Archive for the ‘Sue Coughtry LMT’ Category

Sleeping Positions and Pain- Part 2

Sunday, June 27th, 2010

By Sue Coughtry, LMT

I have heard from a number of people since I wrote my first blog about this on how hard it is to change from being a stomach sleeper to being comfortable in any other position, even though sleeping on their stomach causes pain.  I understand because I was a stomach-sleeper till I was in my teens.  Then my neck cramped up big time and I couldn’t do that any more.  It was a tough transition but I had no choice and eventually succeeded.

I heard a great idea from a client the other day and wanted to pas it on.  This client has been able to remain comfortable sleeping on her stomach her entire life, but she now uses a pillow under her stomach for even greater comfort.  I tried that last night and it actually helps.  You can have the pillow in whatever position is most comfortable for you – just under your stomach or under your chest and stomach.  What it does is let your spine rest in a more natural curve.  Your face is always facing to the side and I do feel you need part of another pillow under just the back of your head so that your face is tilting down towards the mattress as opposed to lying flat to the side.  That relieves some of the stress off your neck.  Like I said – I tried this and it wasn’t bad.  I didn’t sleep that way but it was pretty comfortable – lots more so that just lying flat.
For you stomach sleepers in pain out there, give this a try. Sleeping on your stomach is still the most challenging position for comfort but this may help some of you.

Posted in Massage Therapy, Pain Management, Preventative Health, Stress Management, Sue Coughtry LMT | Click Here to Add a Comment »

Myofascial Release for Muscle and Joint Pain

Sunday, May 16th, 2010

By Sue Coughtry,  LMT
I just completed additional training in myofascial release techniques over the weekend. Myofascial means muscles and the connective tissue wrapping (fascia) around them and around every organ and cell in the body.   The seminar was excellent.  In this seminar we learned how constrictions in the fascia can cause pain, posture issues, and a host of other health problems.  The alignment of the hips can actually cause and definitely intensify irritable bowel syndrome, pelvic pain syndromes, and urinary frequency through myofascial restrictions.
I now have more effective skills on how to address this.  I can also release the chest muscles and diaphragm better for improvement in chronic respiratory problems.  I learned another technique for correcting hiatal hernias that can enhance the usual work that I do for that problem.  And of course I learned more techniques for back, neck, shoulder and facial pain, TMJ disorders, headaches and migraines.  I now have better treatment ideas for plantar fasciitis too.  I know that myofascial release has a reputation for being painful, but this was taught in a gentler, non-painful way that fits in very well with how I do the rest of my work.  I’m very excited about the possibilities for helping more people.  Massage therapy isn’t just for muscle and joint pain; in addition,  it definitely helps digestive, urinary, and respiratory issues as well.  That’s why what I practice is called, “medical massage.”  And I love it!

Posted in Massage Therapy, Pain Management, Preventative Health, Sue Coughtry LMT | Click Here to Add a Comment »

The Essence of the Healing Power of Reiki

Tuesday, April 27th, 2010

By Sue Coughtry, LMT, Reiki Master /Teacher

I found a wonderful article about Reiki in the May 2010 issue of Body and Soul magazine (Touch of Grace by Lynn Darling, page 72-75).  It very poignantly describes the anger that a woman experiences as she undergoes radiation treatment for her breast cancer.  Her descriptions are so very personal and vivid.  She is not a woman who puts much faith in alternative therapies but decides to see if Reiki can help her release some of her anger.  She describes what she experiences during her first Reiki session, and how it really did allow her to let the anger go, finding more peace and freedom and comfort than she had felt in a long time.   In her words “whatever Reiki is, and whether or not, by any quantifiable measure, it works, it works for me.”  I found the article to be very moving.  It shows how taking a chance and trying something new in times of great challenges can give you such gifts and tools to help you on your way.  A sidebar in this article also explains that New York’s Beth Israel Medical Center has “recently launched a program that includes Reiki as one of 5 interventions used to create an optimal healing environment on the cancer floor”.  Reiki is becoming more accepted and used by major medical centers all the time.  I have been working with Reiki for 14 years and can attest to its ability to bring peace and comfort, to relieve pain and stress, and to encourage healing, as well as to maintain your health.  It is a wonderful tool to explore, and you can learn to use it for yourself very easily.  Reiki started me, many years ago, on my path to healing myself to, now, helping others to find their own healing through working at the Center.   It is a powerful and profound tool of healing and transformation, and yet is so simple.  If you so desire, see where it can take you.

