ABSTRACT
The healing power of touch is probably the oldest treatment method known to mankind. Even so, it is often overlooked in chronic pain management due largely to our Western medical model, where compassionate human touch has been displaced by technology. Massage therapy, or bodywork, refers to hands-on methods which facilitate change within the muscles and fascia that surround them. Pain is the number one complaint of the chronic pain patient. When the chronic pain patient complains of pain, frequently its origin is spasoming or intense contracting of a muscle or groups of muscles. This may occur randomly, often unprovoked. A person may be sitting watching television or waiting for a traffic light to change when suddenly gripped by a cramp-like pain. Pain within the muscles is also related to “trigger points.” They are so called because they trigger a chain reaction in the muscles which results in contractions, spasms, and pain referred to other areas.
