Fibro knots

[JayCS]

hand held massager

Ah, excellent, thank you! I'd put mine aside for a few weeks and forgotten to mention it, even forgotten to use it myself as some local pains had come up again. Never had knots, but can well imagine it helping.

 

[Andi]

I get these knots from time to time. Didnt know the term until now. They pop up in my back, neck and even my thighs (feels like a permanent charlie horse). The only remedy that has worked for me is a really hot bath, soaking for at least 20 minutes to help loosen the muscle and relax. Followed by a really deep massage. This part will bring me to tears but worth it to get my mobility back. Lastly, ice the area because it will be very sore after the massage. Doctor has prescribed muscle relaxers. I don’t care for them due to fatigue but I’ll admit they do help me get back to “normal” faster.

Before my fibro diagnosis I was trying everything. My acupuncturist had done gua sha. I went about 6 months without a knot;however, the treatment was rather excruciating so never went back for another.

 

[JayCS]

gua sha

Hi again Andi -
sounds like you've already been trying a lot of stuff, good or brave.
Gua sha: Wow - the bloody version? I do it gently over and under my eyes if they are too dry. But I saw what "real" gua sha looks like on youtube! Looks excruciating indeed.
On the other hand I also feared real Chinese acupuncture with thicker needles and a bit of blood would harm me more than Western type, but it turns out it is helpful and harms me less, just some of the pricks hurt a bit, but once they're in they hurt me much less than the thin needles. In sessions where they don't hurt at all it seems it has the best effect.
She also cupped my back afterwards, but that didn't work well, so now after the 22 needles in my front I get around 24 next to my spine, which made quite some difference.
My problem with the acupuncture is that I get too much cortisol, so I have to balance it out better with GABA and sleep.
Really hot bath and then ice - ooh, that'd be similarly excruciating to me. Any baths longer than 3-4' are a pain. And high or low temperature longer than that also. But 1' cold showers are a godsend to me.
Don't know how much you've experimented with supps, but your mentioning muscle relaxers reminds me of my general successes with the amino acid & neurotransmitter GABA for muscle relaxation. That's advanced guinea pig science tho....

 

[Andi]

I don’t think brave, just desperate.

As far as my acupuncturist she was the real deal, not westernized. So in gua sha she used the backside of a spoon and would drag it down my back. The idea is the draw the blood to the surface to promote healing. So basically my entire back looked like a giant bruise. Again, I can’t say it didn’t work, just not for me as I’m very sensitive to touch.

The temperature doesn’t bother me as much, although I have over heated in the bath before. Honestly I didn’t relate to fibro

Thing is, I’ve been diagnosed less than a year so there’s a lot I’m still trying to figure out. Definitely going to try and research a lot of what you and others have posted. When it comes to these knots that are no joke I’d try just about anything.