Releive Aches & Pains without Drugs (Repetitive Muscle Stress)
Author: Elziabeth Barhydt, Ph.D & Hamilton (Hap) Barhydt, Ph.D

Repetitive Muscle Stress (or RMS for short) is turning out to be a major problem of the budding 1990's. This is being triggered by the rapidly increasing computer key board usage, causing such problems as numb fingers, painfully stiff wrists (often diagnosed as "carpal tunnel syndrome"), stiff and sore shoulders, back, etc.

Another common term used for these conditions is Repetitive Stress Injury or RSI. We prefer to use the term Repetitive Muscle Stress or RMS because it focuses on the underlying causative factor rather than on the symptoms.

Actually RMS has been around for a long time. Ask the beauticians who can't hold their arms up at the end of the day or comb their own hair or brush their teeth. Or ask the grocery checkout clerk who can't put on a pullover sweater. Or ask the meat and poultry packers who find themselves in such pain that they are unable to continue working and find themselves on disability unemployment. Or ask the dentist who works limited or half days because his arms and wrists go weak when he works too long. The list goes on and on.

Most efforts to reduce the effects of RMS center around reducing the repetitive activity impact. These efforts include "optimal" work-station design, braces and splints, frequent rest periods, and job rotation. They all do help to reduce RMS but often at a cost of significant loss in productivity.

However, the bottom line is restoring the loss in muscle balance and strength triggered by the repetitive activities.
Major factors in RMS are Reactive and Frozen Muscles.

In a typical repetitive activity, certain muscles soon tire. As the activity is continued the muscle tone, or energy level, is altered to compensate. Gradually more and more reactive muscle interactions are set up. A reactive muscle is a muscle that weakens, when another muscle is activated. Often the person has the feeling of getting weaker and weaker as they continue to attempt to perform an activity, while other parts of their body tighten up.

In the case of stiff or painful wrists, with the degradation of the muscle balance in the arms due to the repetitive activity, the wrist structure, including the carpal tunnel, is no longer properly supported by the musculature, and the integrity of the carpal tunnel collapses resulting in irritation of the nerves and tendons passing through it.

Correcting the muscle imbalances immediately relieves the stress on the wrist structure, allowing it to return to normal. Typically much of the pain and stiffness disappears almost immediately, and most of the rest disappears in 12 to 24 hours as the injured tissues quickly heal once the stress is removed.

We have been helping people with RMS for over 20 years. Until we discovered the Basic Balance routines in 1988, such balancing required considerable skill and time because the layers of specific reactive and frozen muscle combinations needed to be identified and balanced in priority order. Now the Basic Balance routines eliminate the need to identify the specific muscles involved, making it easier for the therapist to achieve effective results quickly and opening the door to simple self-help routines.

The do-it-yourself aspect of our Basic Balance exercises makes it possible for workers to do this balancing on the job without the assistance of a muscle balancing therapist. The exercises can be done beforehand, or on the job, or afterwards.

We use our Basic Balance exercises routinely to keep our bodies pain free and in top operating shape. We can also
help other people on the run without the need of massage tables and extensive muscle testing.

RMS is also a factor in many athletic activities. We have seen these balancing exercises improve basket ball, golfing, hiking, and aerobic exercise performance and would expect significant improvement in most other athletic and dance activities. Combining RMS corrections with various brain integration exercises can often improve the ease of use and effectiveness of these exercises.

These unique exercises, developed by us from the principles of Touch for Health, are described and taught in our books, classes and lectures.








--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The Barhydts have for years been the originators of simple, yet profound self-help techniques to move people through learning disability, chronic pain and stress.

web-site: http://www.lovinglife.org

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------