Trigger Point Therapy - Fumbling in the Dark (Part II)

In my quest for effective alternative treatments I often feel like a blind man in a forest searching for the right tree - never knowing when or where I'll find the next tree and always having to investigate to find out if the tree is worthy of consideration.

So it was that I was surfing the web when I came across the website of Dr. Ben King, an acupuncturist and chiropractor in the Toronto area.  One of his posts recommended a book called The Trigger Point Therapy Workbook by Clair Davies for treating myofascial pain.  I usually don't buy books the first time I see them but for some reason I opted to pull the trigger.  Just under 12 bucks and a week or so later, the book arrived to my doorstep.

It sat on a table, unopened for a few weeks while I remained busy with work. One Friday I finally picked it up, began reading, and began fumbling, literally, through the folds of unseen and sometimes hidden muscle.  The book contained diagrams that helped identify muscle groups, the trigger points in each muscle group, and the areas of the body impacted by those trigger points.  While looking at the diagrams, I probed the area searching for the specified muscle.  In some cases, like the bicep, I had no issues identifying the muscle.  However, other muscles, like the scalenes and the psoas, were much more difficult to locate.  When I found a muscle, the next step was to identify any trigger points.  This step was considerably easier than I anticipated.  When pushed, the trigger points caused pain to shoot into the area diagrammed by the book.  In some cases the pain emanated over a foot away from the area I probed.  Pushing on my scalenes (on the side of the neck, attaching to vertebrae and ribs) shot pain to my upper back and down my arm.  Pushing on my pecs shot pain into my shoulder.  Each time I pushed on a trigger point, pain showed up exactly where the book diagrammed.

It took two days to catalog all of my muscles with trigger points - a total that came to over forty.  The next question was what to do about my investigations. 

To read more about my experiments with trigger point therapy, click the following links:

Dr. Travell, the White House Physician of JFK (Part I)
Fumbling in the Dark (Part II)
Oh the Pain (Part III)
Relief (Part IV)

A Tale of Chiropractors - A Mixed Beginning

I grew up with a healthy suspicion of chiropractors.  I had no personal experience with chiropractors - only the voice of my father warning against chiropractors that touted unsubstantiated healing abilities and unscrupulous business practices.  That is not to say that my father didn't believe in the field chiropractics (at least the well-documented aspects) - only that the general reputation of the practitioners was less than reputable.  That reputation, while not necessarily unfounded in the history of chiropractics, does not adequately convey the complex reality - that, yes, some chiropractors do take advantage of patients in a number of ways; however, many use their skill sets to try to help.         

Sometime in 2012, desperation for health finally outweighed my long-held suspicion, and I scheduled an appointment with Dr. King (pseudonym), who came recommended by a friend.  Dr. King's office was part retail store, part medical office - a blend that is common in alternative medicine.  She did not take insurance.  I checked in with the receptionist and then perused the shelves of vitamin supplements, sitting cushions, books, pillows, and other contraptions for sale until meeting with the doctor, a small, plump, and affable woman.  I explained to her my medical history, dietary regimen, and current symptoms and was frank with my intentions of giving her a few months of complete control over my healthcare.  Within a few minutes after giving my spiel, Dr. King provided a diagnosis - vitamin & nutrient deficiency, stress, and a tight back - and a treatment plan - Vitamin D supplements, Cow Organ Pills, Massage, and regular Chiropractic Adjustments.  I listened to the explanation for each of the items in the treatment plan with interest for some and skepticism for others.  Vitamin D, for example, had been recommended to me by multiple trusted sources (even though my blood serum levels of Vitamin D were normal) as a possible deficiency contributing to my ill-health.  But cow organ pills?

"What do those do?" I asked Dr. King.  I listened to a long explanation.  In summary, Dr. King's theory was that our ancestors ate organ meats (liver, thymus, liver, brains, etc) which stimulated our adrenal systems - the system that regulates adrenaline - thereby increasing our energy levels.  By increasing my intake of freeze dried organ meats, my adrenal system would regulate and eventually return to normal. 

"It's best if you chew the pills - activates your saliva glands," she said handing me two organ pills from a bottle.

"Like I said, doc, I'm in your hands".  I popped the pill and began chewing on the tart, almost acidic pill, swallowing with some effort.  "Delicious," I said dryly.

For a few days after my first visit, on a regimen of Vitamin D and Cow Organ Pills, my energy level skyrocketed - enough so that I didn't mind returning to Dr. King's office twice a week, as she had recommended.  After the first week, however, my energy level plummeted and plateaued at a line only slightly higher than my baseline (the slight increase I still attribute to the Vitamin D).  Despite the drop in energy, I continued to visit Dr. King twice weekly, as promised.  The visits were pleasant - a brief chat, a non-threatening adjustment, and then sitting in a massage chair for ten minutes or so.  I learned that Dr. King believed stress paramount to chronic illness and we chatted in depth about what was going on in my life that could cause stress - work, baby, a new home.  Through those interactions, I came to believe that Dr. King genuinely wanted to help.  However, after nearly two months of fairly expensive treatments without significant progress, I realized that her approach was not ans likely would not address my specific underlying issues.  I was getting ready to end my visits to Dr. King when my health suddenly and dramatically decreased.

One morning, over a plate of waffles an excruciating six hour back spasm began that would leave me unable to walk for days (Click here for the back spasm story).  Hoping Dr. King would have something to aid in relief or theories on the cause, I went to see her as soon as I was able to walk.  The exam produced no relief or enlightenment  - just a statement that I should come in more often.  I did not return.

I was not done with Chiropractors, though.  I wanted a second opinion on my back, someone to bounce ideas off of, and someone with a slightly broader approach.  So a few weeks later, I found myself sitting in the office of Dr. Gregory Berkoff...   

For more on my experiences with chiropractors click the following links:

A Tale of Chiropractors - A Mixed Beginning (Part I)
A Tale of Chiropractors - Meeting Dr. Berkoff (Part II)
A Tale of Chiropractors - Misaligned Joints (Part III)

REFERENCES

1Title 16 of the California Code of Regulations, Division 4, beginning at Section 301
2 The American Chiropractic Association