Through understanding and correct treatment protocol, 95% of my clients were able to return to a lifestyle that was free of pain and able to return to their occupation, if so desired. But with the understanding that they had to continue to do regular maintenance on their muscles to prevent a reoccurrence of the symptoms. There is no CURE for Musculoskeletal Injuries, Only Body Maintenance. We will continue to use our bodies because we move. Our nervous system through the brain, signals our muscles to move in whatever direction we choose to go. This is normal. But none of us has ever been taught how to care for the body from a mechanical viewpoint. It is time we learned.

A Repetitive Strain Injury Case Study

Candace, age 47, director of a college MBA program for executives. Used the computer an average of 4-6 hours a day. Taught classes and had to carry heavy boxes of materials and had numerous hobbies that she once enjoyed. She has been under treatment for tendinitis and epicondylitis for the past three years. She has seen many physicians, including a general practitioner, rheumatologist (through her former HMO), an osteopath and a physiatrist (through the CA state worker compensation insurance). Over those three years, Candace received numerous cortisone shots, which provided only temporary relief, prescribed several types of anti-flammatory medications which eventually led to the development of an ulcer. Through this time, she lost the use of her arm and could not extend it. I will let Candace tell the rest of her story and her road back from her nightmare.

I have experienced severe chronic pain in my arms and elbows for over three years, and this has led to feelings of frustration, depression and hopelessness. I was in search of a cause and a cure and found it frustrating that not one of my doctors knew either. It took two years for my physicians to acknowledge that my injuries were caused by repetitive strain. By that time, of course, the damage was done.

I have taken vitamin B-6 supplements, received numerous cortisone shots, and tried every pain-relieving ointment on the market. I had two doctors suggest that my only hope for relief would be through surgery and a long rehabilitation process. This was something I wanted to avoid since everything I had read suggested I could be worse off after surgery, and there were no guarantees my problems wouldn't be back once I resumed normal activities. It seemed to me that this injury was new to the medical community and through all that I had been through, it cause me to lose faith in my HMO.

In desperation, fearing that I would soon be unable to efficiently and effectively perform my job duties, I applied for Worker's Compensation. Thus began my second search for a remedy for my injuries. Although the first physician again suggested surgery, I told him I wanted to try everything else possible before resorting to such a drastic solution that carried no guarantees for success. Fortunately, he instead prescribed physical therapy, and I was thrilled for the opportunity to do something proactive. My 15 sessions of physical therapy last summer made it possible for me to straighten my left arm - something that I could not do when I began treatment, and made me aware of ways to avoid over-straining my muscles. Although I worked hard and religiously attended all the sessions and did my "homework" assignments, it alone was not sufficient to provide long-term healing, and attempts to strengthen my muscles as recommended often led to re-injury.

It was then I was referred to a truly outstanding Physiatrist, Dr. Mary D.. By the time I got to her, I was in very bad shape and had concluded that I was truly handicapped. The pain was beginning to make normal activities almost impossible, and I was having to write all of my documents by hand for my secretary to type - a very inefficient and frustrating setback. I couldn't even do simple household chores. I was depressed, and close to giving up and giving in to the surgery I so vehemently had avoided for two years.

But, mercifully I never had to resort to such drastic measures to find healing and hope. My road to recovery began the day I learned that, on the strong recommendation of Dr. D., Worker's Compensation had given me approval to see Kate Montgomery, a sports therapist with a specialization in repetitive strain disorder who had achieved success with another of Dr. D.'s patients.

When I called to set my appointment and Kate said, "Don't worry, I can help you," I felt my first glimmer of hope - admittedly darkened by my understandable black cloud of skepticism. However, after my first session, and to my absolute, delighted astonishment, I felt better than I had in three years!! I have seen Kate four times, and am using the methods she taught me to take responsibility for my own rehabilitation. Finally, instead of feeling handicapped, unable to do the simple things at work and home that I had once taken for granted, I am genuinely on the road to recovery. Had I started here to begin with, there is no question in my mind that I would have avoided three years of misery, hopelessness, depression, and tremendous expense.

