Weird Remission---Reiki--Anyone else with Alternative Weird Pain Relief Stories?

General General TN & GPN (Old Site)
1

OK -- I know you all don't know me - I'm pretty open minded - but this was beyond belief

I'm also under a lot of stress --- shoulders, neck etc. -- The tension since making my MVD appt. has been huge.... raised my clonazapam dose!

I volunteer at a Hospice House and saw that there were free Reiki sessions for volunteers and staff -- I thought this was a gentle massage.

I explained to the lady that I've had soooo much stress in my body that I'm gonna end up in a fetal position stuck that way : )

She said some stuff about the practice but I just wanted to chill, relax, and escape my pre-MVD stress. I didn't care what she did to me at that point.

I meant to wear a pain patch as I do about 12 hours a day since lowering trileptal- but forgot it cause I slept late and had no strikes yet in early afternoon

She started by barely touching my forehead with very hot hands -- Indian flute playing in the background, me starting to relax on the table --- she moves to points down my body, belly, arms, calves, feet

She warned me that I could feel anything from joy to crying - never know what is released.

After she did my feet, and went back to my forehead, I felt a cramping shooting pain in my little toe and the outside of my foot -- I winced but kept my eyes closed -- I was trying to stay relaxed, but this wasn't a foot cramp or anything I have felt before--- something was electrically - like TN shooting out my foot!!! I asked if that was normal -- and she said ther is no normal for Reiki outcomes. She invited me to her studio to come once more before MVD.

That was Wed. at 2 I have been pain free until 2am Sunday --- except for 4 little jolts earlier today. I know I'm not cured -- I know it will come back -- It was not religious -- or I would not have done it....

How can this BE? I know I should be just grateful - and I emailed her -- but I always am curious as to why some things happen.....

Kimberly in KC

2

Reike is one of the so-called "alternative" therapeutic treatments for life stress that has become so habitual that the body develops consistent muscle tension reactive patterns to the stress. Rolfing is another, somewhat closely related. I believe both are touched upon in the book "Striking Back -- The Trigeminal Neuralgia Handbook", available on Amazon. Also related are the massage techniques of Kundelini Yoga and accupressure, which it sounds to me as if the Reiki therapist may have used.

As a youth, I worked one summer as a trainers' assistant at a sports gym frequented by low-ranked boxers. Under supervision of a licensed massage therapist, I used some of the techniques of Reiki and Rolfing to release muscle spasms, strains and cramps in boxers who had often had multiple injuries over a period of years. From that experience, I can confirm that there are indeed mechanisms of connection between the body systems and the mind, which sometimes call up quite remarkable emotional recall in response to deep tissue manipulation. One guy that I worked on sat bolt upright on the massage table and related having just remembered a childhood incident of physical abuse by his father. I suspect that connections that strong are on the rare side, but they do happen, and have been the basis of at least one school of psychotherapy.

For TN patients, these techniques appear to be among those which are useful for "some people, some of the time". Anything which assists you to release emotional distress and tension will be constructive over time in managing your pain better. The endorphin system helps to regulate pain sensitivity, rather like adrenalin but for longer periods -- and light exercise is frequently useful in promoting the endorphins.

I have no idea what the electric shock feeling may have been in your foot. Your Reiki therapist probably didn't either.

Go in Peace and Power


Red Lawhern, Ph.D.

Resident Research Analyst, LwTN

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Red, when I had my first root canal the whole area in the front of my face lit up in pain. That night a memory came back from my childhood that I got hit in the face with another kid’s head whilst playing RED ROVER. So the body…would seem remembers the pain, and then triggers the memory. It was so vague at first, I thought maybe it happened to my sister or something, then the memory came back full force. Weird. Min

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It is said with some justice that the body forgets nothing, even though the emotions (or for some people, "spirit") manage it all for us, to keep life from becoming overwhelming. There have been some fascinating experiments with deep brain stimulation and early childhood memory.

I'm off for Germany this afternoon. See y'all in three weeks. I may look in occasionally while we're on vacation, but I wouldn't bet on regularly... {:-)

Go in Peace and Power

Red