Not at all. At one of my first sessions with a myotherapist, I counted up to 300 plus and got too sick to count anymore. And that was just my lower body from the waist down with a few on one shoulder that was in a lot of distress. Keep working. I know have very few that are persistent. But, also try to figure out what the perpetuating factor is. I am understanding now that I have hypermobile joints and an unstable SI Joint. There are references to all of this if you read back through earlier posts.Welcome to the group. It's a bittersweet thing to find us, sad we have this challenge, but so great to finally find help because this is where most of the help and knowledge is at this time.

Wow. Thanks for the feedback. Yes, knowledge about this (to me) weird condition does make me feel more positive. Why don't more doctors know about it? There are probably a lot of people being misdiagnosed.

About the SI joint: around seven years ago I had strong pain there. I thought I overcame that problem with the help of a good massage therapist who taught me stretches. That even showed up on the x ray--arthritis type damage to the SI joint.

I am mystified as to why I have this condition. I wasn't in any accidents, just a few falls where I lost my balance. It seems like the MPD has been coming on for a few decades now. Gradually it took less and less exercise to make my muscles all sore. I used to be fairly active, did yoga a few times a week, rode horseback, but now a one mile walk is strenuous for me. I would so like to be able to do those activities again.

Welcome to the group, chimerical.

What you are experiencing is very normal for this condition. I think we all ask the same question, "Why don't doctors know about this?" The main source of my pain is in my legs too. As Asunda mentioned, you need to look for perpetuating factors such as hypermobile joints. Has anyone checked your pelvis to see if it is in alignment. My pelvis was rotated forward and upward on the right and that was what started my leg pain.. But it took 5 years to find an osteopath who discovered this imbalance. Also my sacrum was twisted and SI joints jammed, and by then the trigger points had established themselves and the fascia had become bound down. A website for further infomation on myofascial pain is

http://www.sover.net/~devstar

You are on the right track with Davies' book and the theracane. You might want to get a ball too for some of your muscles. I got a special one when I purchased another book by Hal Blatman. Don't buy the book but the ball is good. BATW, what ball should she buy? Kat

Now that I'm getting a better understanding of this I've realized that I've always been like this. My father was too. They always said we had one hip higher than the other, or that one leg was longer than the other. DUH! But, I'm 61, so that was all happening before most doctors got that everything is connected, even skeletons and muscles. And I was born with congenital hips so my sockets are shallow. Now I'm trying to figure out where to start.
I did the trigger points and it's nice to have them calmed down. But that's not going to fix the problem. I'm working with someone on the SI joint, but still have to do something to stabilize those muscles.
So, I am hoping BATW's exercises are going to do the trick. If not, I'll check into the clinic Carole wrote about in another post.
It feels overwhelming sometimes. I would like to go back to that time of innocence where the doc would give me a latin name, a prescription, and tell me to go home and rest. Not that I ever listened! Sigh.

Hi,

Welcome to the group. I am happy to see that you are getting some very good and positive advice from people. I'd like to add a couple of comments.

First, be careful with the theracane. Several of the members here have used it too aggressively and ended up creating deep tissue bruises. Those will set you back very seriously. When I use a hard tool like the cane or the knobble I always put a few layers of denim or terrycloth between the tool and my body.

Muscles that have active TrPs should not be stretched very much. Trying to stretch the "knot" can result in torn muscle tissue and even more TrPs.

TrPs in your glutes and piriformis muscles often cause those muscles to contract so much that they will pull the si joint out of alignment. It is really pretty common for people to resolve the TrPs in those rump muscles only to find that pain remains. Very often that pain comes about because the si joint is no longer locked in place by chronically contracted muscles. It begins to move again and may become hypermobile as well as inflamed.

Per Kat's question, I am a big fan of the Ball Against The Wall (BATW) for treatment of the TrPs in the rump. I've tried several but settled on a plain old $2.00 raquet ball from Wal Mart. I keep one by my bed, one in my art studio and carry a third one in my car. Any time I feel the need I can grab a ball and find a wall.

Welcome aboard and good luck

In addition, if you want professional help with your trigger points, you can look on the following two websites for trigger point therapist.

http://www.nampt.shuttlepod.org

http://www.bonnieprudden.com

For myofascial releas, which isn't direct trigger point work, but releases fascia (connective tissue) access:

http://www.myofascialrelease.com

If you don't find a therapist near you, call or e-mail some of the ones listed, and they may know one close to you. Not all are listed on John Barnes' website. I don't know about the other websites.

Thank you everybody. This site is a gold mine of information.

