazadone and sent me for some perfunctory bloodwork. I am told it was normal, but I have no idea what they consider to be normal or if I was in a high or low range of anything,
I spent three months in occupational therapy which did some good - I kept hearing about how tight everything was and one therapist found lots of little knots that he worked out.
During this time, both my hips went and I can now barely traverse the stairs at my house. the doctor to whom I was assigned (military) gave me the the ol' "Well, you're just going to have to learn to live with it" speech. I stopped listening at that point.
I took myself off of the meds and discovered that they weren't really doing anything for me anyway.
So that leaves me dx'ing myself and without a dr who is really interested in finding out what is really wrong with me or any real treatment options to try.
I hope to meet up with others and see if this what I suspect or another dead end.
I was diagnosed off of one visit last December with Fibromyalgia, but after extensive reading on several topics and no help at all from doctors, I have come to the conclusion that the problem is less fibromyalgia (and possibly not that at all) and more MPS.
My problem started with more a knee problem. Many doctors, MRI blah blah blah and the end result is "Sorry. We don't know what is wrong with you and there is nothing we can do to help you. You'll just have to get used to it." Then 9 months later it was the hip on the opposite side. I ignored that. Another 8ish, 9ish months later, my shoulder started to hurt. I went to doctors again trying to chase that down, but after xrays, meds and physical therapy I was told again "Well just get used to it."
About a year ago, we moved and I went from a high stress job and a high stress situation to a low stress situation and no job (Which I guess was stressful). I found part time work and during that time and then my elbows went. I am a professional musician, and not being able to straighten my arm and losing 80% of my lift capacity was a scary prospect so I went back to the doctors. This is when the fibro dx was thrown out there. They prescribed tramadol and trazadone and sent me for some perfunctory bloodwork. I am told it was normal, but I have no idea what they consider to be normal or if I was in a high or low range of anything,
I spent three months in occupational therapy which did some good - I kept hearing about how tight everything was and one therapist found lots of little knots that he worked out.
During this time, both my hips went and I can now barely traverse the stairs at my house. the doctor to whom I was assigned (military) gave me the the ol' "Well, you're just going to have to learn to live with it" speech. I stopped listening at that point.
I took myself off of the meds and discovered that they weren't really doing anything for me anyway.
So that leaves me dx'ing myself and without a dr who is really interested in finding out what is really wrong with me or any real treatment options to try.
I hope to meet up with others and see if this what I suspect or another dead end.
There are some posts put together by a member named Jessie that are for newbies. They cover med's, treatment options, books, tools, etc. So, look for them. They are really helpful. And you are not the only musician here, I think there are three at least who make or made their living through that interest.
The Psoas muscle is one that is called a "hip hiker" as it helps you lift your leg to put on your pants, get up stairs etc... You mentioned stairs. It is a muscle that causes grief for some of us, me included.. It is a muscle that is connected to the lower portion of the spine, through the hip ( is one of the hip flexors) and part of the inside of the thigh.
If your hamstrings hurt too, try walking up the stairs at a 45 degree angle, that way you are not putting all of the pressure of your weight on your hamstrings and calves.
I am sorry you have had some idiots for drs that say, "just live with it". that is ignorance talking. A bruise to the ole ego if they dont know what it is. Sounds like MPS if you have trigger points. Trigger points or knots refer pain, so if you press on a gluteus min trp for example pain goes all the way down the back of my hamstrings down my legs. Please look at the thread, and it lits books that would help or be necessary to help w/MPS.
The Psoas muscle is one that is called a "hip hiker" as it helps you lift your leg to put on your pants, get up stairs etc... You mentioned stairs. It is a muscle that causes grief for some of us, me included.. It is a muscle that is connected to the lower portion of the spine, through the hip ( is one of the hip flexors) and part of the inside of the thigh.
If your hamstrings hurt too, try walking up the stairs at a 45 degree angle, that way you are not putting all of the pressure of your weight on your hamstrings and calves.
I am sorry you have had some idiots for drs that say, "just live with it". that is ignorance talking. A bruise to the ole ego if they dont know what it is. Sounds like MPS if you have trigger points. Trigger points or knots refer pain, so if you press on a gluteus min trp for example pain goes all the way down the back of my hamstrings down my legs. Please look at the thread, and it lits books that would help or be necessary to help w/MPS.
Unfortunately, you may not find one doctor or one diagnosis that can set you on the right path. MPS is a complex web of symptoms and causes that is often highly individualized, though there are some commonalities between us.
The best recommendation I can give is to
a) Don't give up! There is definitely hope here...both on this board and in our lives.
b) Learn about your body! Learn about the muscles that are bothering you and how they connect, learn about MPS, read books, ask questions, do research. The more you learn about your body, the more you can feel in control.
c) deal with short-term pain relief: whether it's with meds, massage therapy, trigger point therapy, myofascial release work, ice/heat, water therapy, chiropractic, osteopaths...there are lots of ways we've all found pain relief. And since the pain can really keep you from moving forward, I feel like it's most important to get the pain levels down
d) deal with long-term issues: For many of us, we've recognized that the passive stuff that offers pain-relief may not help get out of this spiral in the long-term. Dealing with chronic posture issues, stability, strengthening...these are some of the stuff you'll need to think about to try and get better in a long-term way...albeit very slowly and carefully so we don't have a flare. Some of us have done physical therapy exercises, Pilates, yoga, somatics, all in the name of long-term benefits.
Good luck and keep us updated!