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...

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chimerical 05/04/2011

is not easy. I am on the road right now, touring in Germany. I came because my father, who lives here, is not well. He has Parkinson's and his condition is deteriorating. That is stressful. Plus I am communicating with my sisters via email about what we can do to avoid trouble when he declines mentally, and that is stressful too. The 8 hour time difference makes things hard.

My physical condition reflects my stress. Plus I am driving and hoisting luggage all the time. I even went bicycle riding with my niece in the Englischer Garten. Ouch.

I packed my tennis balls in their sock, but had to leave my heavy massager at home. I try to massage my back against the wall once a day, but don't always manage to.

I am in Baden Baden right now and hope to go to a thermal bath tomorrow. Maybe that will help. I was somehow bumped into business class on the plane over. That was great. I wonder what I would have to do to get a business class seat on the way back.

LisaLoo2 05/04/2011

I'm sure that thermal bath will feel great. You should treat yourself to one that has a water slide, ha ha. At least on domestic flights, if they have unsold business class seats when you get to the airport, you can pay a fee to upgrade. It's like $200 for cross USA flights; I'm guessing it would be more for international. Those seats make so much of a difference for us with MP. So do the cocktails.

Katty2 05/04/2011

Ouch! I can't imagine traveling to Germany with myofascial pain, but it sounds like you needed to make this trip. I am sorry to hear that your father has Parkinson's. Having an ill parent is stressful, so I hope that the thermal bath relaxes your tight muscles. Take care.

deleted_user 05/07/2011

I hope that bath helped you. Wish I could find one here! And I'm sorry about your father.

chimerical 05/08/2011

Ah, I finally took a shower and washed my hair. The hotel I stayed in last night had a great bathtub, but the hot water ran out before it was 1/4 full! I am a little worn and weary, and have to deal with my father again. Then I leave for the States Tuesday.

What do people here do when they are driving? I linked to a weird device, the sacrowedgy, in another thread. They say you can use it while driving! At home I have a special foam wedge I put behind my back. But I don't like traveling with a lot of gear. So this trip, like on others, I take an empty plastic water bottle and wedge it against my lumbar spine. After awhile it hurts though. Who invented bucket seats? They are terrible for your posture.

deleted_user 05/08/2011

We bought a giant suv so that when travelling I could lie down in the back. But as it turned out, the rear end wasn't stout enough to pull a travel trailer, so we bought a truck. Or rather my husband did. He bought it in another town so I couldn't see it until he brought it home. He described it as being even wider and having a large back seat bigger than the one in the car so I'd be able to lay down. Not sure if he was taking drugs or what but it couldn't be further from the truth. I haven't had the heart to tell him, but the bucket seat is too hard and narrow for me, and with the dogs in the back seat I won't even be able to recline enough. I thought I'd wait until we're on the road and just tell him when I have to stop. He loves the dang truck. Keeps going on about it being just what he's been wanting for years. Ugh.
Hang in there. You'll be home soon to your own comfy stuff.

deleted_user 05/22/2011

try to find someone in germany who does dry needling...you will get relief...trust me...it will hurt as they inject the muscle but it will force it to relax and then you can work on strengthening the muscle group.

Auntkat 05/22/2011

I hope you get some much need releif. The thermal bath sounds like a great idea. Im sorry to hear that your dad is ill, is the thermal bath some thing he might enjoy as well mabye relaxing for both of you..

deleted_user 05/24/2011

when driving I sit on a wedge pillow, trying to keep my hips higher than my knees in the awful bucket seats.

Another thing that has worked for me is to put a 4" or 5" myofascial ball behind my tailbone to help me keep from tucking. A lumbar pillow can help too.

Mostly, though, it's about stopping and getting up as often as needed -- as much as every 30 minutes -- to keep the blood flowing.

deleted_user 05/25/2011

Thanks for the tip Sharon. I've been using a towel but it doesn't cut it. We've decided not to move so I am looking for a mini van to buy. The seats sit higher than in a car and we'll take the back seat out to store and make a bed back there. But I hate lying down. I wanna' see too!
So I'm also going to try my friends trick of stuffing a pillow between me and the door. Keep me from rocking on my tailbone. Ain't life getting fun. ugh.

deleted_user 05/26/2011

When in a car or on the bus or para transit I use a gel seat - the same ones that people who use wheelchairs sit on. I find it has done wonders - the only problem is I have a high propensity to forget it everywhere! Also for the car, which I put on top of the gel seat (the seat is about 3 inches thick) is a seat and back that is pretty thin, however it has heat and massage settings. I can either plug it into the cigarette lighter or I can use a regular plug to plug it in if I am at someone's house. The massage function is a bit loud I find when sitting with others, so I just use the heat at that time. The combination of the two really help. On transit I just use the gel seat...I actually carry it around in a bag - it is not heavy and I use it most places I go and sit these days!
I loved your comment about lying down though - I hate lying down in the car but I have to do it sometimes! It is really hard to be the navigator when lying down I find... :)

chimerical 05/26/2011

Wow, these are a lot of good tips. I like the idea of the pad you can plug into the cigarette lighter that heats up! I used to have a car with heated seats and I used this feature all the time even when it was not cold.

Actually driving is not that painful for me. I think it is because I use the lumbar pad and hook my shoulder blades over the top of it, so my upper body is very stable. When I am sitting unsupported I always seem to slump. And I guess my body is unbalanced, so walking any distance eventually causes trouble.

Moving luggage around twists my body up though, and I feel it bad the next day. Even carrying groceries can do it. Airplane seats are torture devices.

deleted_user 05/26/2011

I used to just lie down on airport floors if necessary. Or in the car, or on the grass at rest stops. :)

Auntkat 05/29/2011

Wow lots of good ideas... My heart hurts for you guys when I think of how hard it would be to travel and have your pain be in your lowerback and or pelvis. :( Ouch!

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