The Prilutsky's Method of silicone jar massage. How it was developed...

Dear friends,

For last 40 years I am practicing and teaching medical and sports massage protocols. Protocols that where developed by scientists for us to learn. Two years ago have started developing my own protocols for silicone jars massage. This techniques are amazing, helping to deliver much more rapid and sustained results. Please click link below, to get familiar with the details of this methodology, as well as to observe some of these techniques. You're welcome to post any questions.

Best Wishes, Boris.

Patient Reported outcomes: Too much of a good thing.

Stretching is a good thing.  It seems.   Yet it all depends.

Several months ago I've gotten a call from a student of mine who is a DPT now.  She asked me to take on a peculiar and difficult case of rotator cuff syndrome.  

She said that for almost a year, the client had constant pain in shoulder joint, severe limitations in range of motions in many planes and angles, that he was through all possible forms of conservative treatment, including physical therapy, chiropractic adjustments, acupuncture,  and different  styles of massage. According to her, I was the last stop before corrective surgery.  She also mentioned that he was a kind of a high profile clients, specifically ex-governor of California Gray Davis.

I agreed.  Ex-governors are also people.  Their pain is just as bad as pain of anybody else.

The client came over and during examination told me his story in more details.  Originally he had moderate pain and limitation in range of motion.  But every new procedure he was subjected to included forcible stretching, after which his pain and limitations became greater and greater, until the pain became constant.  As much as I learned,  Mr. Davis isn't a whiner by nature.  But the constant pain drained him.  He looked tormented.

While examining  the shoulder I discovered that  pain and limitation in range of motion were not uniformed;  in some plains and angles they were greater.  But even the movements that he could do caused lots of pain.     

It became obvious  that the muscles that stabilized and moves shoulder joint didn't work in assembly, and production of energy within this muscles wasn't adequate.    All the rotator cuff and surrounding muscles: Teres minior, latisimos dorsai, pectoralis major, etc  were overstressed, shortened and inflamed.  Muscles that were suppose to stabilize the joint didn't and couldn't  do that, and pain was the protective reaction against the possibility of the joint getting out of socket.

I started to implement  the entire protocol for Rotator  Cuff syndrome, including lymph drainage, fascia mobilization, muscular mobilization  and trigger point discovery and elimination.  After that I started to perform post isometric relaxation for all these groups of muscles and  other muscles that participated in  movement and support of the shoulder joint.   

Post isometric relaxation is also a special kind of stretching, but the kind that could be performed on the muscle with elevated muscle tone and cannot harm it.  To understand the difference between regular stretching and post isometric stretching please click here.  To learn more about  the Rotator Cuff protocol please click here.

Practically within several first treatments it became obvious that this was the right course of actions, because the client started feeling better.  Pain became less severe, range of motion increased the client started to sleep normally.

Today Mr. Davis feels much better; back playing golf.  To view his testimonial please click here

As you can see in case of limitation of range of motion stretching along can increase motions but would contribute to instability of joints.  Joints instability is a precondition for sports related injuries, decreases capability to perform well in sports it and eventually leads to disproportionate  to age development  of osteoarthritis.  For better understanding please click here.

In most cases of normal range of motion when it's produces pain it does means that stretching along shouldn't be applied , but post-isometric relaxation techniques, in order to balance energy within the same muscles, which will correct muscular assembly work, will increase the joints  stability etc.

Today we have to recommend, and teach home programs for self-massage including stretchings. It's difficult to sustain results when client receives treatments only in the office.

Please click this link to my DVD, where I demonstrate post-isometric relaxation techniques on many body parts, and much much more.

As for me, I constantly provide myself with self massage as well as utilize  post- isometric relaxation techniques . Please be advised that relaxation techniques means stretchings. Dr. Karel Lewwit who developed and proposed this techniques, under relaxation meant normalization of muscular resting tone , which is possible when pathological changes within muscles are eliminated. When normalization is completed, one can use stretchings only.

These is great material to use for self-care, and then to learn it and teach your clients.

Patients reported outcome: "In the beginning it helped, but then..."

Massage procedure is about rapid but sustained results. Lately too often I hear from people and healthcare providers who are a source for referrals, statements similar to this: "In the beginning massage therapy helped me and/or to my patient, but then it didn't work and therefore I continue consume/or prescribe painkillers, steroids injections, etc.”

