Living pain free : healing chronic pain with myofascial release

329 Pages·2018·9.1 MB·English

by  Amanda Oswald

Living Pain Free
Living Pain Free
Healing Chronic Pain with Myofascial Release
A Self-Help Guide
Amanda Oswald
Chichester, England
North Atlantic Books
Berkeley, California
Copyright © 2018 by Amanda Oswald. All rights reserved. No portion of this book, except for brief review,
may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means—electronic,
mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise—without the written permission of the publisher. For
information, contact Lotus Publishing or North Atlantic Books.
First published in 2018 by
Lotus Publishing
Apple Tree Cottage, Inlands Road, Nutbourne, Chichester, PO18 8RJ and
North Atlantic Books
Berkeley, California
All Drawings Matt Lambert
Cover Design Jasmine Hromjak
Living Pain Free: Healing Chronic Pain with Myofascial Release is sponsored and published by the Society
for the Study of Native Arts and Sciences (dba North Atlantic Books), an educational nonprofit based in
Berkeley, California, that collaborates with partners to develop cross-cultural perspectives, nurture holistic
views of art, science, the humanities, and healing, and seed personal and global transformation by
publishing work on the relationship of body, spirit, and nature.
North Atlantic Books’ publications are available through most bookstores. For further information, visit our
website at www.northatlanticbooks.com or call 800-733-3000.
British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data A CIP record for this book is available from the British
Library ISBN 978 1 905367 81 8 (Lotus Publishing) ISBN 978 1 62317 207 7 (North Atlantic Books)
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Names: Oswald, Amanda, 1960– author.
Title: Living pain free : healing chronic pain with myofascial release / Amanda Oswald.
Description: Berkeley, California : North Atlantic Books, [2018]
Identifiers: LCCN 2017019417 (print) | LCCN 2017027741 (ebook) | ISBN 9781623172084 | ISBN
9781623172077 (trade paper) Subjects: LCSH: Chronic pain--Treatment. | Massage therapy.
Classification: LCC RB127 (ebook) | LCC RB127 .O835 2018 (print) | DDC 616/.0472--dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2017019417
Contents
Acknowledgments
Foreword
Introduction
CHAPTER 1
What this Book is About and Why I Wrote It
My work as a myofascial release therapist
My clients and their chronic pain
My approach
Self-help and self-empowerment
Who this book is for
CHAPTER 2
What Everyone with Chronic Pain Has in Common
Facts and figures about chronic pain
What everyone with chronic pain has in common
Their pain is limiting their life
They have at least one medical diagnosis
They have had a lot of different treatments
They have been given a lot of medication
They have experienced trauma or are living with stress
Summary
CHAPTER 3
Bridging the Medical/Holistic Divide
Background to the current medical model
How the medical profession carves things up
The limits of current medical treatments
Offering alternatives to the medical approach
Resistance to a holistic approach
What this has to do with chronic pain
CHAPTER 4
Why Holistic Approaches Are Now (Again) Being Taken Seriously
The holistic approach
New frontiers in scientific research
The limits of drug research: the placebo and nocebo effects
The biological effects of thought on health
It runs in my family – or does it? Genetics and epigenetics
Quantum physics
Possibilities for the holistic treatment of chronic pain
What this has to do with fascia and myofascial release
CHAPTER 5
What is Fascia?
Introduction to fascia
Unlearning traditional anatomy
Traditional anatomical tissues and body systems
Fascial anatomy
The fascial web
What fascia is made of
Protein
Water
How fascia behaves
Movement and balance (tensegrity)
Resistance and giving (thixotrophy)
Fascia as a communication system
Fascia and the extracellular matrix (ECM)
Fascia and energy
Fascial memory
What does this mean for fascia, injury, and disease?
CHAPTER 6
Injury and Fascia
Introduction
How injury affects fascia
How injury to fascia occurs
Accident
Surgery and scar tissue
Overuse and underuse
Posture
Stress
The importance of trigger points
The link between fascia and chronic pain
CHAPTER 7
How Chronic Pain Develops
Introduction
What is pain?
The “normal” mind–body pain response (the short version)
When pain becomes chronic (the short version)
The “normal” mind–body pain response (the long version)
Nerve endings and receptors
The brain
The brain and the mind compared
Neurotransmitters
The normal pain response
How normal pain becomes chronic pain
The unconscious you
How good pain turns bad
What this has to do with fascia
CHAPTER 8
What is Myofascial Release?
Introduction
Myo + fascia + release
How myofascial release works with fascia
Myofascial unwinding
What this means for helping yourself
CHAPTER 9
Help Yourself Out of Chronic Pain
You get to choose
Using what you know about fascia
When you are still
When you move
When you think
Introducing the slow fix
Fascia-friendly breathing
Fascia-friendly nutrition
Water, water everywhere …!
Eating for your fascia
The foundations of fascial health
CHAPTER 10
Typical Chronic Pain Conditions
Introduction to the chronic pain conditions
Head and neck: headaches, migraines, and new daily persistent headache
(NDPH)
Typical symptoms
Medical approaches
Fascial understanding
Fascial activities
Fascial stretches
Myofascial ball work
Head and neck: neck pain, torticollis, whiplash
Typical symptoms
Medical approaches
Fascial understanding
Fascial activities
Fascial stretches
Myofascial ball work
Head and neck: tinnitus
Typical symptoms
Medical approaches
Fascial understanding
Fascial activities
Fascial stretches
Myofascial ball work
Head and neck: temporomandibular joint (TMJ) and jaw pain
Typical symptoms
Medical approaches
Fascial understanding
Fascial activities
Fascial stretches
Myofascial ball work
Repetitive strain injury (RSI): a word about RSI
Neck, chest, and arms: RSI – thoracic outlet syndrome
Typical symptoms
Medical approaches
Fascial understanding
Fascial activities
Fascial stretches
Myofascial ball work
Neck, chest, and arms: RSI – golfer’s elbow and tennis elbow
Typical symptoms
Medical approaches
Fascial understanding
Fascial activities
Fascial stretches
Myofascial ball work
Neck, chest, and arms: RSI – carpal tunnel and tendonitis
Typical symptoms
Medical approaches
Fascial understanding
Fascial activities
Fascial stretches
Myofascial ball work
Neck, chest, and arms: RSI – Dupuytren’s contracture and trigger finger
Typical symptoms
Medical approaches