Pain Relief
“These pains you feel are messengers. Listen to them.” Rumi
Are You Tired Of Living With Pain And Discomfort?
Have you sustained an injury that’s caused chronic or acute pain?
Or do you struggle with headaches, migraines, back or neck pain, tendonitis, or jaw discomfort (including TMJ)?
Have other interventions, including medication, been ineffective in reducing your symptoms?
If you’re living with daily pain and discomfort, chances are that every aspect of your life has been adversely impacted. Whether you struggle to sit or stand comfortably, exercise, or you experience pain with certain movements, you probably feel limited in what you can do on a daily basis. Not to mention, your sleep might have been impacted because you can’t get or stay comfortable at night. And you may struggle with secondary physical symptoms related to your injury, including digestive issues and other side effects caused by medication.
It's possible that physical distress has also led to emotional and mental health issues. Perhaps you experience nagging anxiety and worry about the long-term implications of your pain. Or maybe you feel depressed because you can’t enjoy or participate in activities the way you used to. You may not feel productive, energized, or able to concentrate, ultimately affecting your work, relationships, and daily routine.
All you want is to live pain-free. And while I can’t guarantee that my treatment approach will eradicate your symptoms entirely, I am confident that, working together, we will be able to substantially reduce the discomfort you feel. Using Biodynamic Craniosacral Therapy (CST), Somatic Experiencing (SE)™, joint- or muscle-specific techniques, and mental health approaches, we can discover the ideal treatment for your acute/chronic pain.
Pain Is Part Of Being Human
No matter what age we are, we’re susceptible to injury. Unfortunately, the older we get, the longer it takes for our bodies to heal. Many of us live with lingering head, neck, jaw, and joint pain following injuries and daily wear. And in fact, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates that 20.9 percent—over one in five—of American adults live with chronic pain. [1]
Our culture tells us to push through pain, adopting a “no pain, no gain” mentality. Instead of using interventions that heal the body in a meaningful way, we are likely to numb the pain or distract ourselves from it, often looking to substances like alcohol and highly potent medications for relief. This leads to a disconnection from our bodies, preventing us from tuning into what our symptoms are telling us and the innate wisdom our bodies possess in keeping us healthy and comfortable.
The truth is that trauma is often at the core of our inability to heal and resolve pain. While we may think that certain musculoskeletal issues are purely physical, psychological factors often influence pain management. I’ve worked with many clients whose chronic pain has not resolved with surgery or traditional forms of physical therapy. Yet, as they begin to explore their history in our sessions together, they regularly uncover experiences that left them shaken, afraid, and/or unprepared, further adding to their discomfort.
Using my holistic approach, I’ve watched as my clients experience a reduction in symptoms they haven’t seen in years. Working from both a physical therapy and trauma-informed counseling perspective in treatment, my clients have seen significant improvement in their symptoms of headaches, migraines, TMJ, back and neck pain, tendonitis, and other chronic or acute issues impacting their quality of life.
Restore Resilience Therapy Specializes In Chronic And Acute Pain Issues
As a physical therapist and somatic psychotherapist with an arsenal of skills in osteopathic methods and somatic therapies, I understand the relationship between chronic/acute pain, emotional health, and the nervous system. I believe that pain is a cycle—often related to psychological distress—and that healing has to happen on every level in order for physical symptoms to resolve.
What To Expect
Therapy for chronic and acute pain begins with a thorough evaluation of the body, assessing joint dysfunction, muscle tension/tenderness, and alignment of the spine and pelvis. During our conversations, I will be listening for emotional factors and underlying beliefs that may cue us into how the body is holding onto stress. As we bring curiosity and mindfulness to the treatment space, we can see how the pain from injuries, migraines, TMJ, and tendonitis are interconnected with distressing thoughts and feelings.
From there, I will draw from somatic (or body-based) treatment methods to help us understand and release your pain. CST allows me to subtly detect the body’s patterns of tightness and tension, particularly as they relate to the head and spine. And SE will be useful for identifying how psychological trauma has manifested in the body. To read more about these methods and why they’re effective in chronic pain treatment, feel free to visit my Craniosacral Therapy and/or Somatic Experiencing™ pages.
I also often use the osteopathic approaches of Strain-Counterstrain (SCS) and Muscle Energy Technique (MET) in therapy for chronic and acute pain. These methods work to normalize muscle and joint function, helping you to heal more quickly from muscle strains, tendonitis, and backaches. And for TMJ specifically, I use CST to release joint restrictions inside the mouth/palate, and ease tension in the face and jaw.
A New Approach To Self-Care Can Help Reinforce Your Healing
Part of the therapeutic process is ensuring that you have ongoing support and healing reinforcement between sessions. As such, I will teach you simple positioning exercises (taking two to four minutes each day) to help with pain management and to treat muscle strains. As I get a sense of how your body responds to treatment, I will be able to give you an idea of when you can safely return to exercise and other physical activities.
Having worked with clients experiencing a wide range of pain and chronic symptoms for decades, I have witnessed firsthand how effective a holistic approach to therapy can be. Instead of overriding what your body is telling you, I will help you “tune in” and become more aware of what certain symptoms are indicating. I use gentle, lasting methods that can ultimately allow your body to return to a state of balance and ease. Working together, we can help your body heal itself.
Still Unsure How A Therapist Can Help You With Chronic Or Acute Pain?
I’ve found a lot of temporary fixes for chronic pain, but I’m looking for longer lasting relief—can you help?
Definitely. The reason I use body-based psychological approaches in conjunction with CST is because the combination promotes deeper, more sustainable healing.
In therapy, I work with various tissues (muscles, joints, and nerves) on a deep level so that interconnected systems can reorganize and achieve a more balanced state. Unlike other interventions that only work with muscles on a superficial level (like massage therapy, for instance), my approach considers other networks and tissue systems—such as joint pain, nervous system activation, and mental health—to offer a more holistic understanding of chronic issues.
How do you address pain that has been present for years?
I have been absolutely amazed by the results I’ve seen in treatment for clients who have long struggled with chronic physical conditions—including migraines/headaches, back pain, and TMJ—as well as mental health issues like anxiety and depression. Not only do their bodies feel better, but they also tend to experience a reduction in stress and more openness in their relationships.
Of course, chronic issues often take longer than acute issues to heal, but my approach to therapy can meaningfully correct some of the long-standing adaptations the body has taken, to ease pain and discomfort in less time than you might imagine.
Will I be able to learn at-home techniques to reinforce healing?
Yes. As I learn more about your symptoms, I will help you better understand posture, body mechanics, and first aid for additional injuries and/or flare-ups. Part of my treatment approach is teaching simple exercises that will help your muscle strains and tendonitis heal. These exercises only take a few minutes each day but can make a world of difference in your healing journey and provide an easy way to help yourself stay healthy.
Relief Is Possible
If you struggle with headaches, migraines, back and neck pain, TMJ, or an injury that has caused ongoing discomfort, my approach to treatment using CST and other body-based methods addresses both acute and chronic issues. To find out more about how I can help, visit my contact page or call (303) 819 - 8839 for a free, 15-minute phone consultation.
Testimonial
"I have suffered from chronic back and leg pain for many years, due to spinal stenosis. I used to joke that I had a ‘short leash’ because I could only tolerate standing or walking for 5 or 10 minutes, before I needed to sit due to pain and spasms. After seeing Margaret for several treatments, I can now walk or stand for an hour or longer, without pain It has given me a new lease on life!" -A.R.
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