Posted in Massage Therapy, Mind Body Medicine, Preventative Health, Reiki, Stress Management, Sue Coughtry LMT | 1 Comment, Click Here to Add Yours »

Your Sleep Positions Could be Causing Your Pain

Monday, February 22nd, 2010

By Sue Coughtry, LMT

Would you believe that a good night’s sleep can make you hurt the next day?  Or make your chronic pain worse?  It can. I see many people who wake up in more pain than when they went to sleep.  There are a number of ways that your sleeping positions and habits can make you sore the next morning, or even make existing problems worse. 

Here’s what can happen and what you can do to prevent it.

First, if you fall asleep tense, you’re going to wake up tense and often sore.  Your body can’t let go of all that tension when you sleep.  I recommend trying some progressive relaxation as you fall asleep.  Start with your scalp (yes you do have muscles there) and relax the muscles there.  Progress all the way down your body, spending a few minutes with each area.  This really can make a huge difference in the way you feel when you wake up, and can also help you fall sleep faster as a bonus.

There are drawbacks to every sleeping position, so being aware of them can help you make adjustments.  No one position is better – it’s all individual.
Sleeping on your stomach is very hard on your neck and shoulder muscles because your head has to be turned on its side.  I recommend doing that as seldom as possible.
Sleeping on your side has some issues too.  First, try not to curl your spine into the “fetal position”.  Bending your legs up is fine but aim to keep the spine relatively straight and relaxed-that includes your neck. Next,  look at how you hold your hands when you sleep when you’re sleeping on your side.  If your hands are all curled up under your chin night after night you’re going to end up with pain from them eventually, or it will make existing pain worse.  See how your knees and ankles line up – you may find that one knee pressing on the other can cause stress or pain in the knee joint.  Same for your ankles.  Your hips are wider than your knees so using a pillow under the top knee or between the knees can help prevent or ease knee, hip, and even back pain.
The major issue with lying flat on your back is that it can exacerbate low back pain.  If that’s the case try sleeping with a pillow or soft bolster under your knees.

And, lastly, but importantly, is the subject of your pillows. The wrong pillow can cause neck pain and headaches.  Big fat firm pillows are the main culprit.  Soft thinner pillows are much better – especially the ones that can be scrunched up as needed.  When you’re on your back, a soft pillow that can be scrunched to support the curve in your neck and yet be almost flat under your head, which is ideal.  This keeps your neck and head aligned with the rest of your body.  On your side you need more thickness to protect your bottom shoulder from collapsing too much.  Again, stuff more of the pillow under your neck for that neck support.   If you move around a lot as you sleep, the soft scrunchy pillows can easily be adjusted to any position.  If you need the height of a big pillow for digestive or breathing issues, consider a foam incline that you can just put on the bed under the sheet and using just the one pillow as described above. 

If you’re waking up with pain every morning it could be how you’re sleeping.  See if any of these suggestions help.  I’ve eased my own neck, shoulder, wrist and knee pain using these strategies.  You can too. Let me know how it goes, perhaps I can make an individualized suggestion for you.

Posted in General, Pain Management, Preventative Health, Sue Coughtry LMT | 3 Comments, Click Here to Add Yours »

Stretching Has Heart Health Benefits

Wednesday, January 13th, 2010

By Sue Coughtry, LMT
Here is a big incentive to keep stretching, or add it to your health regimen.  I just learned from an article on MSNBC that a study has found that women who are more flexible have about 7% less arterial stiffness and lower blood pressure than women who are less flexible. When you improve your flexibility by stretching it helps expand the arteries and keeps them more pliable, which improves heart function.  This suggests that the more flexible you are, the better your heart health is.  Amazing! We tend to link cardiovascular exercise with increased heart health and stretching just helps the muscles.  Now we know stretching helps the heart as well.  I’ve known for a long time how important regular stretching is for preventing and eliminating pain, but I had no idea that it could do this – though it does make sense.  If your body is stiff on the outside it’s most likely stiff on the inside, and that has to constrict organ function.  This study shows its true with heart function. This is another incentive for me to work more diligently on improving my own flexibility!  How about you?

Posted in Cardiovascular Health, General, Physical Fitness, Sue Coughtry LMT, Women's Health | Click Here to Add a Comment »

Lyme Disease and Craniosacral Therapy

Sunday, September 27th, 2009

By Sue Coughtry, LMT
This has been a bumper year for ticks and that has resulted in as big a year for Lyme disease here in the Northeast.  While craniosacral therapy can’t treat or cure Lyme disease, it can definitely make a big difference in the amount of pain and discomfort you find yourself in and helps speed the healing process.  Lyme disease often results in muscle, joint, and nerve pain as well as fuzzy thinking and cognitive and neurological problems.  Craniosacral therapy can be a big help in coping with and easing the symptoms and may actually help speed the healing.  It improves and balances the flow of the fluids (cerebrospinal fluid) bathing the brain and spinal cord, which in turn helps calm and relax the entire nervous system. . If you are more relaxed you are in less pain and the neurological effects can be eased.  (I personally find craniosacral therapy to be the most relaxing therapy I ever have experienced, and I get sessions monthly without fail, just to maintain my health). Craniosacral therapy also stimulates your immune system so that your own body can heal faster.  Once you are on the mend, combinations of craniosacral therapy with massage, lymphatic drainage, and positional release therapy can ease any lingering discomfort.  If anyone you know is dealing with lyme disease, tell them to try craniosacral therapy to help them get through it.

