(no subject)

[pantryslut]

I went to the physical therapist this morning.

Because I am literary and experimental and all, I'll give you the conclusions first:

1. I need a massage therapist.
2. Hot packs are a blessing upon this earth.
3. Muscle strain.
4. Twice a week for two weeks, and then we'll reassess.
5. My posture sucks.

I don't know what possessed me to think it was a good idea to see the PT first thing Monday morning for a work-related condition -- duh, it's going to be at its least painful then! Oh well. It turns out, actually, that I did a lot of computer work yesterday at home, so I had a little shadow of strain that I could show off to the guy.

The place I'm going to now is a real step down from my previous PT site, which was the occupational therapy center at Davies, and was filled with stern yet pretty Slavic practitioners and the Exiles member who was my primary contact. This place is just a storefront in Oakland, and very very quiet at 8 in the morning. My intake was much less thorough, but then again my condition -- muscle strain in the shoulder -- is much less serious; last time I was under treatment for RSI's in my wrists.

The guy was attentive and mild-mannered, though, and he'll do. Especially if he keeps up the nice massage work. The acupressure in particular helped.* The hot pack was also a blessing, almost as good as the paraffin bath that I used to dip my entire forearm into in my last PT regimen. (I still want a paraffin bath set-up for my home.) I left there feeling as relaxed and pain-free as I have in weeks. Of course, now I have returned to work and I can feel that burning in my shoulder again.

But I also feel empowered now to demand backrubs from my loved ones as needed. It's therapeutic, dammit!

Anyway, I will be seeing him twice a week for two weeks, and then we will see how I'm doing. I suspect with stretches, hot packs, and a regular visit to a massage therapist**, things will be OK. The best news: I am not crippling myself.


*Did you know my long-ago ex-wife was studying to be a massage therapist at one point? What is it with dykes and massage therapy, anyway? I learned all about acupressure from reading her texbooks, which is the nominal excuse for this footnote.

** So, I am looking for a massage therapist who's good at acupressure. Suggestions welcome.

Comments

i have one!

[cindymonkey.livejournal.com]

A good pal o mine is an amazing masseuse and trained at quan yin for the acupressure as well
she is also very affordable

downside is thatt she doesn't have a table
upside is that she will come to you

for me we usually set out some couch cushions and then she brings towels and massage sheets to lay on them and i works great

big upside - at last glance her rate was $30 per hour for a house call
her name is Ali and her # is 255-9801

[bigsockgrrl.livejournal.com]

I don't know if she does acupressure; I've never asked, but she's good.

Jill
510-872-0532

[adrian-turtle.livejournal.com]

This spring, I bought a small paraffin bath setup. Heat is kind of a mixed blessing for my hand problems (relaxing the muscles, making swelling worse.) Between that, the setup time waiting for the wax to melt, and my concern about cleanup, I haven't used it much. But the smallest ones are not a big investment. Mine was only $25. You can kind of get most of a hand in there (though you can't really relax a hand in there and floop it around, not without touching the metal) or you can scoop melted wax out and pour it on body parts that don't fit in the bath. (They actually *recommend* this. You have to read other sources to know you should put down a sheet you're not fond of, first.)