A few weeks ago I woke up with a pain in my left shoulder. I figured I slept all catawampus—and when I got warmed up, the pain would subside.
But it didn’t. The pain got worse. It lasted for days—a constant sharp throbbing. Sleeping was painful. Regular pain relievers (aspirin or Aleve) were worthless.
On the Pain Scale of 1 – 10, it was an 8. I described it as a “hatchet in the back.” It felt like someone swung a red-hot axe into my shoulder blade, which sliced through bone and muscle down to the nerves. It was a fiery electric stabbing pain. I had never felt anything like it. And I did not like it.
Kinda threw me for a loop. Driving a car was excruciating. On my way to work I sang a song (to the tune of “Farmer in the Dell”):
Hatchet in the back,
Hatchet in the back,
Hi ho the derry-o,
It’s off to work I go.
With a hatchet in the back,
Hatchet in the back,
Hi ho the derry-o,
I’ve got a hatchet in my back.
If you’ve read any previous blog about my health care philosophy, you’ll know I do not participate in the basic U.S. medical system. (No doctors, no health insurance, no hospitalizations, no emergency care, no meds, no inoculations, no x-rays.)
I’m a ‘Dockter.’ I take care of myself. I looked up my symptoms on the Internet and diagnosed myself with MPS.
MPS is not an aberration of PMS, which I had plenty of in my day—and to tell the truth, I would rather suffer from that than MPS.
MPS stands for Myofascial Pain Syndrome.Myo = muscle and fascia = connective tissue (that covers the muscles).
It can occur as head or jaw pain, low back pain, pelvic pain, arm and leg pain BUT USUALLY it occurs in the neck or shoulder area and USUALLY on one side of the body only.
From Web, MD website:
In some cases, the area where a person experiences the pain may not be where the myofascial pain generator is located. Experts believe that the actual site of the injury or the strain prompts the development of a trigger point that, in turn, causes pain in other areas. This situation is known as referred pain.
What causes MPS? Myofascial pain may develop from a muscle injury or from excessive strain on a particular muscle or muscle group, ligament or tendon. Also caused from general fatigue, repetitive motions, and lack of activity.
There are USUALLY postural, emotional, and behavioral contributing factors.
BINGO! The emotional component rings true for me. I believe there is a correlation between emotional pain and physical pain. I think the best thing a doctor can say to a “sick” patient is, “What’s really bugging you?”
That’s what I said to myself about this wacky pain syndrome. It took less than two seconds to arrive at the answer. Anybody out there want to hear me whine about my lack of writing career and the mental angst it causes? Didn’t think so…
I had to have a little chat with myself about my state of affairs. Things are improving. The pain level (after 3 weeks) is at a Level 4. The hatchet in the back feels more like a butter knife now. TG.
I find this topic fascinating, as there are so many sufferers of all ages out there. I’ll continue this conversation in Part 2:
* How long can MPS last?
* How does the standard medical community treat it?
* How does ayurvedic medicine handle it?
* Why I think my emotional state manifested itself in the shoulder blade area.
* A discussion of energy medicine and blocked meridians, emotional freedom tapping (EFT), and the heart chakra.
Stay tuned…
I feel YOUR pain !!! My son-in-law Clint and I were taking the dogs to the hill for a run. I mis-stepped, spraining my ankle. REALLY? Upon returning home, I checked the Mayo clinic website. I had a moderate sprain which required the P.R.I.C.E. method. protection, rest, ice, compression, and elevation. That I did. the funny thing is that yesterday, a woman in Florida was Dolphin watching in their boat. A dolphin jumped into their boat…spraining her ankle. Why couldn’t I have a cool story like that ????