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About Julie Donnelly, LMT
Expertise
I can accept questions that relate to chronic or acute pain caused by muscle spasms and contractions. Repetitive Strain Injury is actually Cumulative Trauma to muscles. Releasing the spasm &/or contraction will relieve the strain that is felt at the insertion point on the bone.

Experience

Past/Present clients
Privacy prevents me from filling in this section without prior consent from my clients.
Life Experience: I began to get interested in the treatment of muscle spasms and contractions while I lived in Honolulu, HI. A sailing friend had severe pain following raceing each week. He would lie on the grass, bearly able to breathe from the pain in his back. I would rub his back, feeling "bumps" that I would "smooth out", and his pain would completely go away. This intrigued me, until I eventually went to school to learn how to be a Massage Therapist. I went to work on a cruise ship and had the experience of working on approximately 3000 people in one year - a great opportunity to really feel muscle spasms and contractions! I concentrated on thoroughtly learning one muscle every day, locating it on each client, and feeling "what hurts & what doesn't hurt". A six month stay in St. Thomas, USVI, was beneficial because I worked with an Osteopath who taught me excellent release techniques that I still use. Next I moved to Hawaii and worked in a clinic that only treated chronic pain patients. It was in Hawaii that I wrote my first book "Massage Therapy Healing Techniques Workbook". It was written for massage therapists and was a compilation of treatments for very specific painful conditions. The book was revised in 1996 and a companion video was added at that time. In 1995 I suffered with Frozen Shoulder - an incredibly painful condition. I was told I'd never be able to regain full range-of-motion in my shoulder. I did deep muscle therapy on myself, while a friend work where I couldn't reach. The condition healed 100%. In 1997 I developed carpal tunnel syndrome that put me out of business. Surgery was recommended, I refused because of my awareness that scar tissue from the surgery could be more detrimental than carpal tunnel syndrome. Using the knowledge I had gained through the years, especially what I had learned through the Frozen Shoulder episode, enabled me to work out what was REALLY causing the carpal tunnel condition. I worked each affected muscle, and eventually regained 100% use of my hand, completely pain free. I quickly began to treat my clients using this new knowledge, and soon afterward began teaching them how to do the self-treatment techniques. It worked everytime, except a person had already had surgery! I began clinical trials at a medical facility, where I still teach the techniques with incredible success. In 1999 Zev Cohen, MD, who was working with me developing the carpal tunnel treatment, joined me in the business. We wanted to bring this effective technique to the world, not limited to only our town. In 2000 I published my second book "How To Be Pain-less...A Beginner's Guide To The Self Treatment of Muscle Spasms". In this book, using 114 photographs, I show how to self-treat muscles throughout the body. In the summer of 2000, Dr. Cohen and I produced an instructional video teaching the carpal tunnel self treatment, and in March 2001 we opened a web site (www.aboutcts.com) to teach people about the muscular component of carpal tunnel syndrome, and to share the self-treatment system with the public.

You are here: Experts > Health/Fitness > Medical & Health Issues > Repetitive Strain Injury > Hip Flexor

Repetitive Strain Injury - Hip Flexor

Expert: Julie Donnelly, LMT - 11/4/2009

Question
Hi!

I was doing an explosive dance move a few hours ago and hurt my hip flexor. I didn't feel anything snap but it was instant I could hardly walk right after. Now it is incredibly painful, I can't lie down, my lower back on the side of the hip flexor pain is probably even more sore than my hip flexor and I am wondering if I have seriously injured myself or should it recover itself? What should I be doing other than rice?

Thanks

Answer
HI Kaitlyn,

I gather that you dance a lot, am I right? Very active dancing is as strenuous on your body as any endurance sport. Dancing is definitely a repetitive strain on your muscles and it's very possible that one muscle was so tight that when you made the move it tore. The degree of the tear will decide how this needs to be treated. Did you go for an MRI since the accident?

It has been a few days and I apologize for the delay in my response. How is it feeling now? There is a wonderful homeopathic remedy called arnica gel that is excellent for bruised muscles, pain and swelling. Homeopathy has been safely used for about 200 years, and there has never been a negative reaction to homeopathy. You can find arnica in a good health food store. Rub the gel all over the area, and you may also want to get the tiny pills with arnica on them so you can put them under your tongue and get arnica into your blood stream so it can heal the muscle from the inside.

If you go to http://www.julstro.com you can read about repetitive strain injuries, also look at the sections titled "Muscles and Pain" and "What's Happening Exactly." You may also want to go to the forum on the website and look for any threads about hip pain.

If you are still in pain after these 3 days, I strongly suggest you get the MRI to rule out anything serious, then we can start to really deal with the muscles involved.

Wishing you well,
Julie Donnelly

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