A common question I'm asked is, “When will I start feeling ok again?”

 I’ve been there.  I totally understand how frustrating it is to live in pain and feel desperate for immediate relief.  We are so used to going to the doctor and getting a prescription that masks the symptoms.  When things are broken, we want an immediate fix, a cure.

Quite often when it is a structural or muscular issue, the pain experienced didn’t happen overnight. The result is from continuous over use, poor posture, neglect (exercise, diet, sleep), injury, etc.  So to gain ground, most times (not always) the healing becomes a process that has to happen gradually.  With massage, most often I have to address issues I find one layer at a time.  I break through adhesions in one part only to find a bed of them below in the next layer of muscle tissue.  And this process in itself causes more inflammation which needs its own time to adjust and repair.

So in answering the question, the healing process is unique with each individual.  And it’s important to ask yourself how long it took your body to reach the point where it had to send out signals of pain in order for you to be prompted to create necessary changes.  If it took years to get to a point where you feel dysfunctional, it might take weeks or months, or unfortunately years of regular treatment to find the relief needed. 

Begin listening to what the systems of your body are trying to tell you.  Slow down.  Maybe alter something in one small way that brings about a subtle change that can provide some comfort.  Think about how you stand, how you walk, how you sit, how you bend.  Make one small adjustment.  Give your therapist, your chiropractor, your doctor, acupuncturist, health care provider time to help you break through old patterns that have caused the pain in the first place.  Be patient.  And try focusing on becoming regular with self care;  whether it is twice a week, once a month, four times a year.  Train your body to know that caring for yourself is a constant.  You will be amazed at how positive the response can be.

Investing in yourself is the best gift of all.