What do massage therapist needs to do in order to achieve sustain results? In order to attain this goal a therapist should view the human body in a holistic way in general, and from massage therapy stand point. For example, to reach sustained results in cases of thoracic outlet syndrome, it isn't enough to adequately address Anterior Scalene Muscle (ASM), trigger points within ASM, cervical and upper back neighboring muscles, but also it is extremely important to address pectoralis minor because pectoralis minor syndrome produces the same symptoms as thoracic outlet syndrome.  In fact, this syndrome can be developed in parallel with thoracic outlet syndrome, as a main contributor to initiation of thoracic outlet syndrome, or as a contributor to clinical picture similar to thoracic outlet syndrome symptoms.

Similarly, when treating rotator cuff syndrome, if  in addition to rotator cuff muscles, latitissimus dorsi, teres minor, deltoid muscles and pectoralis major muscle are not addressed, sometimes, it is difficult to achieve sustain results. 

A few years ago I received a client by the name of Dennis Tinerino. Dennis used to be World famous bodybuilder and power lifter. To view Denis' testimonial please click here.  

He had a chronic pain in the shoulder joint area. Doctors using radiological examination and in accordance with his symptoms diagnosed his condition as severe case of rotator cuff syndrome. Pain was significant at any movement along any axes and plains. Especially significant sharp pain appeared when he tried to abduct or extend the arm in the shoulder joint. During three years, Dennis have received many physical therapy treatments, corticosteroids injections within rotator cuff muscles, other non-steroids oral drugs, all providing temporary relief of pain.

Three weeks prior to visiting my office, he was scheduled for rotator cuff reconstructive surgery. MRI showed some partial tears within rotator cuff muscles and tendons; therefore doctors decided that severe pain is the result, of this partial tears and surgery was the only option.

I asked why corticosteroid injections as well as physical therapy treatment provided temporary relive? His surgeon replied, because corticosteroids used to reduce inflammation. Kind of makes sense, isn't it?

Surely, in addition to other movement in shoulder joint, rotator cuff muscles flex, adduct and medially rotate arm. But all these movements are also the function of pectoralis major. If rotator cuff muscles would be successfully addressed, it would provide relief.  However, if pectoralis major muscle will retain high muscular resting tone, it will be the only question of time when all rotator cuff muscles will re-accumulate tensions, and full painful clinical picture will return.

I have implemented full protocol for rotator cuff syndrome, but additionally performed protocol for pectoralis major muscle. After 4 treatments, we found signs of improvement and surgery was canceled. The results sustained for four years. Altogether I provided Dennis with 15 treatments. He could work out, and arm was fully functional. To get familiar with the DVD description featuring the full rotator cuff protocol please follow this link  

Incidentally, as part of the comprehensive approach to massage therapy it is extremely important to discover all trigger points, as well as to address them adequately. To read scientific review on the subject please follow this link  

So if one reporting that infamous ”in the beginning it helped, but then...” does it really mean that massage didn't work?

Many people take medications all their life while expecting miracles after receiving a few massage treatments.

Return of the symptoms could be not only because not all the components were properly addressed. Many times, people receive too few treatments, and even if they were helpful and changed the clinical picture, it isn't enough to sustain results.

My professor Dembo believed that in order to sustain results, one must receive 15 treatments. Then after one week break, even if no dysfunction or pain will be reported, one have to come back for 15 more treatments.

Having worked with the Soviet Olympic teams, I remember that Olympian athletes, who were in perfectly good health, after rehabilitation, used to receive 15 additional treatments, to sustain results, and to prevent re-injuries. Of course, this is difficult to implement in America considering costs involved. Also this might not be necessary unless your client is a professional competitive athlete. Yet three or five treatments surely are not enough to sustain results.

So we shall educate our clients on the necessity to receive at least 10 to 15 treatments. If the cost involved is too high then clients have to be recommended to do self-massage.  To get familiar with the self-massage please follow this link for free self-massage lessons 

Patients reported outcome: "There Will Be Blood"

It was said that ability of the mind to re-evaluate existing convictions upon acquiring new information is the sign of intellect.  In other words a human being has to always strive to doubt existing authoritative opinions, push the envelope, and get outside the box to be on the winning team of progress.

Unfortunately, the physical implication of this approach is not always cut and dry and often people, accustomed to the black and white mindset, instead of going out of the box attempt to break it.

