Love at First Touch – Massaging Away Pain
I never expected a simple trip to buy vegetables to change my life, but it did. I met Maria Fernandez at the Santa Cruz Farmer’s Market where she was offering five-minute massages. My body hurt that day, as it always did. Figuring I had nothing to lose, I stood in line, then when it was my turn, climbed on to her table. The instant Maria’s hands touched my body, I relaxed. When my allotted five minutes were up, I didn’t want her to stop so I asked her to explain what she was doing. That’s when she told me about the Hendrickson Method.
I’d been to many chiropractors and massage therapists by this time, but I’d never heard of this method. When I looked it up online, the official website described it as “an advanced system of massage and manual therapy that is profoundly relaxing to receive, effortless to perform, and an efficient and effective treatment for acute and chronic pain.”
Rheumatoid Arthritis
Acute and chronic pain. Yup, that’s me. Since age 40 I’ve lived with rheumatoid arthritis, a chronic inflammatory disorder that affects the lining of my joints, causing a painful swelling that leads to bone erosion and joint deformity. RA is an autoimmune disorder. It occurs when the immune system mistakenly attacks the body’s tissues. My condition is relatively well-managed with a weekly dose of methotrexate, a very old remedy that works wonderfully for some people but not at all for others. I would wake up stiff in the morning, and my wrists and ankles, elbows, and shoulders ached, but by 10 or 11 a.m. I usually functioned pretty well.
Polymyalgia Rheumatica
Or, I did, until I was also hit with PMR, Polymyalgia Rheumatica. This is another immune disorder that causes muscle pain and stiffness, especially in the shoulders and hips. PMR attacks older people, usually those over 65. It hurts. A lot.
PMR restricted my movements to the point where I was unable to raise my arms to turn off the alarm in the morning, or to brush my hair or teeth. The pain in my hips was so severe I had to stop attending my exercise class. I couldn’t even walk around the block.
Physicians typically prescribe corticosteroids to reduce the inflammation and pain caused by PMR. I had been taking prednisone for two years when I met Maria. Side effects of prednisone include weight gain, thinning skin leading to bruising, low blood pressure, and difficulty sleeping. I’d experienced all of them. I had been trying for months to taper off the drug, but it wasn’t going well. Each time I reduced the prednisone by a milligram or two, the pain would slam into me, and I would give up and increase the dosage again.
I had been trying to get from fifteen milligrams to 0 for six months, and I felt like a drug addict.
Maria and the Hendrickson Method
This is where I was when I met Maria. After our brief session, when she said she thought she could help with my joint pain and muscle soreness, I felt a glimmer of hope.
I decided to give Maria’s Hendrickson method a try. After our first one-hour session, she told me she would help me reduce my prednisone dosage by working on withdrawal symptoms and flareups as they came. We began with weekly sessions, then every two weeks, then once a month.
Maria studied both of my conditions, talked with me about diet and exercise, and attended workshops to find new therapies to incorporate into her bodywork practice. We worked as a team.
Before the Covid pandemic, Maria began each session by taking out her notes from previous sessions, and asking me how I had been feeling in the previous week or two. She kept track of all the analgesics I was taking, as well as my current prednisone dose. She was compassionate and kind, and never rushed me.
An Improvement I’d not anticipated.
Sometimes she asked me to stand or walk and study my posture and gait. Then she helped me onto the table and laid her hands on my back for a few moments. She began her treatment with a gentle massage stroke called wave mobilization, based on essential Tai Chi principles of energy healing. As she moved from one quadrant of my body to another, I could feel my muscles relax, my pain lose its grip, and my general well-being return.
When she encountered a painful joint, Maria moved to a muscle energy technique that addressed the nervous system. She would ask me to actively resist gentle, strategic applications of pressure then would move on. I always found it amazing that when she returned to that joint later, it no longer hurt. A year later, I was down to two milligrams of prednisone and my monthly visits continued to be the highlight of my life.
Maria is skilled in the use of aromatherapy, cannabis salves and oils, and several other healing arts I haven’t learned the name of yet. One day when I texted her asking to move my appointment up by a week because I’d overdone it in the garden. She texted back that she was out of state attending a workshop. “But I’ll include you in my healing meditation this afternoon, and send healing thoughts your way,” she texted. Just the thought that she cared enough to answer my text and to keep me in her thoughts helped me to relax, which eased my pain.
If an injury or chronic pain interferes with your sleep, the enjoyment of your life, or your ability to work, especially if you are using analgesics or stronger pain medications to cope, I encourage you to explore alternative therapies such as chiropractic, acupuncture, yoga, and massage. And definitely check out the Hendrickson method. Somewhere out there is the right therapy and the right therapist for you.
Maria has transformed my life. Even now, when we are both confined to our homes, my pain levels are lower than they have been in years, and I’ve reduced the prednisone to one milligram every other day. I look forward to resuming our sessions, but meanwhile, my pain levels are lower than they have been in years. I am still reaping the benefits of a skilled Hendrickson therapist and this unique therapy.
I am excited to announce that my memoir about living off the grid is now available on Amazon and Barnes and Noble. Amazon is selling paperback and Kindle editions. Barnes and Noble has hardcover, paperback, and Nook editions. You can order autographed copies from the publisher, Paper Angel Press.
Marlene Bumgarner moved to the California coast when her first grandchild was born. The author of The Book of Whole Grains, Organic Cooking for (not-so-organic) Mothers, and Working with School Age Children, she has also written a memoir about raising children, animals, and vegetables on a rural plot of land in the 1970s.
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Thanks so much Marlene. I am glad I am part of your circle francine
I am glad also, Francine.
This brightened my morning just knowing that you are not experiencing so much debilitating pain. I’m so happy that you found Maria and I hope you can get back to having her massages very soon.
Thank you, Kate.