I was educated as a chemist (a lot of my formal education is in that discipline, anyway), and I remember thinking a long time ago that chemistry is life. Well, that orientation has changed; biology is life is more where my head is at now.

I spend so much time these days paying attention to my body (primarily its limitations), that it’s practically laughable. And, here I am trying to learn all I can, as fast as I can, frustrated a lot by mostly having to teach myself.

Of course, I speak of the incredible learning curve I’m experiencing right now regarding myofascial pain. I have an entire new discipline to master as I try to learn all about myofascial trigger points, referred pain, self-massage, and living with a chronic pain condition. The Trigger Point Therapy Workbook is rapidly becoming my bible, from which I do daily readings, guiding my daily practice for health-seeking.

Here is another definition of a trigger point (see also “Survival”): “a highly irritable localized spot of exquisite tenderness in a nodule in a palpable taut band of muscle tissue” (Davies & Davies, p. 19)…which they elaborate on by saying “a trigger point hurts like the devil when you push on it.” There are apparently several methods available for relieving trigger points (and the pain that can subsequently be referred to other parts of the body), some of which require the services of a professional (a savvy doctor or physical therapist, for example); there are other methods one can pursue independently. I have a doctor, of course, who diagnosed this condition for me, but in the time I have before my next appointment, I’ve been studying up and attempting to start a regimen of self-care that includes locating and massaging the trigger points responsible for my pain. This is requiring a lot of time with the trigger-point reference manual, trying to identify muscle groups with which I have limited familiarity, probing my body, and struggling to locate my trigger points so that I may massage them. (This is turning out to be a non-trivial task!)

At any rate, I have intensely steep learning curves both at my new job and in the health area of my life. This is incredibly tiring, but I guess it’s merely playing out the hand I’ve been dealt right now.