By Derrick Brantley
•
30 Oct, 2023
Greetings Friends, . Enbalance Bodywork is always doing well this time of year. We get new clients, snowbirds, repeat visitors, you name it. It is always a pleasure to meet new people and to have new challenges. I am constantly challenged to better my skill set as a therapist to help as many people as possible. I cannot cure everything, but I will do everything I can to alleviate pain. This month I wanted to talk about compartment syndrome. This can be an acute or chronic condition that affects many people but affects long distance runners the most. Basically, this condition is soft tissue compression of the calf area. If blood flow gets restricted in an acute case, this is a medical emergency. Patients will wake up in the middle of the night with excruciating pain in one or both legs if they are that unfortunate. Blood flow is restricted to the point where they can lose the leg altogether. This requires a procedure known as a fasciotomy where incisions are made through the connective tissue to alleviate pressure and restore blood flow. In nearly a decade of doing bodywork I have only seen this once (post-surgery). Most people have the chronic version of this which is tightness in the calf and pain with stretching. A constant ache is the most common symptom. Fortunately, this is extremely easy for a therapist at Enbalance to treat. A few sessions clears it up and rarely does it return. This also can contribute to the dreaded plantar fasciitis diagnosis since it can pull along the same back line that connects the calf to the foot. I hope this does not worry you, many of these painful conditions you read about can be alleviated at Enbalance. Hospital visits are rarely necessary. On a lighter note, I have had some great successes this month including. Helped a client with an aneurysm get relief from headaches Cured 2 cases of Plantar Fasciitis Assisted an athlete training for a marathon Helped a client with systemic Osteoarthritis get relief Assisted a manual labor worker with nerve compression in his back be able to get up by himself Resolved a case of frozen shoulder This month has been challenging for sure with the cases I have been seeing. I am so glad that the word is getting out. The more people I can help the better our community can be. Be well and see you all next month, Derrick