Pain isn’t simply something we need to relieve with medicine, it is a symptom of something gone wrong in our bodies.   Often, the spot where the pain is will not be the area where the problem actually lies. From years of working on bodies and training people, I know that it’s important never to jump to conclusions. Rather, its better to play detective before I do anything.

I got a call not too long ago from a friend. She said, ” Val will you work on my dad? He was walking my dog and she pulled on him I think his back is sprained.”

I  knew her Dad, but hadn’t worked on him in a long time. Never the less, I agreed to evaluate and see what I could find.

I noticed he was thinner than the last time I saw him. I asked if he had diagnostics done and he answered yes and that nothing was out of ordinary. He didn’t say he fell or remembered doing anything specific but it started hurting after his walk.

I gave him a gentle massage session mostly exploring and asking the body what’s going on. I felt like there was more to the story and his muscles weren’t talking. I kept thinking spine spine..

I asked him to go back to his doctor take another scan or x-ray further down his spine.

The diagnosis was a type of leukemia that grew in his bone marrow in his spine. The tumour ruptured his disc from the inside. 

He received good care and lived for a few more years. I was so grateful I didn’t do much work on him..what if I had put pressure in a vulnerable area and he ended up paralyzed?

Believe it or not this type of thing has happened more than one time in my thirty-two year career.

As much as it’s important to keep learning massage technique it also important to turn on your tuning in meter.

Ask the body.. what do you need? You’ll receive a feeling or a flash of a picture that will clue you in. Don’t just ignore what your body tries to tell you.

Valentina Boonstra

Valhealing