Posted in Lyme Disease, Massage Therapy, Preventative Health, Sue Coughtry LMT | Click Here to Add a Comment »

Massage Therapists are Health Professionals

Wednesday, July 8th, 2009

by: Sue Coughtry, LMT

Something that I find disappointing in my practice is how seldom doctors recommend therapeutic massage to theirpatients for the alleviation of pain.  They prescribe drugs, give shots, some recommend physical therapy (which is good and physical therapists can do some massage, but usually do very little in their work) and recommend surgery.  Only a rare doctor recommends massage or soft tissue work.  But massage therapy can do wonders for many conditions in a gentle way with only beneficial side effects.  I think part of the problem is that most doctors – and most people for that matter – look at massage therapy as simply a relaxing luxury instead of a set of soft tissue techniques for relieving pain.  This became obvious just this year as our Governor considered taxing massage therapy as part of the beauty industry, though we are licensed in a health field.  Fortunately the economic stimulus package allowed the Governor to drop this idea, but it made it clear how most people view massage therapy.

NYS has the most stringent requirements and the toughest licensing exam in the country for massage therapists.  While there is no separate licensing exam or certification for medical or orthopedic massage therapists, it is generally understood that a medical massage therapist has had more hours of schooling and continuing education to learn the latest and most cutting edge techniques for pain relief.  Medical massage therapists are specialists in muscles and they know how muscle imbalances can affect the joints and the organs and posture and cause pain. 

I’d love to see massage therapy taken seriously as the health profession that it is. I’d love to see options for higher levels of education and licensure. I would love to see physicians refer patients to highly trained massage therapists – medical massage therapists – as a first step to see if the soft tissue techniques can solve the particular problem before they try something more invasive.  I’d love to see physicians collaborate with massage therapists the way many chiropractors do now.   I’m so grateful and delighted to be working with a group of doctors and health professionals who do take this seriously.  We have great success working together here at the Center.

Posted in Healthcare Reform, Massage Therapy, Sue Coughtry LMT | Click Here to Add a Comment »

What’s Really Going on When You’re Hurting: Trigger Points and Muscle Pain

Tuesday, May 19th, 2009

By Sue Coughtry, LMT

Spring is here and we’re all out cleaning up our lawns and planting gardens and brushing up on our summer activities. Often we over-do it and get sore. My patients often ask what causes those knots that they feel in their muscles.  They often wonder what trigger points are.

Here is what’s often going on when you hurt:

Muscles work in pairs.  When one muscle tightens to move a part of the body, the opposite muscle relaxes and lengthens to allow that movement.  So one side pulls and the other side relaxes.  When there is a muscle strain of any kind, the side that tightens actually pulls too hard or too fast, and the side that lengthens gets over-stretched.  To protect the muscles that are over-stretching from reaching the point of tearing, nerve fibers within the muscles themselves immediately makes that over-stretching muscle contract back pretty hard.  While it protects against tearing, which  is a really good thing, that muscle can also now get stuck in this new, now overly contracted state.  This creates a knot in the muscle, and that knot is a trigger point.

When you try to move, the affected muscle tightens even more to protect itself, creating a cycle of pain and more contraction, which causes more pain and then more contraction. You may get other supporting muscles to join in to protect the injured one.  We call that splinting.  Then the area gets even more painful.  You can often feel those areas of contraction as knots in a muscle, and they are very tender to pressure.  These trigger points can also cause pain in other areas of the body – this is called referred pain.

How medical massage can help:

There are many massage and bodywork techniques to release the trigger points, ease the pain and get both sides of the affected muscle back into balance.  Trigger point work, positional release therapy, myofascial release, craniosacral therapy and myokinesiology can all release these trigger points and help your muscles return to a more balanced, pain free state.  Each person responds to these techniques differently so when one technique doesn’t seem to work, another may.  This is why I tailor any of my bodywork sessions to the individual clients’ needs. Often my sessions will include a combination of techniques.  If you find yourself really sore after an afternoon of spring clean up, come in to the Center and see what some of these techniques can do for you.

Learn more about positional release therapy, and craniosacral therapy.

Posted in Massage Therapy, Preventative Health, Sue Coughtry LMT | 1 Comment, Click Here to Add Yours »

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