Monday, July 28, 2014

Trigger Point Therapy

I'm generally a happy person.  But I am apparently also a stressed person.  And I carry my stress in my muscles.  Which means that I often have pain in my neck and shoulder which can lead to headaches.  I've also noticed more pain in my hips lately - more of a stiffness.

I've gone to a massage therapist and had the deep tissue spa experience.  And I love it.  But it doesn't solve the long term issue of going back to carrying that stress!

I was offered the opportunity for a session at The Tomo Touch.  I'd not heard of myofascial trigger point therapy so I read a bit about it and realized that it might be exactly what I was looking for.

This is not a spa experience.  This is not about relaxation.  This is about correction and about release.

The first thing I noticed when I entered the office was how welcoming and friendly Tomo is.  And when you learn about her experience and education, you know that she knows what she is talking about and what she is doing.

The first thing we did was talk about what trigger point therapy is and then did some easy movements so she could analyze my posture.  This discussion before the session and then our discussion after my session have given my solid steps to work on to improve how I use my muscles everyday.  For example, I keep my right hip higher than my left and my right shoulder lower than my left.  Which could be part of the strain I feel in my left shoulder/neck.  Ah ha!  Light bulb moment!  After the session, where she detected a lot of stiffness in my ankles and calves, we talked about pronation and how I hold my feet.  I tend to angle my right foot outward when I am standing still and when I walk.  This can add to the hip stiffness I'm experiencing.

The session itself is very comfortable.  You lay on a table.  You don't remove any clothing (except maybe shoes and socks).  She talks to you as she works to make sure that your pain level isn't too high on certain trigger points.  She said people don't generally fall asleep... but I can tell you that I dozed off several times.  She would locate a trigger point and apply pressure and then also move the body part that uses tha tmuscle group.  So if she was working on a point in my neck, she would apply pressure and then also move my head back and forth.

Tomo's primary focus is helping athletes improve their performance and also pain relief.

Tomo's rates are $80 for an hour, $110 for 90 minutes, and $140 for 2 hours.  These rates are very comparable to what I've paid for deep tissue massage at a spa.  The biggest difference is that I left my appointment with Tomo with knowledge on how to make some simple adjustments that could help fix the problems in the long run.  I think that's invaluable!

I do plan to go back.  I am working on getting healthier and commiting myself to regular exercise.  As I wake up these muscle groups that i've been letting go dormant, I think having an expert that can help me make sure I am using the muscles correctly would be of great value.

Go dig around on her website and learn about what she does.  If you just want a couple of hours to relax, maybe a massage is more what you're looking for.  But if you're looking for longer term relief and actually correcting the problem, I highly recommend an appointment at The Tomo Touch.

You can schedule an appointment on her website or you can call 317-306-5122.  

The Tomo Touch is located on Keystone Ave near 62nd St.  I did have trouble finding it because I wasn't looking for a multi-floor office building (in my mind, it was in a strip mall).  It's next to an LA Fitness.

6100 N Keystone Ave #235
Indianapolis, IN 46220


I was provided with 1 free 60 minute session. All opinions are my own - no one told me what to say!

sig jan 2014 photo owlsig.jpg

3 comments:

Tricia said...

I've really been thinking of doing some kind of massage therapy when I am training for races. I'm preparing for a 40-mile Breast Cancer walk right now and have been considering trying something as it gets closer and I start logging a lot of training miles. Thanks for the recommendation!

Amy said...

That's very interesting. How did you feel afterward? Was it painful? Were you sore? Did you notice relief for an extended period of time?

Eternal Lizdom said...

I was a little sore afterwards. I still had soreness the next day or 2. But today, almost a week later, the consistent shoulder/neck pain on my left side isn't there and hasn't been there for several days!

Tomo is very tuned in to your pain reaction. She asks you to tell her the pain scale from 1 to 10, she doesn't want to take you beyond a 6 or 7. She checks in with you often while she works and she is also aware of your body's reaction to her work.