I sincerely hope that my experience can help others avoid the pain and suffering caused by repetitive strain. In my opinion, anyone in a position that requires repetitive motion should learn Kate's methods so they can take responsibility for themselves and avoid injury. And I strongly recommend that anyone with repetitive strain injury should not waste a moment's time - they need her help now. We would certainly have a healthier more productive workforce if our employees were educated in these simple techniques.

I thank Kate and Dr. D. for the assistance they have provided me through this process over the last year - it has helped me to remain productive in a job that I dearly love. Furthermore, I can now resume the hobbies I had to leave behind three years ago - I even refinished furniture this weekend!! I have my life back and a new way of life now that Kate has taught me how to take care of myself. Kate's methods genuinely work - it has been nothing short of miracle for me.

Candace W.

Candace's story is not unique. Many people can relate to her story. My treatment and re-education program for Candace is the same for every individual that I work with. Every body is the same, whether it is male or female, we all have a skeleton, a nervous system and we all have ligaments, tendons and muscles. Because of this factor, once the individual understands the mechanics of their body and the correct protocol to start the healing process, the body, given a chance, can revert back to normal function. The age factor is only given attention to if the person is considerably older and has arthritic problems that contribute to the disorder. But it is possible to still make a difference in the quality of the movement, range of motion and the relief from pain by using my program.

I usually require only 2-5 visits depending on the severity of the injury. Each person is unique to their body and the healing time is dependant on how the body responds plus the persons willingness to do their homework and the program outlined for them. Each program is designed to fit their lifestyle, in and out of work. Please remember, that symptoms can return due to over use of your body. To make this clearer: For example: An individual runs marathons. They train to be able to perform without developing an injury. But what if they ran a marathon 26.2 miles everyday. The body could not hold up under those strenuous demands. It would break down and become injured. That is the same with the arms. We are demanding of them to perform at a level they can not achieve and remain healthy. And no amount of training can change that.

Candace's first visit: She was in a lot of pain and was wearing wrist braces to stabilize her wrists. She did have full extension of both arms. Range of motion was limited but not to the extent that their were major structural problems. Her grip strength was less than normal, and when testing the muscles functional nerve integrity, it was impaired. My way of testing is through the use of applied kinesiology. (Please refer Touch For Health by Dr. John Thie, D.C. for more information on applied kinesiology for the lay person). She had numerous painful trigger points, muscle spasms and knots in her muscles. Plus her tendons were inflamed creating the condition known as tendinitis.

Before I begin the muscle therapy, I first explain to Candace about how her body works and the interrelationship of the bones, muscles and nerves. When they are all in balance, and there is no tension in the muscles to create a possible misalignment and nerve conductivity problem, the body will react to its environment without stress or strain. I began by checking Candace's grip strength using a dynamometer. Her grip was not normal for her age and sex. This was found to be the case on both hands. I then muscle tested the hand muscles using the thumb and little finger to assess grip strength. I asked her to hold the pads of the thumb and little finger together as I tried to pull them apart. She could not do this. This indicated to me a loss of nerve integrity and a misalignment somewhere up the path of the arm, not only at the wrist joint. Because I already knew she had pain around the elbow joint, this joint became suspect and could possibly be out of alignment. Barring there were no other joints involved from previous injuries, such as a whiplash, shoulder - rotator cuff, I went to work teaching Candace how to realign her elbows and wrists. Her posture was good. She sat up straight, shoulders back and down, head not jutting forward, causing neck strain or nerve impairment. Candace was in good health. She did not smoke or drink.

Before we started the corrective steps, I had Candace do a perceived grip strength. This is done by squeezing the fists together as tight as you can. (Ladies, long fingernails get in the way of making a fist). I asked her to give herself a number 1-10, 10 being the most strong. How strong did she think she was. Her numbers were 5 and 5, right and left hand. She found it hard to make a fist and her muscles felt tight in her arms and hands. " pulling, like a tension wire." she said.

