CHARLOTTE – It doesn’t happen very often but on Memorial Day I fell. My feet slipped from beneath me and my arms went behind me to catch me before I hit bottom. Essentially I jammed my shoulder upward. I’m not gonna lie, I thought for sure this would put me out of work for some time.

I did what I would do for any other person, I sat down and took inventory of my shoulder. I raised my arm out to the front (no pain), then I rotated my arm to the side and raised it. Here I felt slight pain raising my arm up to the ceiling. My self diagnosis was that it felt like my infraspinatus muscle might be what took the shock of the fall. Although I was still in pain, the next day I woke up with only very slight discomfort. Thankfully.

What would massage do? I gently took a foam roller, laid on my back and essentially massaged my shoulder, back and neck. I turned onto my side, stuck my arm up over my head and rolled my lat. Whew! The lat is uncomfortable anyway, but mix it with an injury and I definitely felt some tenderness. It wasn’t pain (if you feel pain, do NOT push through it, seek medical advice), but it definitely made me feel somewhat ill at ease.

The point to all of this is, after taking inventory that nothing seemed to be broken or torn, massage offered relief from my temporary injury.

-Lisa Lane #13098 is a licensed massage and bodywork therapist in the Mint Hill area. To book, please visit ncmassagesanctuary.massagetherapy.com.