tips_2

TIPS FOR

PAIN MANAGEMENT

PART OF A CONTINUING SERIES

Thank you for taking the time to read this "tutorial" on back pain.
This is part of one part of a series originally written as part series originally
written for a newsletter course delivered over a 6 day period. It isn't
necessary to read the parts in order. They work just fine individually. In this
first part, I want to tell you a little about myself and what you can expect to
find out over the next few "writings."

My name is Evan Davis, and I am a licensed massage therapist (State of
Iowa lic.# 03041) trained specifically to relieve musculoskeletal
and neuromuscular pain conditions. Musculoskeletal and
neurmuscular are big words thrown around in the massage and
bodywork fields meaning the relationship of the muscles to the
bones or skeletal system, and the relationship of the muscles to
the nerves, or nervous system.

There are many kinds of therapeutic bodywork, and my particular
discipline is shiatsu, which is a form of Japanese medical
massage similar to--but not the same as--acupressure. I trained at
the Shiatsu Clinic and School in Iowa City, Iowa under James Luth,
the creator of the syle known as Focused Touch Shiatsu. (Feel free
to do a web search under "James Luth" or "Focused Touch Shiatsu). I
trained in bodywork, specifically shiatsu, because I wanted to help
people with pain. As simple as that.

Back pain, however, is not always simple. Let me say now
that if you consider back pain a serious problem for you,
and you have not seen a doctor, you should make every effort to do
so. It is always wise--if you have not already
done so--to have a medical assessment of the condition of your
back. As you likely know, there can be numerous causes for back
pain, some relatively benign and others quite serious; however,
rest assured that most back pain can be managed and
improved.

Right now, record numbers of people are suffering from back pain
unfortunately, back pain is often misunderstood. It is this
midunderstanding, in my opinion, that often complicates back pain.
In this newsletter, I hope to clarify some of the hows and whys of
back pain and help show you how you can be more dependent on yourself.
This first part is my introduction to you. Here is what you can expect
over the next few days

Part 1: Introduction
Part 2: Posture--how to tell if posture is the cause of your pain:
A simple formula that predicts pain
Part 3: Why there is no one-shot cure: Muscles involved in back pain
Part 4: Other reasons for back pain
Part 5: Arthritis,
Part 6: Sciatica

In your search for relief, you may have encountered many "one-shot"
solutions for back pain. Now, while it is true that there are common
causes of back pain, there really is no one-shot cure. How you treat
back pain depends on the the pathology, or in other words, the cause
of the pain. For example, osteoarthritus (inflammation
of the joints), spinal stenosis (a drying out of the spinal tissue),
or a herniated disc (a rupture of the pulpy material of the spinal
disc), spondylolisthesis (a fusing together of the vertabrae) will
require very different treatment plans than, for example, someone with
a pulled muscle in the back, or whose pain stems from sitting at a
computer all day.

Right now, record numbers of people in the United States are suffering
from back pain. In this newsletter, I hope to clarify some of the
hows and whys of back pain and, I hope, make you more able to take
care of you.

Later, we'll look at one of the most common, though underrated,
causes of back pain. Until then, take care.

Best regards,

Evan Davis
Http://www.gainwithoutpain.net

If you have questions for me personally, you can write to: painrelief@www.gainwithoutpain.net