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I have an unidentified stomach pain (October 6th will be my 8 year anniversary). It took about 5 years of going through countless tests to finally have doctors agree that the issue is not internal (whether it’s reproductive organs to GI stuff). When I was at the Mayo Clinic in 2009, they agreed that there is a muscle/nerve issue, and they labeled it with an incredibly vague diagnosis amounting to: pain in the lower left quadrant of the abdomen. I went through steroid injections every 6 weeks for over 2 years (which is awful for you) and since my pain has increased immensely lately, and I’m trying to go to grad school, I have been searching for new treatments.
About 2 months ago I started a physical therapy treatment called ASTYM. It’s a soft tissue therapy that helps to remove scar tissue and promote healthy regeneration of muscle fibers (as long as you do your exercises of course). Words cannot describe what it has done for me!!! My pain is very limiting physically and I used to be afraid of stretching when I woke up because it could trigger an attack. Even leaning back in a chair or putting on my backpack too quickly could trigger an attack. Now I don’t worry about too much (although I found out the hard way that I need my 2 treatments a week). But I am able to walk, even go up and down stairs! (I walked up 2 flights of stairs for the first time in over 4 months last week! :D)
If you have chronic pain in muscles or joints, I would recommend taking a look! Below is a link to the ASTYM website and with it is a lot of different issues many people have who have had great progress with ASTM.
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Lizzben,
Thank you for sharing. My apologies for taking so long to write a reply. I have been dealing with dental issues as well as my pain issues and I found myself being over-whelmed so I shut down for a while.
Sometimes I have to go to my safe mode, which is where I take care of me and put up a force field to shut out the daily stressers.
I do understand what it is like to be able to walk or climb stairs after going through a period where you could not. I was in a wheelchair for 2 years because the pain just got to much to deal with and I was just too tired to fight it anymore.
I am thankful that I did find myself again and was able to use water therapy to regain my ability to walk again and live life.
Keep moving forward 🙂
Noki4 -
Hello…After I made my post, I continued ASTYM for about 2 months and then felt quite a bit better. I recently started having a lot of issues again, and I am trying to get back into physical therapy for ASTYM. My physical therapist told me about something called dry needling.
Basically dry needling is a therapeutic treatment that involves using filament needles (up to 5 inches long) to be inserted into the muscle in the area of the body which produces pain and typically contains a trigger point. This is not like trigger-point injections where an injectable solution if also used; these are simply very thin needles inserted for a couple of minutes and then removed.
While I personally have not had any success with dry needling treatments, I wanted to put it out there so that other people can possibly use it in the future. It’s not very painful, and the sessions don’t last long. For me, my insurance doesn’t cover it but it’s $30 per area, so I have my hip flexer and upper leg done and it’s considered one area. My referring physical therapist told me that in a best case scenario, dry needling can provide relief up to two weeks. And trust me, the procedure sounds scarier than it actually is…Anywho, I just wanted to throw this out there for others who have chronic conditions, especially ones that are muscular. Hopefully it can help some of you out! 🙂
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Lizzben,
Thank you for sharing the treatment options that you are trying. With so many different treatments out there it can be down right frustrating and scary. Having someone to share what they have experienced allows others to gain some insight.
We wish you the very best in your treatment and low pain days.Take care,
TPC YaYa
TPC Community Moderator
“The views or opinion(s) contained herein do not necessarily represent those of The Pain Community.” -
Hi Lizzben,
It is nice to hear from you. I wondered how things were going with you.
Thank you for sharing I have never heard of dry needling.I took yet another fall yesterday on the steps leading to our basement. I am okay, just sore and bruised up
a bit. Several years ago when the falling started my primary care provider sent me to work with a physical therapist so she could show me “how to fall”. Sounds silly and I thought it was silly at the time.
Since the falling has been happening a lot more I am very thankful he did.I am sure that it is not very graceful when I find myself going down and I go for a controlled fall but as long as there are no broken bones that is all that matters.
Please come back and let us know how the dry needling goes.
Take care,
Noki4 -
Hello! I have another new treatment I have been trying! My physical therapist recommended dry needling, which is performed by a chiropractor (at least around here). It uses needles similar to acupuncture. The needle is inserted down into the muscle, often in or near a trigger point. I have been receiving the treatment for about 2 months, and although it doesn’t completely alleviate my pain, it has helped me greatly. I used to spend a majority of my time in the fetal position, and this procedure has kept me walking (most days) and this past week I have even been sitting with my feet on the floor!
In my experiences, dry needling isn’t overly painful. Any pain that I have had when the needle is inserted melts away within about a minute, and there is only slight discomfort when the needle is removed. I recommend drinking a lot of water before it though because it has helped with how sore I am after the procedure (I have it done in my hip flexer and upper leg). I am usually only sore for a couple of hours after the treatment as well. The response to each needle varies; I have had some sharp pain, my leg twitch (that’s a good thing), feeling achy (also good), and sometimes (especially when the needle is removed) it tickles and tingles a bit.
This procedure has been shown to help people with myofascial pain. It is not covered by most insurance companies, but doesn’t cost too much compared to other treatments I’ve had (it’s about $50 in our region).
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