Believe it or not you have muscles everywhere in your body. 306+ voluntary muscles to be exact and that’s just looking on the outside. There are many more on the inside (involuntary muscles) that play huge roles in your organs functions but we will leave that conversation for your local endocrine specialist. This may sound like a common sense blanket statement but in truth until a new pain sprouts in a certain area most are not likely to consider that there is a muscle there. In general if you’re asked to picture a muscle in your mind what image do you see; bulging biceps, protruding pecs, shapely calfs? You wouldn’t be wrong and would be in line with most peoples thinking. Unfortunately, like most I am sure your imagination would stop not right there. Most even assume that if a muscle is not pronounced like that of an athlete it simple doesn’t exist. Which couldn’t be further from the truth.Now, while we are recognizing that under developed muscles are still muscles let’s go further. Your hand and fingers are wrapped in muscles that facilitate intricate movements liking griping, the collapsing of your fingers in a wave motion or even using your middle phalange when enraged in traffic. Your forearm muscles are engineered like guitar strings that assist your fingers. Your feet are full of tiny muscles that promote our bipedal abilities. Your skull, yes your skill even possesses muscles in
specific places (how else do you think you can make your ears wiggle). Think of it this way if any part of you didn’t have a muscle it would be as gelatinous as Jabba The Hutt.
So the next natural question is, if there are muscles everywhere then why do you only feel pain in 1 or 2 areas? If you are using your whole body everyday how are you not one big ball of pain. Truth is, safe for suffering from ailments like fiber myalgia your brain typically will only process one pain signal at a time. So, while your neck and shoulders feel the most tense, your forearms and feet are waiting in line to put their pain ticket in. When using massage therapy to work out pain points only to have another arise, trust me when I say your body is not broken, your body is just being its human organic self working the way it was intended by your brain allowing you to process pain one at a time.
Here’s a simple break down.
All your muscles work synergistically together. Some groups are bilateral meaning both sides of the body are effected when one is active (think right and left side of neck) and some are unilateral meaning one side of the body is active when one group is active (think raising your right arm, your left shoulder doesn’t get involved). Primary pain in a primary group can lead to secondary pain in a secondary group. When a muscle becomes compromised through strain or injury the other surrounding muscles will immediately try to pick up the slack. Even muscles know that team work makes the dream work. However, your muscles are no different from human behavior. There are only so many second shifts you would take on sharing the load of a coworker before you start to give out and give in to exhaustion yourself. When your muscles get to that point the most exhausted muscle or group gets to jump to the front of the pain ticket line even though they were only trying to help the muscle (or group) that has been defaulting and despite needing to be addressed even more.
The beautiful aspect of massage therapy is that it is therapy focused on returning balance back to your muscular system, including the muscles you may not even know exist. Unfortunately most people give disregard to majority of their muscles until an accident prevents them from being able to use it properly or highlights how integral this one little muscles function is to your day to day life.
As corrective as proper massage therapy is, it is even better as preventative wellness. You wouldn’t wait to practice proper oral care until periodontal disease sets in or wait to apply sunscreen after you begin turning into a red skinned lobster would you? So why wait for pain to erupt before getting your muscles the wellness care they need? Regular wellness care today can help prevent injury and pain tomorrow.
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