BATW, you are right about the bruising. Already I have gotten 2 bruises. but not from the theracane. One big one I got from massaging my left thigh while I was driving (I am on a road trip right now). This is so incredibly stupid--my fingers got sore, so I used the ice scraper! I also got a bruise on the point of my hip bone by lying on top of a tennis ball and rolling around. These bruises are almost gone now and I am avoiding these areas.

Is a deep tissue bruise different from a regular bruise? Do they cause the same discoloration on the skin?

I am a little worried by what you say about stretching. I do gentle stretches every morning. It keeps me limber so when I walk I don't hobble around. (When I say I have muscle problems people say it does not look like it from the way I move.) I wonder if I should quit or change these.

And if stretching can be bad maybe all my years of doing yoga had something to do with my developing this condition. I have wondered about that before.

A deep tissue bruise is comes about in the same way that a superficial bruise does. Small blood vessels are ruptured and blood infiltrates into the surrounding tissue. It results in an area of tenderness. A deep tissue bruise may not be visible on the surface, but will have the same characteristic tenderness.

I stopped doing ball on the floor massage because it was too difficult to control the amount of pressure I was applying to the TrPs. That is why I went to the ball against the wall technique for the massage of my rump muscles and outer thigh muscles. Here is some info about how I do it. I'll describe how I position myself and the ball so that I can massage the places in my gluteus minimus on my left side. A fairly smooth wall is needed with a place to stand next to it.

1. Place the left foot parallel to the wall about 10" away from it. Place the right foot another 8" to 10" away from the wall with the toes turned about 30 degrees outward.

2. Lean your left shoulder into the wall. You will be using your left shoulder and right foot as anchors as you press your hip and the ball into the wall.

3. Place your left hand high on your hip and try to find the highest point of your illiac (hip bone.) It is further out toward the side and higher than you probably realize. When you are there or sort of there move your finger tips down your buttocks about 3 inches. Leave your fingers there while you raise and lower your left heel. As you do this you will feel a muscle contract and relax. That muscle is your gluteus maximus, the gluteus minimus lies underneath it. You can not massage the gluteus minimus while the gluteus maximus is contracted; you must know how to relax the maximus.
4. Once you get the hang of using of lifting your heel to relax the maximus, place a hard rubber ball where your fingers are. Now lift your left heel and slowly lean your hip into the wall. If there is an active trigger point there you will find a really painful point there. You may have to move the ball a couple of times to find it.
5. Once you find it, practice shifting your weight between your hip and shoulder to regulate the amount of pressure.
6. The massage is done by taking pressure off with your shoulder, then flexing your right knee slightly to move your body a couple of inches lower, and then reapplying the pressure while you straighten your right knee.
7. Repeat this 12 times and then move on the next TrP.

Hope this helps you and others.

chimerical,

I'd be wary of getting into a mindset of "stretch or don't stretch at all" or "use a ball or don't use a ball" -- just all or nothing kind of things. This whole thing is kind of about finding what works for you and what doesn't and possibilities as to WHY.

It's true that stretching can be good and bad -- it just depends. for myself, I used to think I really needed to stretch a lot, but it turned out to really contribute to feeling bad if I overstretched, since I already have a feeling of looseness and definite hypermobility in some joints. I certainly injured myself in yoga from overstretching. On the other hand, sometimes gentle stretching just feels good...so I don't say, no I'm not allowed to stretch. On the other, other hand, I often find that I didn't need stretching, what I needed was to gently work the muscles and get some movement.

It's also the qualities of stretching that can contribute to how you feel...if you stretch too deeply, or not for long enough, or you're stretching muscles but not stabilizing/strengthening/relaxing others, you can create or exacerbate muscle imbalances that were already there.

I often think about what I did YESTERDAY that's contributing to how I feel today...to get some clues about what works and what doesn't.

You are probably bordering on info overload about now. Sharogold is right about not locking in. You have to find what works for you. You have to take charge of your healing.

IMO the only thing worse than tunnel vision is paralysis. You can't let confusion or fear or info overload leaving you doing nothing.

Yes, I am experiencing a bit of overload. I have set aside the Theracane for now, and am just doing stretches and self-massage with my fingers. When I get back home I will start the ball against the wall and go for some massages.

I hope whatever bruises I have inflicted will go away. It is hard to tell if I have deep tissue bruises that manifest only as tenderness, because that is a constant symptom for me.

Again, thanks for all you feedback.

I had lots of bruises when I first treated myself for trigger points. Some of them were inevitable. If I applied any pressure at all, I would get bruises because of the condition I was in. Use arnica gel or ointment when you treat yourself. It stops the discoloration and helps the area to heal faster. It works best if applied immediately, like all homeopathic medicines, but still works when used later.