What is referred pain?
Sometimes when a client comes to see us with pain in a particular area, we may treat a completely different area... this is because you are experiencing referred pain
For instance, a ligament sprain in the low back will often cause referred pain down the lateral (outside) of the leg. A torn gluteus medius muscle in the buttock will often refer pain down the leg to the lateral calf. In most cases if we have a client experiencing lower back pain or pain in the buttocks, we will always treat the legs as well
Another instance in which confusion arises is when there is a strain in one or several of the rotator cuff tendons (in the shoulder) this will often refer pain down the arm to the wrist and sometimes right to the tips of the fingers
Because pain patterns from nerve root compressions may overlap the areas to which muscles, tendons and ligaments refer pain, these injuries often cause pain in completely different areas so we will always treat all areas to try and find the main cause of the pain. Various types of massage and other hands-on therapy techniques can be very helpful for muscle, tendon and ligament injuries
so if you come to see us with back and shoulder pain and we treat your legs and arms, you now know why!
