Question
Hello. Well, I came to Canada to visit mom and help her recover from a histerectomy. However, I found out she's fine from the surgery but suffering a lot because of her back. Three years ago she fell over her little finger, and then went to countless bad massagers and chiropractors who have been worsening her situation. Now I'm worried about her cause she has been massaging herself for two weeks now and her back is all bruised cause she does that day and night. She says it hurts less and less, she affirms she's putting her back musles straight and fixing what chiropractors did wrong... my question: Is it possible for a person to fix their own back? Is she at risk? What kind of specialist should she consult? The doctor keeps saying everything is ok cause she's taken tests, X-rays and nothing appears to be wrong. However, I can see she's in pain. I'm desperate... she can't sleep well, she isn't hungry, she's just massaging her back all day... sometimes she shows me her arm is all swollen cause a muscle is pulling it... then she fixes it and the next day is something else... it seems this will never end... please, help me...  

Answer
Hi Edith,
I just found your question in our question pool. I would recommend your mother see a neurologist, this could be caused by nerve damage instead of muscles. If nothing else it sounds like your mother is in a pain cycle and it will not let up on it's own, the pain cycle needs to be broken. When muscles tighten, especially from injury, the longer they stay that way the more they want to stay that way. Sometimes muscles will tighten and cause pain long after the original injury has healed. Ultrasound therapy might also help your mother a great deal.
I hope this helps, if you have any questions or need additional information please don't hesitate to ask.
Thanks
Tracy