Chronic Pain and Massage

Breaking the Cycle
      Few things are as distressing as chronic pain. It saps your energy and takes an emotional toll. Overtime, pain can become a vicious cycle with a life of its own, sometimes persisting even after the original cause is resolved.
      Massage is one of the most overlooked, yet accessible supportive measures you can seek for chronic pain. Dr. Ronald Malzack, a pioneer of modern pain research, introduces his own discussion of massage and pain with these words:
      "Almost all societies (use) mechanical pressure… to relieve pain… There is not one of us who does not … stretch and aching back or rub an area that hurts. These are our own, almost instinctive, maneuvers which have developed into various anti-pain procedures."