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[thisroad]

As I tend toward anxiety and have chronically tense muscles, I tried out a deep-tissue massage therapist tonight in New College City.  (I'd had one during grad school, and wish I could have continued.)  She mentioned this PRR technique for pain management, and did a demonstration on a usually painful area on my lower back.  Sure enough, even a few hours later I can press on my typical trigger spots and they aren't nearly as "jumpy" as I normally find them.

Problem is, when I search around, this thing sounds more like a pseudo-medicine/marketing trick than anything else.  I can't find a single journal article that mentions it.  Have any of you encountered this technique?  Maybe I'm a walking data point in support of the placebo effect tonight.

[sciencephd]

I haven't heard of it.  But if it is not harmful, and has no potential for harm, then why argue with success ?  For your personal purposes, it wouldn't matter if it is the placebo effect.

[thisroad]

Well, money, mostly.  We've got a family doctor and minor emergency care set up, but no formal health insurance.  If I'm paying out-of-pocket, I'm inclined to stick with the traditional massage as part of my wellness routine unless there's good evidence to take on this extra procedure.

[sciencephd]

But typically "non traditional" or alternative practitioners are fairly inexpensive.

[voxprincipalis]

Well, money, mostly.  We've got a family doctor and minor emergency care set up, but no formal health insurance.  If I'm paying out-of-pocket, I'm inclined to stick with the traditional massage as part of my wellness routine unless there's good evidence to take on this extra procedure.

In my limited experience, PRRT is usually not a long-term process. Clients usually get relief quickly or not at all, so you are not likely to be continuing to spend money on something that isn't working for you.

A PDF of a case study can be found here: http://www.theprrt.com/prrt-links.html
... but it's not exactly top scientific journal quality.

It pretty much can't hurt you, and could help you a lot. Worth a try, anyway.

VP