Loan Mod Trigger Points

I’m making it official: It is possible for massage therapists to map a stress pattern of trigger points related to home loan modifications.

Folks going through that process have had months of fruitless phone calls, waiting on holds, sleepless nights.

When they come in for massages, I have found they have the runaway stress trigger points of legend. I wonder if other massage therapists like myself have noticed this pattern, or any others.

#1 Super Mod Trigger Point: Serratus anterior superior.  This is the pain Julius Caesar must have felt when Marc Anthony shivved him. This trigger point, tucked away under the arm and in the middle of the ribs, appears to stem from hours of breathless holding on fruitless phone calls. When it lights up, you can crumple. I have been using lots of warm slow Swedish strokes just to get near it. I like holding the palm of my hand over it until the warmth starts to melt what feels like a half-softball of tense muscle. I note clients start to breathe after a minute or two.

#2 Granite Upper Trap: Yow! Never have I felt such a bolt of tension as in these upper traps. I have actually started rolling shoulders Ida-Rolf-like just to try and get these to move. Rolling the shoulder forward, gently pulling it back, then teeter tottering the entire arm to establish some movement. Standard kneading almost seems to reinforce the rock-like tension. I’m taking suggestions.

#3 Rusted Pectoralis Minor: And sometimes the pec major, too. I usually associate this muscle only in clients with frozen shoulder or heart disease (or retired major league baseball pitchers) – now I find it just stuck all over folks in modification muddles. Slow and steady I go; this area is the most tender of all. Go with moist heat and a little contract-relax PNF.

Working with an emergency loan mod client this past week I had to ask myself: Has the American Dream come to this?

I like to do a little bit of breath-work with clients in this situation. Folks need some self-treatment TLC tips for the next time they call the bank.