Jane's Second Week

If you haven’t read about Jane’s first week please read Jane’s Back account. Jane has been living with chronic pain for 18 years. She goes to doctors, stretches, eats a balanced diet and takes medicine to relieve her pain. We are adding massage therapy to her toolbox and documenting how it’s changing her life and body.

Jane’s Week 2

Jane is starting to see big differences in how much she can accomplish in a day.

We did her massage at home and her little buddy didn’t want to be left out. He was so cute, I couldn’t help myself but let him join in. A little puppy love never hurt anybody right?

The next categories are measured 1-10, 10 being the worst.

Balance- 6

Last week before her massage, she noticed her balance wasn’t great. She is feeling a lot better this week. She still has trouble with standing on one foot without shaking but she feels 2 points better about it than last week.

Range of Motion- 4,2

We broke up range of motion into different categories because some areas she felt good about while other areas, not so much. Her arms and legs were better than last week and so was her forward bend, all by one point.

After the massage her range of motion in both areas were at a one. She could do big stretches with her body and large circles with her arms. I was impressed with how much she could bend and move with out pain.

Pain- 5

Jane was at a 7 on the pain scale the day of her massage. Overall, her week was slightly better than the week before. She only had two days with intense pain instead of three and one of her bad days was self induced when she didn’t take her medicine on time.

After the session her pain had dramatically reduced to 3! She said that she could feel the pressure deeper in her muscles this massage.

She was right, her first massage wasn’t as deep with pressure. She was very tender and muscles were angry from not being touched for a month. I spent a lot of the time just sweet talking her muscles with my hands during the first massage. This massage I was able to expel a lot of tension.

He cried until I let him on the table so he could touch his mommy

Mood- 5

The great new was that the pain wasn’t in control of her mood last week, the bad news is that she still had a crappy week. She passionately loves her family, so it hurts twice as much when they disappoint her. She said she didn’t feel helpless this week, which is huge. Her chronic pain has made her feel very helpless and frustrated in the past.

Jane is giving off different vibes than a couple weeks ago. She seems more hopeful and positive. You can tell just by looking at her. She feels better emotionally. This isn’t all from massage therapy alone but tracking her mood has highlighted this change.

Daily Function- 3

On this category she introduced me to the concept of a back account (how much her back allowed her to do). Her back account was filling up. Her planner is filled with activities she completed. She was able to do the things she had to do, and have enough “back” to do what she wanted to do.

Sleep- 7

Jane told me the if she gets over 6 hours of sleep, it was a good night. This week was stressful but she had three nights with over 7 hours of sleep. Her being able to sleep is a major factor in her mood this week. She wasn’t irritable and was able to handle everything life threw at her.

The night of her massage she slept for 8 hours and 15 mins. Over 8 hours of sleep is impressive for any adult I know. Being able to sleep is one of the most encouraging effects massage therapy is having on her.

Energy- 2

Jane has more energy this week and most importantly she is able to act on it. She was so frustrated the first week because she had the energy but not the body to accomplish her goals.

After the massage she said her energy was at a 1. She was feeling ready for her day. That feeling is the best part about morning massages.

Social Life- 1

Jane’s social life is booming. She saw friends three different times and was able to get drinks with her girls. The week before the only thing she did for fun was go to her mom’s house for the afternoon.

Medication

I believe medication is very beneficial and you should always consult your doctor when changing doses. Jane has one medication that she takes as needed and she would like to cut back on that. Right now she takes 4 a day and that is the max allowed in 24 hours. She took the max amount everyday but one when she forgot to take it. She is happy with that amount now because she did so much more activity.

The best is yet to come

Having a weekly massage is effecting Jane much quicker than I expected. The most encouraging aspects are her sleep, mood and pain levels. Those three categories have such a powerful impact on her life.

Before her next massage she is going to the doctor and getting steroid shots, so we will have to see how that effect her next progress report.