Albino Buscemi LMT
owner of
European Therapeutic Massage Center

What Causes Pain

Most soft tissue injury are caused by muscles and tendons that are shortened. When a person has a short tight muscle, the result is a lack of circulation, resulting in inflammation. People become stiff and sore for numerous reasons. It can be from:


When a muscle shortens, circulation is restricted and toxins cannot be removed. This causes the muscle to become sore (inflamed). A person may experience stiffness in the muscles and joints as well. If nothing is done to lengthen that muscle, it continues to tighten. Once a muscle becomes short and tight, it is losing its memory of a normal relaxing state. Then that muscle is more prone to injury. No healing will ever take place in the human body when circulation is restricted. We are working with the most complicated material in the world…the human being.

That's why we say it is imperative to stretch to restore circulation and the muscle memory so that lactic acid (or toxins) can be flushed out.

Your muscles are designed to move. If you don't move, muscles lose the relaxation state and they will get short and tight.

If a person doesn't do anything … doesn't walk, doesn't move, just sits in front of a computer or in an easy chair, muscles continue to shorten and then one day the person will be in pain. That's why it is necessary to stretch and to move the muscles (walking, swimming, biking, practicing yoga or anything to create movement!) to help circulate the nutrients inside the body.
A WARNING!
Before you start an extensive workout program, be sure that your muscles are stretched … because tight muscles are prone to injury.

The purpose of therapeutic massage is to restore circulation and bring nutrients to the muscles. A prime example of recognizing the value of massage to restore function in muscles can be seen in the space program. Cosmonauts after space travel, as part of their post space travel therapy, get regular massage to restore circulation and remove toxins. In space the muscles begin to atrophy because they do not work against a resistance. This same thing can happen also to people who are immobile or remain in bed for a long time… the circulation is poor and the muscles become weak.

That's why we say that therapeutic massage is not a luxury, it is a necessity in order to maintain a healthy body. It brings fresh blood flow, nutrients and oxygen to the muscles and the body while removing toxins.

What is the difference between a sports injury and repetitive motion injury? A sports injury is most often an acute injury. For example, if an athlete has tight quadriceps muscles (front thigh) on one side, a quick action in running will put tension on already contracted muscles and a strain or sprain may occur. Initial therapy involves a more gentle removal of the toxins (inflammation) before a deeper tissue therapy, combined with stretching, can be utilized in order to rehabilitate the muscles.

A repetitive motion injury occurs over a longer time. Carpal tunnel syndrome or tennis elbow are examples of a repetitive motion injury. Over months, sometimes year, muscles continue to tighten because of overuse and non-stretching. Then one day the muscles become so contracted (blood flow is restricted to the muscle) that a painful condition results. At that point, the person is in pain!

An example of Repetitive Motion Injury

Carpal Tunnel Syndrome


Let's take a look at carpal tunnel which is a repetitive motion injury. Why do people get carpal tunnel? There is only a limited amount of room in the carpal tunnel, but there are 9 tendons and the medial nerve which run through this tunnel. So when the tendons swell due to repetitive use because the muscles have shortened, there is a nerve entrapment in the tunnel!

A person experiences tingling in the hands or sometimes pain.

You cannot take a drug to heal this condition. Drugs only mask the problem. The body can heal itself in most cases with help, by releasing and stretching the tight muscles. Surgery is often not a successful option because cutting the tissue will only make the muscle tighten up even more and because surgery leaves scar tissue and adhesions which form when any sort of invasive surgery is done to the body.

To be free of carpal tunnel, what can you do? You must lengthen the muscles in the arm, so that the tendons are relaxed and will not compress the medial nerve. The secret to reversing carpal tunnel syndrome is really to restore circulation by releasing and lengthening the muscles in the arm so that they won't shorten the tendons and entrap the medial nerve. The tingling in the hands is due to a lack of circulation and to the nerve being constricted. Release the muscles, relax the tendons and the pain is gone and the tingling stops. And that's where we can help you!

Is this Repetitive Motion Injury Therapy effective and long lasting? Absolutely! But it is the responsibility of the client to continue a daily stretching program in order to maintain muscle memory, to keep the muscles in a relaxed state and to be pain-free. Doing a once-a-day simple stretching program will help keep the muscles lengthened and prevent further entrapment of the medial nerve. We teach all our clients how to stretch the muscles which are creating the problem and causing painful conditions.

I look forward to helping you be free of pain!

Albino Buscemi, LMT & Owner

European Therapeutic Massage Center