Winning Hands Massage

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Treatment Work - Conditions

Fibromyalgia

Controversy is still rampant among Western Allopathic doctors as to whether it is even a legitimate condition. While legitimacy is more widely accepted today than a few years ago, it is still possible to encounter Doctors who consider it a “garbage diagnosis.”

The first thing that needs to be understood about Fibromyalgia is that no true “clinical” tests exist to determine if someone does or does not have FMS. Diagnosis is by observation of symptoms and pain patterns. Specifically, pain must be present in all four quadrants of the body (not just one or two) and that a minimum of 12 out of 18 specific “diagnostic points” are tender to the touch. Pain in fewer than four quadrants or tenderness in fewer than 12 of the points is generally considered negative for FMS.

Secondly, there is neither a known cause nor a known cure. A variety of “triggers” that set off “fibro flares” have been identified, but the underlying cause has not. And triggers vary from person to person.

The four best books I have found on the subject are “Fibromyalgia & Chronic Myofascial Pain Syndrome – A Survival Manual” by Deven Starlanyl and Mary Ellen Copeland, “Fibromyalgia and Chronic Fatigue – Acutherapy and Holistic Approaches” by Sunny Cooper, “Alternative Treatments for Fibromyalgia & Chronic Fatigue Syndrome – Insights from Practitioners and Patients” by Mari Skelly and Andrea Helm, and “Fibromyalgia & Muscle Pain” by Leon Chaitow.

The third critical thing to understand about FMS is that every single one of the 18 diagnostic points, without exception, is an acupoint. A key underlying principle in meridian theory is that if an acupoint is tender to the touch, it simply means that the associated meridian is energetically out of balance. And for whatever condition is represented by that imbalance, you treat by assisting the body to bring itself back into balance. How you achieve that is a function of your specific training and methodology. Relating this to FMS and understanding that the 18 diagnostic points cover a range of meridians (Gall Bladder, Bladder, Large Intestine, Triple Warmer, Stomach, Spleen, etc), it is highly suggestive that the associated energetic imbalance with FMS is therefore a systemic imbalance.

One of the reasons we took our first long research road trip in 2004 was because I had a theory about the relationship between meridian imbalances and FMS. Unfortunately, I personally knew no one here in Seattle who had FMS and therefore had no way to test that theory. By the time we returned home from that first trip, I had been able to work on close to a dozen who did have FMS, including two who were in the middle of fibro-flares when I saw them. Without exception, pain levels dropped to zero following a very specific, very simple, acupressure release pattern. I have since then worked on several others with the same results.

And when I say simple, I do mean simple. The two key principles I employ in the routine are to always engage/access two different points simultaneously (a local and distal point) and to hold for an energetic balance. I work one side at a time. My local point is GB 20. My upper hand goes there and stays there throughout the release routine. I never move it. My lower hand then engages each of the remaining diagnostic points, moving sequentially down the body as balance is achieved in each point pair.

The only exception I make to holding the eight pairings on each side (GB 20 coupled with the other eight diagnostic points per side) is my very first pairing on each side. My very first hand position is upper hand on GB 20 and my lower hand (pads of my fingers flat against the side of the neck) on the Windows to the Sky points. I don’t worry about precision on the side of the neck because there are several points involved and three finger pads flat on the side of the neck will cover all of them at the same time. I started this way simply because it was part of a general, full body, release pattern that I had already been using. The general pattern already engaged most of the FMS points anyway so I would just add the one or two extras along the way if I were dealing with a case of FMS. I can’t prove it, but someone I was working with in Santa Fe last year told me that the reason I was getting the results I was in treating FMS was specifically BECAUSE I was adding the Windows to the Sky Points. According to her, these specific points are part of that underlying, systemic imbalance in the first place. Having them go out of balance is what starts the cascade, domino effect to begin with. Again, I can’t prove it. All I can go by is observation and my observation is that this particular release routine seems to be effective.

WINDOWS TO THE SKY POINTS

There are technically nine Windows to the Sky Points, and not all of them are on or near the neck. They are Large Intestine 18, Lung 3, Conception Vessel 22, Small Intestine 16, Stomach 9, Bladder 10, Governing Vessel 16, Pericardium 1, and Small Intestine 17. I never worry about precision placement of my fingers on the neck because there are a number of points on the side of the neck in addition to the Windows points. For the most part, my fingers tend to be about midway along the Sternocleidomastoid muscle. Just place your fingers flat against the side of the neck between the jaw line and the collarbone. Let your intention guide you as to exactly where without worrying about it.  

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