What is That Popping Thing? Part II

Regarding my previous post I'm going to add a comment from my friend Shelley that she made on Facebook. I was wondering also if it could be something else other than fascia too, though initially I had though something chiropractic because it is so near the C1-C2 joint of the cervical spine. Shelley was a military medic and is now an ER nurse.

""Rice Krispies" in the jaw/throat of people or behind their ear can be a sign that they have perforated their esophagus, tympanic membrane, or even blown a "bleb" in a sinus. Behind the human jaw it can also be that their Eustachian tube has blown (ever blown up a balloon and worked so hard you feel a blow-out behind the ears?)  Interesting to see if this continues to happen with Geir. Could be fascia, but making me wonder..."

This is a good reminder as to why if we have a question, or an issue does not resolve with our massage techniques over time, we always encourage our clients to consult a veterinarian if there could be a chance of a medical issue. 

Here is a story about a good example of this.  My old trainer, Karen has a client who has a wonderful horse that she is riding at low level Dressage, but he was off at least half the time so they kept having to stop training for a mysterious lameness.  She was doing regular chiropractic and massage work and she was using one of our top equine massage therapists in our area.  After a few sessions of working on him, the massage therapist told the client that she was concerned that the work she was doing was not sticking - that he would improve right after the massage and fall apart again soon after, and the massage therapist felt it would be prudent to consult a veterinarian.  So, the owner took her advice, brought a vet out and found out that her horse has a neurological issue - something that we as massage therapists are not at all trained to treat.  

There is no way for us as equine massage therapists to be able to diagnose issues such as neurological issues or even what Shelley is talking about that she sees in humans when such circumstances present themselves.  But we are trained to know when what we can do is not helping and that it might be time to bring in the big guns and see if there is an underlying medical issue.

I'm hoping because he has not been showing any other signs of pain or distress other than stiffness bending at the poll that there isn't anything serious going on with Geir.  But if after what I can do as a massage therapist, the "Rice Krispies" feeling continues I will be bringing out my vet to take a look at him.  And just to throw in a little "product placement" I use Ron Colton's team out of Snohomish and for those of you who live on the Eastside I highly recommend them.  But we are lucky to have a lot of good vets here in the greater Seattle area so there area  lot of good choices.