Hello friends!
I’m back after an unplanned hiatus, and I’m excited to tell you about my stretch therapy session.
My dad has always told me when I wake up, one of the first things I should do is give my body a proper stretch to awaken it. Living with fibromyalgia means that I cannot do typical exercise, so stretching has been an important part of my daily routine for keeping my muscles oiled, so to speak.
After many years of ongoing challenges, health flareups, and grief, staying physically active hasn’t been high up on my list whilst I’ve been trying to stay afloat in survival mode. I’ve been resorted to getting the odd whole body massage to revive my muscles, in between sporadic exercise.
When I came across a therapist offering stretch therapy, I was curious after seeing her videos, and felt like this was something my body needed. I wanted to see whether I could benefit from it.
Naturally, living with fibromyalgia, and being hypersensitive to touch and pain, I was anxious about trying something new, but I’m happy to report it was well worth it, and my body is still thanking me for it.
Stretch therapy is not something I had heard of before. Stretching in itself, is a form of physical movement in which a specific muscle or tendon is deliberately lengthened or held under tension. According to the NHS, benefits of stretching include improved circulation and movement, better posture, stress relief, and increased flexibility.
Most healthy people can stretch themselves, but if like me you live with chronic health problems or limited mobility, this isn’t always easy. The idea of being stretched by someone else wasn’t entirely new to me.
Growing up in Trinidad long ago, in my family we would stretch our babies after their daily baths. I’d look at my Ma or aunties stretching my cousins’ chubby legs and arms. We did this for all our babies. Similarly, locally in our village whenever we had a pain or problem area, we went to a local Tanty (aunty) to get ‘rub down.’ My own Ma would ‘rub me down’ when I was in pain too. These weren’t licensed therapists as we have nowadays but were local elders who understood the body and healing through alternative methods.
What happened during my stretch therapy?
When I met Rosa, I was immediately put to ease, and she regularly checked in to see whether I was okay or needed adjustments. I was amazed at how in tune she was with my body, identifying the tense and problem areas and adapting the stretches as needed.
She stretched muscles I didn’t know I had! We did a 45 minute session that stretched my whole body.
In between my body creaked and trembled and I came away feeling so relaxed and loose, my muscle stiffness went away and the tension in my body, specifically my back and shoulders had improved significantly. I particularly felt a massive relief when Rosa stretched my legs forward towards my head.
I cannot explain the extent to which my body felt it needed that release of not only physical, but also emotional and mental tension and pain.
It’s been a long time since I’ve found anything that’s been truly helpful for my fibromyalgia symptoms, and it can get rather disheartening waiting for new research, and any progress towards new fibromyalgia treatments, so I was and still feel so grateful to have experienced something that’s actually been helpful.
Stretch therapy reminded me of my Ma too and how she cared for me when I was unwell.
What really helped was that I connected well with the therapist Rosa, who was on the same wavelength and feel really grateful for the work she does. I mention this because those of us in the chronic illness community living with invisible illnesses like fibromyalgia know how traumatic it is when we meet professionals who do not believe us, and/or do not listen to us.
Thank you Rosa.
Gentle hugs everyone x
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