Turning Point

The hardest thing for me was where on earth to start and what will work. It’s taken many years to find simple answers to these questions because everyone is unique in their musculoskeletal history. And at the beginning I didn’t know what was important. I have now found a relatively easy start point which can be explained and understood in action and effect. The prosthetic tensor analogy is helpful for the visualisation which is necessary for satisfactory change.

I have tried many different types of manual therapy and studied the meridian theory of Traditional Chinese Medicine including acupressure points and effects. I have reviewed trigger points and myofascial massage, the Bowen system, Rolfing, reflexology. These have all provided insight and deeper understanding. All of these methods are useful but none of them could provide me with complete recovery from decades old poorly healed scar tissue. There is a simple reason: without fascial, interstitial fluidity my scar, tendons and joints would be stuck and there is no therapeutic system which can release seriously stuck tissues. We are taught to keep moving but by the time we understand, our prosthetic tensors have glued us solid. Until now there has been no way to recover fluidity. It took me 5 years of mechanical techniques and searching for a better way before I stumbled on my Ruffistone - a Terahertz gua sha tool. As soon as I touched it I knew this was something very different and I could feel a very deep and pleasant softening of the tissues. It’s taken another year to work out what the material of this tool was doing, whether it was safe and how to get the best out of it. And then to find an approach which would have a global effect, both an improvement and revealing new layers of stuckness to target.

I have devised a three-stage approach which is repeated for every session and two modes which help speed things up a little. And then there is a bit more help so you can find out what really suits you best.

Stage 1. Ruffistone familiarisation

Stage 2. Priming the tissues

Stage 3. Global prosthetic tether points

Stage 1 familiarisation. Take your Ruffistone and handle it. Place it on or near a painful area (not an open wound or recent scar). To start with hold the stone to your skin for a few minutes and focus on what you can see and what you can feel. Then remove the stone and see if the general area has reddened a little. This is perfusion, where blood flow is restored. You may get odd sensations in the same area or far away. Any sensation you get is related to the disruption of the tethers and softening of the tissues. You may feel a little dizzy while the brain adapts to increased fluid levels. Next move the closest joint a little to see if it feels looser. Finally stand up or lie down let the ripple effect travel through your body where it can. It’s best to stay in stage 1 until you think you might be feeling the effect. The sensations are very personal and the acupuncture description of DeQi is useful reference. Tissue release can be challenging and chronic pain is unlikely to be released without discomfort. If it becomes overwhelming just lie down and let the tissues settle. When you resume normal life remember your recovering muscles are now challenging the prosthetic tensors and it won’t be easy. I got lots of release but not much actual relief for a very long time. But I could feel it was good. Stage 1 needs Focus Mode.

Scars. If you have old, sensitive or painful scars these are probably generating prosthetic scaffolds to protect you from further harm. I have found scars interesting. Old scars which look white and tight, or bulging and angry are the master prosthetic tensor generators. My scars were sensitive or very tight and white, some felt bruised even when they were old. I have found that by stimulating the fluids in the region, the scar tissue opens up and the tissue beneath resumes a gradual healing process. But there’s often inflammation too so it can feel quite unpleasant until the lymph system has had time to expel the discarded inflammatory enzymes. For scars it is particularly helpful to go into Sleep Mode.

Ruffistone efficiency. Ruffistones need to be kept clean. Bar soap and water is enough to remove skin and oily debris. Ruffistones work best directly on the skin but also work through textiles. You can use tape to secure your stone for sleep mode but then it gets sticky. Ideally a tubular bandage can be used for limbs. for large areas I’m still working on a solution. More anon.

Sleep Mode without focus. Where the Ruffistone is secured in static contact by a bandage or other suitable method. Ruffini corpuscles continue to fire all night to disrupt the prosthetic tethers, but lack of movement means that the debris is not cleared so effectively. Every day I could sense a positive change although every morning the debris made me especially stiff until I moved the tissues under the Ruffistone. I also keep Ruffistone contact somewhere all the time. I have various different shapes and arrangements including Terahertz stone strings, bracelets and gua sha wands. I find it helpful to use finger bandage to enclose Ruffistone strings so that the length can be tied around different parts of the body: ankle, wrist, thigh, waist etc.

Stage 2 priming the tissues for change. The body’s prosthetic tensors tether and turn at the pads of the fingers and toes. The fingertips and toes are viewed as fluid wellsprings in Chinese theory. By applying and maintaining Ruffistone static contact on the pads, the tensile tethers become disrupted and start to uncoil, releasing water in the process. Sleep Mode is perfect for Stage 2.