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Originally Posted by ktspktsp
I have a bit of a posture problem (I tend to hunch)
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I'm breaking your question into 2 parts because it is worth noting this part. We call hunching "forward shoulder posture", and it is typically caused by hypertonicity (tightness) in the pectoralis major and pectoralis minor muscles. Especially pec.minor; this muscle, when tight, will pull your shoulderblades around and forward. This then forces your back muscles to be constantly stretched tight, resulting in pain. Tight pec.major results in painful upper trapezius, and tight pec.minor results in painful rhomboids.
Sitting in front of a computer brings your shoulderblades around and forward, and holding the pectoral muscles in a shortened position for an extended period of time can convince them that they should remain shortened, and this leads to hypertonicity. There are some good stretches on the right-hand column of this page:
Chest Exercise Menu.
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and I was also in a car accident in 2005 where my car was hit from both sides and spun to around, so there was a lot of torsion in that accident.
I notice that a spot in my back, on the erector spinae, that sometimes hurts. Especially if I do improper lifting, or if I do my gym exercises improperly; but sometimes with no reason (except probably the bad posture).
I got a massage recently (on our short trip to the US) and the masseuse mentioned that the muscle was "fibrotic" (or something like that) in that area, that it had lost some elasticity and gotten stiff. She said I would need to get that area massaged quite often to release that stress over that area; also the chiropractor that was there mentioned something about cross fiber friction. Does that sound right to you? Any ideas on how much massaging is needed there?
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Yes; it is what I was telling Abaya about above. Muscle fibers are all in line with each other (think about a chicken breast). In your accident, a muscle tore. Your body repaired the tear by laying down new muscle fibers; however, these new fibers were laid down randomly, not in line with the original fibers. This restricts the available range of motion for that muscle. Cross fiber friction will be a bit painful, because it will be breaking up those fibers that interfere with the muscle motion. It is important to then stretch that muscle as your body rebuilds the fibers, so that they are more in-line with the original fibers.
How much? I couldn't say. Until you feel better.
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Originally Posted by dlish
ive had a stiff neck for a few years now. its not so stiff that i cant move it, but i always need to crack it as the day goes on. i feel that if i dont crack it it would stay tight.
i try to massage it with my hands, but its quite difficult.
i assume i know part of the problem is. i sit in bed with my laptop with usually my head arched forward towards the screen. the other part is stress.
i also find that early in the morning my neck is the least tense, but as the day goes on it gets more tense.
a related problem i also have is that if i arch my neck back as far as i can i get pain in my spine around my shoulder blade area.
ive had massage to my neck previously, but by the next day im all tensed up again.
what would you reccomend?
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Joint manipulation, which is what chiropractors do, is outside the scope of massage therapy. Oddly, we never covered the question "why does my neck feel better when I crack it?" in our classes. I'll research a bit more and come back to this; I found the article
Don't Crack Your Neck! by a chiropractor, but I'm not sure if it is a scare tactic or good science.
I recommend breaking your bad habits first; you already know that your computer posture is bad. Get a laptop stand or something.
Second, you mention pain between your shoulderblades; that's the rhomboids, which I mentioned to ktspktsp; follow the links for pectoralis minor stretches.
Massage can help you as well.
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Originally Posted by settie
In the winter I experienced sharp sharp pains, that were unable to be confirmed as kidney stones (ultrasound was apparently not clear enough, and done too late).
I was in so much pain, I desperately scheduled an appointment with a registered and licensed massage therapist. It helped for as long as the massage worked, and maybe up to an hour later.
Anyways, my question was, are there any massage techniques that help "soothe" the kidneys?
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I can't think of any way to massage a kidney. I just checked my "Massage Therapist's Guide to Pathology" (awesome book), and it doesn't have much to add regarding kidney stones, only that massage isn't that useful in the middle of an episode.
Since you noted that you felt better for an hour, then the pain came back, I'm thinking that you were "splinting", much like I told Abaya. Your body was spasming your back muscles to help hold your kidney from moving, and the therapist may have relieved the tension in those back muscles. Then your body decided it still needed the protection, and returned the spasm.
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I also found it really really hard to relax my shoulders during the massage, making it tough for the masseuse. But this made me notice I keep my shoulders tight regularly, even when I think I'm relaxing. How do I get into the routine of keeping them relaxed rather than all clenched up?
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See my answer to ktspktsp regarding stretching your pecs. I try to do this a couple of times a day, and it really feels good.
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Last question: I have had chronic shin splints since I was 9 thanks to the sports I did. Something as lame as being inactive for half a day, then walking around the next half, can make my shins hurt like hell. I realize this is more like damage done to my bones growing up from the intense sports, but is there any sort of massage I could do to reduce shin splints?
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Shin splints are not bone damage, they are muscle damage. It could be adhesions following muscle tears, trigger points, or a combination of the two. A massage therapist trained in sports massage should be able to help you.