Pain is a message, a warning signal from the body to the brain in regards to damaged tissue.   If you put your hand on a hot stove top, your brain moves your hand away very quickly.  Pain dominates our nervous system, it captures our focus, making it hard to do anything when in pain.  People living with pain are more likely to experience fatigue, missed work and decreased quality of life.  Research shows chronic pain sufferers are more likely to experience depression.  Pain can be looked at as a form of physical stress on the body.

Moyer Total Wellness is known as the top spot in Denver to get massages.  We have built a great local reputation for delivering effective massage therapy for pain relief.   We were able to accomplish that because we use evidence-based guidelines, based upon research protocols from the American Medical Association (AMA).  Most of our new clients come to us with the initial complaint of, “I have pain” in some part of their body.

Every staff member has been trained in a 4-step pain protocol, developed by Dr. Moyer, from the AMA research guidelines.  Whether you see a massage therapist, chiropractor, or acupuncturist at MTW, the 4-step protocol will be used to minimize your pain.

The 4-Step Pain Protocol

• Lengthen tissues (muscles) that have become short
• Mobilize joints that aren’t moving properly
• Remove the knots (trigger points) from the area
• Strengthen the tissues that have become weak

Physical stress on the body creates pain.  These pain signals are sent to the brain to cause a change of action, in the hopes of stopping the damage being done to the body.  They can’t be ignored.  When the body is in pain, it is stressed.  This stress must be dealt with so the body can heal.  You can not heal a burn while your hand is still on the stove.

If your pain is caused by spraining your ankle while playing basketball, you must stop playing basketball.  If your pain is caused by the strain of sitting at a computer, you must make a change.  You might sit with better posture, get a standing desk, or exercise in a way to counterbalance the sitting posture.  Do you know what is causing your pain?  Do you know how to change?

The “5th Step”

The therapists at Moyer Total Wellness are trained at finding damaged tissue and providing therapy to help remove the barriers to healing.   But only you can heal yourself.  Once the cause of the pain is identified, and the damaged tissues are treated, the body can begin to heal, as long as it is no longer under stress.  This is called rest.

Rest is when our parasympathetic nervous system takes over our body and repairs the damaged tissue.  This is also why massage therapy is so effective.  They are very relaxing.  Massages allow our body to rest.  We often refer to this as the 5^th step.  This is really what we aim for at Moyer Total Wellness.  When our therapists explain what is causing your pain and provide the appropriate therapy to remove the barriers to healing, this allows the person to rest and begin the healing process.

4 Week to Body Wellness

If you have pain in your body and haven’t tried Moyer Total Wellness yet, check out some of our programs.  Many new clients start with the 4 Weeks to Body Wellness Program.

This program consists of 12 visits over the course of 4 weeks.  Clients will see therapists that are skilled in all aspects of the 4-Step Protocol.  The 4 Week program starts with a Healthy Living Consultation with Dr. Moyer.  During this session, the causes of your pain will be identified and a plan is put into place on how to change your lifestyle, or everything you can do outside of our office to get out of pain, heal the body, and live a wellness lifestyle.  Aspects of hydration, nutrition, fitness and rest are specifically discussed.

Photo Credit

Canva by Albina Gavrilovic

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