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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 > Inner bicep pain from climbing

Repetitive Strain Injury - Inner bicep pain from climbing

Expert: Julie Donnelly, LMT - 11/6/2009

Question
Hello, I read this question and response, and I have the exact same problem from gym bouldering..how can I go about self treating this problem? Thank you!

Question
Hi Julie,

This is the first time I have emailed you and Im hoping for some help. I suffer from extreme pain and numbness in my bicep with activity. I play tennis quite a bit, well not enough because of my arm, but the pain can come if I dont get at least 3 days rest between each match. A match will last 2 hours at the most. I have had this pain for a number of years and I have visited Dr's and he tried a steroid which didnt work. Ive tried topical cream such as capzation and also went to therapy for 2 months but nothing has worked.

The pain will start with a mild ache in my inner bicep area. It will gradually move out towards my outer bicep area and soon it will become numb and very painful. My arm will actually shake with pain. In regards to movement it can come from an overhead service in tennis if I dig into the ground with a shovel or pull on something that might be difficult to dislodge. Also I feel pain in my inner bicep area when I snap my seatbelt.

For up to 36 hours after the severe pain my upper arm will feel achy and everyonce in a while I will feel it twitch around my inner bicep area.

Any suggestions would be appreciated?

Thanks!

Answer
Hi Bryan,

I can "see" exactly where you are describing and it absolutely makes sense. You have a trigger point in the biceps that is crossing over the median nerve to your arm and hand. Plus, this trigger point will cause pain in the upper arm and the elbow. Before we go further, it will help if you go to http://www.julstro.com and read the section titled "Muscles and Pain," and "What's Happening Exactly." This will give you some background on repetitive strain injuries and why they cause widespread pain.

One thing I'm positive about is that you will be able to self-treat this problem, I've worked with thousands of people all over the world and I know that you can make this spasm stop.

After you have read the sections, feel free to come back and we can talk about how to treat this trigger point. It's easy and very effective.

Wishing you well,
Julie Donnelly

Answer
Hi Jimmy,

Did you go to my website, http://www.julstro.com and read about repetitive strain injuries? The forum on that website has many threads about bicep and elbow pain. I have a book where I teach people how to treat all of the muscles in their body, including the biceps. It's so easy to do, you just apply direct pressure to the spasm and then open your arm to stretch the fibers.

You'll understand better as you read the website, it's really interesting and the forum is wonderful because there are postings from people all over the world who have had severe pain and we walked through it until they were better.

I hope to see you there.

Wishing you well,
Julie Donnelly

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