Directly from my book, I directed Candace through a series of steps to massage the muscles of her neck, increase range of motion in the shoulder joint, and then perform a forward and lateral alignment of her elbow joint, and align her wrist and finger joints. All within 45 seconds to 1 minute. As she performed the instructed movements, to her surprise, her bones began to move. Her elbow bones released, pain soon began to leave, she then squeezed her wrist together, and opened up the joints of the fingers. I then tested her grip strength through muscle testing. She was strong. She couldn't believe it. It happened that fast. She then performed the same steps on the other arm. Same results. After performing the corrective steps, her perceived grip strength changed. Those numbers increased considerably to a level of 8 and 7. Her sensitivity returned and a rush of blood was felt. "Like energy moving," she said.

Next, I instructed her in the technique of Neurolymphatic Massage. Every muscle and organ has an associated N-L reflex point. The map of these points is called Chapman's Reflexes. They were discovered in the 1930's. In the 1960's, a chiropractor by the name of Dr. George Goodheart looked at this map and correlated them to the muscles. By rubbing these reflexes firmly and deeply, you can effectively flush the lymph from that specific muscle and organ. Our lymphatic system is responsible for the elimination of metabolic waste products in our body. This is just a faster method to strengthen the immune system, decrease pain relief and regain the strength of the muscles. It can be done anytime and anywhere.

Now that we have established structural stability, the next step in this process is to heal the injured muscle tissue. If this step is not done, the joints will move back into the improper position, creating a loss of nerve integrity and muscle strength. Remember it is your muscles, ligaments and tendons that hold you together, not the other way around. Muscles have direction just as the skeleton does. Everything has to be in balance in order to have the body function in harmony.

As a muscle therapist, my job is to get the muscles back to normal function. To do this, massage therapy is required. Muscles fibers that have been injured and the small muscle fibers torn have a decrease of circulation and with that, a lack of nutrition and oxygen that keep the muscles healthy. Muscle therapy can change that. With careful and slow working of the muscle tissue, trigger points, and muscle spasms will disappear and with it, the pain. When someone is in a lot of pain, you can not just start hammering deeply into their muscles. I have a rule. Zero is skin, five is bone. I start very slowly performing very specific strokes that I outline in my book, so you too, can achieve healthy muscles. I spend 15 minutes on each arm. I work the chest muscles, the back and neck muscles to make sure every muscle group that is attached to the arms, is pain free. This takes me approximately one and one-half hours the first visit. If you have never had any bodywork done before, you will be sore, but if you take an Epsom salts bath, 2-3 cups in a hot bath that evening, and rub the herbal healing balm into your muscles that night, you should feel not quite so sore the next day. I use natural herbs to heal the muscle tissue. (Please read about it in the web site).

Next, I instruct her in stretching techniques from the book. They should be easier to perform now that her joints are aligned and the muscles less tight. No strengthening exercises are given at this time, due to the healing of the muscle tissue first. This will come in approximately 2 weeks, depending on the progress made in muscle recovery and strength.

In the week following the first appointment, it is imperative that the muscle therapy and corrective techniques be performed. This is a preventative program. Just because it does not hurt anymore, does not mean you don't do the program.

Candace did very well from her first session to her last. She was a different person when she finished the program and she learned a lot about her body to be able to make good, sound decisions concerning her body's health and well-being.

If upon reading this account of Candace's story, and it sounds familiar, and you have questions, please don't hesitate to contact me. There is hope and it is not always surgery. The failure rate is very high. I am sure you have known many people who have tried the surgery but are still not back functioning a 100% or still not able to return to their jobs. There is hope, have faith and continue to search for the answers you know in your heart are right. Candace did and she avoided the surgery and was able to return to her job and her life.

For a personal consultation with Kate Montgomery, please email her at katem@sportstouch.com, or see the Contact page for more information.  There may a charge for consultation.