Category Archives: Chronic Pain
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Why Your Massage Therapist’s Words Matter
Posted on April 12, 2019 by Michelle Doetsch in Chronic Pain, Health and Wellness, StressI cannot tell you how many times new clients have told me about some of the amazing things previous massage therapists, doctors, PTs, etc. have said to them. And by amazing, I mean completely unprofessional and rude. I doubt any of them intend to be unprofessional, but that doesn’t change the fact that they are. […]
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Why You Should Approach Your Pain With Curiosity, Not Fear
Posted on October 26, 2018 by Michelle Doetsch in Chronic Pain, Health and Wellness, Neck Pain, Pain ReliefOW! What Just Happened? You raise your arm above shoulder height and it feels like someone’s sticking a knife in you. What the what?!? It didn’t hurt the last time you did that. Or maybe it did, just not as much. Maybe you have pain somewhere else that’s triggered by a different movement. Maybe you […]
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What Do We Really Know About Pain?
Posted on September 14, 2018 by Michelle Doetsch in Chronic Pain, Pain ReliefWhat is Pain? Pain is one of those “you know it when you feel it” kind of sensations. But it’s also a strange phenomenon, when you think about it. A snowball is cold, so it feels cold when you touch it. A block of concrete is rough, so it feels rough when you touch it. […]
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Don’t Worry if You Have the “Tightest” Muscles
Posted on November 24, 2017 by Michelle Doetsch in Chronic Pain, MassageIt’s not a competition You’ve heard the argument a million times: The only person you should compete with is yourself. I know you’re just trying to get some perspective on how “bad” your body is, but comparing yourself to other people isn’t the way to do it. Your body is different than everyone else’s. It’s […]
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Can Massage Help Tinnitus?
Posted on August 25, 2017 by Michelle Doetsch in Chronic Pain, Massage, Neck PainClients are always surprised when I tell them that I MAY be able to help them with their tinnitus. Are you surprised, too? Confession: Until a couple years ago, I would have been too. What is Tinnitus? According to the Mayo Clinic, “Tinnitus involves the annoying sensation of hearing sound when no external sound is […]
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How Often Should You Get a Massage?
Posted on April 28, 2017 by Michelle Doetsch in Chronic Pain, Health and Wellness, Pain ReliefOne of the most common questions I get asked, by massage newbies and veterans alike, is some variation of, “How often should I get massage.” I’m gonna sound like a broken record, and you might be tired of hearing it but… It depends. I’m sorry, but it’s true. I lied… I’m not really sorry. #SorryNotSorry […]
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The Best Posture to Keep You Pain Free
Posted on March 31, 2017 by Michelle Doetsch in Chronic Pain, Neck PainPosture gets a lot of press. Every week I see several articles about it in my email or social media feeds. Most of these articles are different versions of the same story of how your horrible posture is causing all your pain. This is nothing new, it’s been the accepted wisdom for a very long time. […]
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How Long Should You Wait to Treat Your Pain?
Posted on March 24, 2017 by Michelle Doetsch in Chronic Pain, Pain ReliefMany people soldier through their pain as though it’ll just go away on it’s own. Some push through as though there’s some sort of badge of honor to be had by not getting it treated until they absolutely can’t take it anymore. Whether you think it’s more manly to work through your pain, are too Type A […]
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The Hidden Reason Your Pain Isn’t Getting Better
Posted on January 20, 2017 by Michelle Doetsch in Chronic PainPain is a really complicated topic, and there’s a lot we don’t know about it. There are books and conferences dedicated to the subject. There is a ton of research being done trying to figure out what causes it, what makes it better, what makes it worse, and how we might be able to predict […]
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5 Reasons Your Shoulders Hurt
Posted on May 6, 2016 by Michelle Doetsch in Chronic PainI see clients every day with one sort of shoulder pain or another. Some days, every client I see has shoulder issues. Every. Single. One. In my 10+ years of specializing in neck and shoulder issues, I’ve found that there are 5 main, preventable reasons for shoulder pain. I’m not feeling particularly wordy today so I’ll […]
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How to tell if your purse or shoulder bag is too big
Posted on November 13, 2015 by Michelle Doetsch in Chronic Pain, Self CareConfession: I used to carry a ginormous purse. And by ginormous, I mean positively gargantuan. A few of the things I carried in my purse at the time were a full-size hair brush, a comb, a full-size bottle of hairspray, a huge wallet, my entire makeup bag, feminine hygiene products, a small travel-size kit with […]
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Living A Healthy Life With Chronic Pain
Posted on September 18, 2015 by Michelle Doetsch in Chronic Pain, Pain ReliefAn interesting thing happened a few months ago. I was contacted by a book publisher who noticed my blog posts on pain and stress. They said that they thought I’d be a great person to review a new edition of their book “Living a Healthy Life With Chronic Pain,” and wondered if I’d be interested. […]
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Is the Way You Breathe Increasing Your Pain?
Posted on August 28, 2015 by Michelle Doetsch in Chronic Pain, Pain ReliefDo you have neck, shoulder, or other upper body pain that can be alleviated with massage or stretching, but returns a couple hours or a couple days later? Do you wonder if there’s more wrong with your posture than you thought? It’s possible. Are you perhaps not relaxing or stretching enough? Maybe. But let me give you another […]
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The Best Ways To Help Relieve Your Chronic Pain At Home
Posted on October 25, 2012 by Michelle Doetsch in Chronic PainChronic pain can be frustratingly persistent. Wouldn’t it be nice to turn it down a notch or two (or maybe even off) for a while? Well, today I’ve got some handy tips to do just that, along with a short explanation of why they work. Today’s tips are compiled from some of my chronic pain […]
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The Top 10 Differences Between Chronic Pain and “Regular” Pain
Posted on October 18, 2012 by Michelle Doetsch in Chronic PainMy chronic pain clients tell me all the time about friends, family members, coworkers, and bosses who tell them that they “don’t look sick” or how they “don’t seem to be in THAT much pain.” I’m always amazed that people would be so presumptuous as to tell someone else that they are lazy or to […]
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