Category Archives: self-treatment

Confusing the benefits of salty and non-salty baths

By Paul Ingraham | Published: September 3, 2010
I’m on holiday for a couple weeks at the moment, so updates will be slow for a couple weeks. But of course I never truly stop working entirely … A recent email exchange with a reader inspired this small piece, which is really more about critical thinking and cognitive distortion than Epsom salts. In this case, [...]
Also posted in contrast hydrotherapy, debunkery, epsom, hydrotherapy, pain, placebo | Leave a comment

“I’ve tried to interpret the findings of the best physiologists and translate them into sound practices. That’s made me a radical.”

By Paul Ingraham | Published: August 26, 2010
David Moorcroft was about as flexible as a 2×4, but it didn’t keep him from winning a lot of races. Reader Jennifer M. found this great passage from an excellent 1983 Sports Illustrated article about David Moorcroft, a British middle and long distance runner and 5,000 metres world record holder. It’s a splendid addition to my stretching [...]
Also posted in debunkery, evidence-based medicine, strain, stretching | Leave a comment

And again! More muscle knot squishing science, different experiment, same results

By Paul Ingraham | Published: July 14, 2010
Odd! Just a couple days after posting about a not-yet-published study of trigger point squishing — quite a rare subject for research — I came across (via @massagetherapy) an almost identical study that is published. They also reported news that makes massage therapists smile: …using ischemic compression on shoulder trigger points may reduce the symptoms of [...]
Also posted in evidence-based medicine, massage, massage therapy, massage tools, placebo, research, science, self-massage, therapy, treatment, trigger points | Leave a comment

(Newer than new) evidence that squishing trigger points works

By Paul Ingraham | Published: July 8, 2010
An upcoming issue of Journal of Bodywork & Movement Therapies will include a new study of trigger point squishing. I was lucky to get a look at a final draft, thanks to connections at The Pressure Positive Company, the massage tool manufacturer that supplied the tools. This experiment has the simple elegance of a good science-fair [...]
Also posted in massage, massage therapy, massage tools, research, self-massage, therapy, treatment, trigger points | Leave a comment

Wishful thinking does not get much more wishful than this

By Paul Ingraham | Published: July 6, 2010
“Basically they are the Amway for people who think a metal tube full of ‘granulated minerals and crystals’ can fix your bad back, make crappy wine taste better, reduce the acidity of lemons, energize your food, etc. I went to a ‘wanding party’ in Westchester, and it was very weird indeed.” Weird multi-level marketing company sells [...]
Also posted in low back pain, quackery | Leave a comment

“Perfect” spots? Not hardly: an uncomfortable legacy

By Paul Ingraham | Published: June 1, 2010
Many years ago I set out to write about the “perfect spots” for massage, and I began a series of articles. Some of those became the most visited and popular articles on this website. They are alarmingly close to becoming my “legacy.” I have probably received more positive feedback about them than anything else I [...]
Also posted in massage, massage therapy, self-massage | Leave a comment

A simple headache success story (to re-introduce the perfect spots)

By Paul Ingraham | Published: June 1, 2010
Yesterday my cat, Cali, woke me up with a particularly insistent feed-me-now yowl. Normally I would find this irritating, but yesterday she was doing me a favour, because my neck was in a crazy position and I was cooking up a violent headache. Some wee muscles behind my head were in a shortened position, and [...]
Also posted in headache, massage therapy, self-massage, tips | Leave a comment

New article: The Trigger Point Symptom Checker

By Paul Ingraham | Published: May 27, 2010
I interviewed creator Jeff Lutz about The Trigger Point Products Symptom Checker, a unique online reference tool to help both patients and professionals visually identify the “muscle knots” that may be causing pain, stiffness and other symptoms, and appropriate massage tools to assist in self-treatment. Read the interview. Visit The Trigger Point Symptom Checker.
Also posted in diagnosis, massage tools, self-massage, tips, trigger points | Leave a comment

More about Vitamin D, much more

By Paul Ingraham | Published: January 18, 2010
Looks like someone’s already done all the looking into the connection between Vitamin D and pain that I’d like to do. Thanks, Stewart Leavitt. (Link via Diane Jacobs). Vitamin D for Pain: Update of Research Evidence
Also posted in nutrition, pain, treatment | Leave a comment

Massage for low back pain is an evidence-based therapy, despite the need for more study

By Paul Ingraham | Published: January 6, 2010
Massage therapy is an effective treatment for low back pain: that’s the finding of a comprehensive review of the science, from a 2008 Cochrane review (Cochrane reviews are generally considered to be the most authoritative summaries of scientific research). The conclusions are strongly positive (emphases mine): Massage is beneficial for patients with subacute and chronic non-specific [...]
Also posted in low back pain, research, self-massage | Leave a comment