KSR is a lady around 50 years. She was referred by a common friend who has experienced Hanna Somatics [HS] and suggested to her that HS may be the answer to her problems. She reached out in October of 2021. During the initial discussions she explained her problems in detail and she had multiple issues. Considering the complexity of her case we requested Senior Practitioner of HS Ms. Eleanor to guide the process of choosing practices.
In her own words her issues were described as under:
On a regular basis, any muscle of my body, say, biceps or deltoid or quadriceps or even the arch of my foot etc. just gets jammed without any trigger. Then I experience a lot of pain as my daily routine is affected. Some doctors diagnosed it as Fibromyalgia. At the same time, any joint starts paining severely i.e. cervical or lower back, shoulder joint, finger joints etc. and the pain is excruciating as diagnosed as Rheumatoid Arthritis.
One major shock I had was last year on 22nd August, while I was cooking in the afternoon and working from home due to lockdown, all of a sudden my lower back got so badly jammed that I couldn’t move at all. I fell on the ground on my stomach and lay in the same position for the next 5 hours till some friends called for an Ambulance. Since I had gotten used to these muscles getting contracted anytime, I thought if I gave some cold compress, I would be relieved. But it was so severe that I was hospitalised. I had attached the reports of Sai Lee Hospital in my earlier email.
I still get muscles and joints jammed anytime and the pain is like a nightmare. I have been on medications since last August 2020. I again had the same spasms on 23rd September like I had last year on 22nd August. I was again bedridden. When i get these spasms in the lower back, even if i am lying on bed without any movement, the spasms are continuous almost every 15 to 20 minutes. It’s even difficult to breathe, leave aside to be able to talk to anyone or turn on my right or left. Having water or food is stressful as I will need to go to the washroom with my son’s help as I can’t move an inch on my own.
I feel its emotional trauma that I am not able to deal with, because of which my body is affected. Maybe because my life has been a rollercoaster ride.
I am better now, recovering.
She was a professional dancer, having learnt two of the Indian classical dance forms and loves dancing. Medically her report indicated heamoglobin was always below threshold lower level.
Client’s Objective(s)
When she met us her primary objective was to be free from 24/7 pain right through the year. Her secondary objective was also restart dancing if that is possible.
Assessment Findings
- Ms. Elanor conducted the initial postural assessment and discussions and observed the following:
- The right hand was a little lower than the left
- Head titled to the right from the neutral position
- Arms are rotated a little bit
- Legs are hyper extended and knees are pulled back a little.
- Posas was potentially a little tight -was not able to confirm since the evaluation was over zoom
- Shoulder are pulled forward and downward a little.
- Further she also informed KSR that both Fibromyalgia and Rheumatic Arthritis could be due to muscles being contracted and pulling at the joints. Resetting the muscles may go a long way in easing pain.
We started with work on resetting various muscles beginning with the shoulder muscles and then core muscles etc. She started experiencing some relief. Like she felt hungry post session while she was hardly eating for the previous three to four days. At the end of each session she would express a feeling of gratitude. But by evening of the same day or the following day some form of pain would return. That is when we decided to explore the contours of trauma being the cause of the entire trigger. In the next session she was asked to associate with any emotions that the part of the body that is being worked upon triggers. During the practice for the abdominals, she was emotionally stirred and she was allowed time to cry out. Post that she was taken through a meditation to help relieve the trauma from her subconscious. Post that her recovery was dramatic after a few sessions to enhance her flexibility, she discontinued the practice.
In 2024 it is more than 3 years since she discontinued her practice but has not experienced any major set back so far.
Ramesh Lakshman
Mumbai