Pain Relief in a Psuedoscientific Space

This is kind of an oddly specific situation to be in, so bear with me. This post is going to be a bit more of a story time situation.

When I was first diagnosed with fibromyalgia, I tried a lot of different things to try and mitigate my pain. I didn’t tolerate any of the medications we tried and OT/PT only did so much for me because they targeted such specific areas. It put me in a situation where I had to go out and find other things that worked.

I made an entire post on my must-haves for chronic pain, but in that post I focused on things that could be used at home. While all of those things help, they’re only so effective on their own.

Fibromyalgia and Fascia

Fibromyalgia isn’t a very well-understood condition. I’m not saying it’s because it’s more common in women or because the presentation is varied, but those factors definitely play into it. Research is being done that seems to hint that fascia might be the cause of pain for fibromyalgia sufferers. To quote from the abstract of a pubmed article I found, “This may explain why NSAIDs and oral steroids have not been found effective in fibromyalgia. Inflammation and dysfunction of the fascia may lead to central sensitization in fibromyalgia.”

I was walking down a Boston street and saw a place that advertised myofascial release, and went to try it. And it changed my pain management.

Myofascial Release

The fascia is the connective tissue that holds together your muscles. It’s often overlooked and is only recently becoming more understood. The idea of the fascia and how it can cause pain is not pseudoscientific, so I don’t want to give that impression. This is not what this post is about, however, so if you want to know more you can check out this article to do a little more research.

Because this is still new, however, it’s hard to find places that offer it. I found this particularly difficult when I left Boston because of the pandemic.

In Boston, however, I go to get myofascial release (also called assisted stretching) at a place that targets athletes.

And, unfortunately, leant into psuedoscience.

They seem to have gotten better since they first opened, but since I started going there, they’ve hosted Wim Hoff sessions, sold CBD (which is, admittedly, shown to have some benefits in trials though not in every way it’s marketed to), and once I had the person who was working on me bring up that they were anti-vax.

What I’m happy to see is that there has been a shift towards much more scientific modalities within their business. The people who actually provide the myofascial release are trained and educated, and clearly understand anatomy. This is, at the very least, an area in which they do prioritize science.

However, they also offer infrared saunas that have color options they claim will give a different effect.

Post-Pandemic

They seem to have recently realized that a lot of the people they were seeing came to them to recover from injuries or to treat chronic conditions, as they now have a section on their website talking about this. When I first started going there before the pandemic, almost every person who “stretched” me (the language they use) asked how I exercise, which has never really been an option for me. Now, after I’ve told them I have chronic pain and fatigue, they’ve shifted their questions to ask how they can help ease my symptoms instead of centering the conversation around physical activity.

Their employees are also fully vaccinated and they follow strict covid protocols, something I was worried they wouldn’t do when I started going back.

I also can’t help but feel like it’s pretty clear they’ve leant harder into the scientifically backed treatments and away from the psuedoscience they’ve peddled in the past.

Perhaps this is one instance of the pandemic changing something for the better?

All of this to say…

It’s really strange to go to a non-medical facility to get a treatment for a chronic pain condition. I’m so lucky to have found something that helps so much, and that I have access to it.

*UPDATE 08/14/2022

Unfortunately, they closed. Which leaves me without access to these services. I’m searching now for an alternative, but I want to add to this post: this is the risk of finding things that help that aren’t in the medical realm. Things like this are less stable than, say, a physical therapist at a hospital. Sure, the therapist you’re seeing might leave, but it’s not like the whole department is going to shut down.