In one of the online discussion I came across an opinion that doubted the good old scientifically and clinically proven fact, that massage increases arterial blood flow supply to the tissue. Having raised an objection to defend the view that I go by in my daily practice, I offered a scientific explanation on why the studies supporting the idea that “massage therapy disturbing blood supply” are incompetent and why using such study as a reference is invalid.

Oh boy, I was accused of being retrograde, was drowned with buzz words and pepper sprayed with rhapsody of "out of the box" thinking.  

This incident brought to mind a recent case of a patient with severe pain in the left side of lower back.  The patient was a young female, who experienced severe pain at the left side lower back in sitting position or while standing up.

She was referred to our clinic by a physician who was Board Certified in Physical Medicine, and who had been invited to consult the patient when she was hospitalized. Her physician informed me that all necessary tests, including CT and MRI, had found no significant spinal abnormalities.

Yet she endured quite an Odyssey of pain.  She couldn't work and her day-today life was greatly affected.  The patient became depressed, anxious, and mentally exhausted.

In a desperate attempt to help, her primary care physician referred her to the Multidiscipline Pain Management Center in hope of addressing her condition with a combination of acupuncture, chiropractic adjustments and physical therapy. This approach failed and her pain and disability increased. The pain became so intolerable that she was hospitalized.

After an intense flair up her pain management physician recommended surgery of electrodes insertion in the spinal cord to prevent pain stimuli reaching the brain. However, the Pain Management center's psychiatrist insisted that such treatment should be postponed and antipsychotic medications, as well as psychotherapy, should be attempted first.

Patient was practically disabled for four months prior to her visit to our clinic.

These symptoms could have been the result of many different abnormalities, including spinal disorders, muscular syndromes, and abdominal disorders accompanied by adhesions.  By having lower back MRI Drs. excluded spinal disorders and various blood tests excluded significant inner organ disorders that could produce this type of symptoms.

Thinking over her case, because of absence of trigger point in lower back region, I suspected that her problem lies in the abdomen area and decided to start with abdominal massage in order to accelerate venous blood and lymph drainage. These techniques are gentle and always feel pleasant. After a few minutes of applying the drainage techniques she began to cry. My first thought was that my therapy had increased intensity of pain. As I asked her about it, she replied, "No, it didn't increase my pain." At this moment, it was obvious to me that she had released psychological tension and suppressed emotions. This is very common in patients who suffer from intense chronic pain, and such a reaction ignited hope for a successful rehabilitation.

After application of abdominal drainage techniques she reported a significant decrease of pain intensity in lower back region. I asked her to sit up. Since for many months, prior to this treatment, she couldn't sit for 10 minutes experiencing excruciating pain, it was to our great surprise, the pain didn't come back as she sat still for more than 10 minutes. At this moment, my suspicion that her severe back pain was the result of significant venous stasis and lymphedema in the abdominal cavity grew into assurance. Acceleration of venous blood drainage means increase of arterial blood supply. If, God forbid, massage therapy disturbs blood supply, we would make people sick.

In the last 20 years evidence-based medicine was “redirected“ to draw its conclusions from research papers exclusively, disregarding clinical outcome as evidence-based proof. Therefore, ignoring critical evidence, my opponents supported the conclusion that ”massage therapy disturbs blood supply.”

Incidentally, this approach of evidence based medicine recently was denied by FDA. Today, in order for product to be approved, not only research paper is needed, but also patients reported outcome should be positive. Massage therapy is about results or clinical outcome. Any methodology, being it oriental massage therapy or conventional scientifically developed methods, has to be clinically tested as safe and effective. The essence of abdominal massage is to replace large amounts of venous blood in the abdomen area with the fresh arterial blood rich with nutrients and oxygen, thus letting the body to heal itself. Considering that 30 to 35% of all blood supply is delivered to abdominal cavity, it's hard to imagine that massage somehow doesn't increase the flow of arterial blood.  In other words if it weren't for massage than what did it?

When trying to get out of the box, one should remember that this is a considerable mental and spiritual effort, which cannot be undertaken by bluntly undermining everything that was done by the previous generations of exceptional human minds, who, perhaps, also stepped out of their boxes in attaining this knowledge.

To review the full protocol for abdominal/visceral massage please click here.

Please click this link to get familiar with the scientific review of the studies that concluded that ”massage therapy disturbs blood supply”