Archive for March, 2010

« Older Entries
Newer Entries »

Respiratory Conditions

March 18, 2010

Review of Mosby’s Pathology for Massage Therapists, by Salvo and Anderson. Within the course of Dr. Johnson.

Chapter 8 related to me personally, because I am an attempting to stop smoker. I am aware of the dangers, but I cannot find a viable solution/habit to replace this one with. Emphysema is a major concern of mine, and it is one of the top reasons why I should quit, in my mind. Many of my friends have asthma, and I try to avoid smoking around them. Sleep apnea is an issue my father had until he was given a machine to sleep with. I was surprised that all three of these conditions were ok to massage, but most (if not all) of the other ones were not.

Tags: , , ,

Posted in Respiratory Disease | Leave a Comment »

Cardiovascular Conditions

March 18, 2010

Review of Mosby’s Pathology for Massage Therapists, by Salvo and Anderson. Within the course of Dr. Johnson.

Chapter 7 was important to me because it had migraine headaches in it, and many of my friends/family members suffer from them. I was interested to learn how I could best help them with their issues. One instance comes to mind, recently my friend had a migraine and, after working on her (gently) for about 10 minutes, she said the migraine went away. A few hours later, it came back, and I did the same thing I did before and it apparently went away again and did not return. This encourages me to believe that even the shortest massage can really help people and that is exactly what I want to do.

Tags: , , ,

Posted in Cardiovascular Disease | Leave a Comment »

Endocrine Conditions

March 18, 2010

Review of Mosby’s Pathology for Massage Therapists, by Salvo and Anderson. Within the course of Dr. Johnson.

Chapter 6 did not have many personal experiences that I have had in it, but I did find it interesting that Hyperpituitarism and Hypopituitarism would cause one condition when a person is young and another as adults. As some of my friends suffer from depression, I attempt to help them through it with a nurturing massage and trying to talk them through any episodes they may be having, having had depression myself 6-7 years ago. This seems to help them improve their outlook on things to come as well as events that are in the past. I find that the people who suffered from depression often suffer from extreme anxiety as well, and massage helps to relax their bodies as well as their minds.

Tags: , , ,

Posted in Endocrine Pathology | Leave a Comment »

Nervous System Condition

March 18, 2010

Review of Mosby’s Pathology for Massage Therapists, by Salvo and Anderson. Within the course of Dr. Johnson.

Chapter 5 was about Cerebrovascular Accidents, and this is important to me because my mother’s best friend had had a stroke 2 years ago, and she has partially recovered. Her left side is somewhat functional, but she has to lead with her right all the time. This goes for everything from walking to eating. Massage seems to help her with her condition, as she always says she feels much better after I work on her for a short amount of time. It encourages me to continue to learn more about massage whenever I learn that I can help a loved one through difficulties they are having.

Tags: , , ,

Posted in Nervous System Pathology | Leave a Comment »

Musculoskeletal Conditions

March 18, 2010

Review of Mosby’s Pathology for Massage Therapists, by Salvo and Anderson. Within the course of Dr. Johnson.

Chapter 4 was important to me on a personal level, as my mother has extremely severe bunions, which causes her a great deal of discomfort. When I practice massage on her, she always has me work for a long time on her feet, as massage helps her with this pain. I usually do circular motions on the underside of the foot between the second and third toe, and she reports this alleviates some of the pain. Massage is very important to me because my mother has an extremely bad back, as well as bunions on her feet, so I want to help her in any way that I can with her issues.

Tags: , , ,

Posted in Musculoskeletal Pathology | Leave a Comment »

Skin Conditions

March 18, 2010

Review of Mosby’s Pathology for Massage Therapists, by Salvo and Anderson. Within the course of Dr. Johnson.

Chapter 3 applies to my life because I have chronic eczema on my face and parts of my leg. I have had it for several years, and never really considered it to be an issue. While it is not contagious, I have to constantly remind my friends that it is not. This chapter has made me aware of most of the skin conditions that I need to be aware of if/when I do come across them. It was surprising to me some of the conditions that are indicated for massage, or have a "green light" on them, such as psoriasis, while not being the most appealing condition to look at, massage is perfectly fine for clients with this condition. In the book, it mentioned that stress can exacerbate this condition, and it was interesting to learn that massage can help them even more with this condition as it helps relieve stress.

Tags: , , ,

Posted in Dermatological Pathology | Leave a Comment »

Assessment

March 18, 2010

Review of Mosby’s Pathology for Massage Therapists, by Salvo and Anderson. Within the course of Dr. Johnson.

Chapter 2 is important to me and all other massage therapists because I believe that the first impression made upon a new client is one that should be seen as professional as well as well-informed. The client should be made to feel comfortable with the therapist, if not made to feel as though they are the therapist’s only client that day, so are very important to the therapist. Even though the intake may be lengthy, I feel as though it is necessary to correctly assess the client’s issues, or lack thereof, so I can provide a better overall massage experience and do not cause any harm or discomfort to the client each session.

Tags: , , ,

Posted in Assessment | Leave a Comment »

Disease Awareness

March 18, 2010

Review of Mosby’s Pathology for Massage Therapists, by Salvo and Anderson. Within the course of Dr. Johnson.

Chapter 1 applied personally to me, because I am certified and used to work as a lifeguard, so disease awareness was very pertinent in my line of work. Gloves, CPR masks, and proper protection had to be worn when taking care of an individual every time. In the lifeguard certification class, we learned about how important just a pair of rubber gloves could be, or the simple CPR mask. This applies as well to massage, in that disease prevention is probably one of the most important things to the therapist, the first being that the client has a good experience.

Tags: , , , ,

Posted in Infection Control | Leave a Comment »

Cancer massage

March 10, 2010

Cancer massage requires special training. It is important to use a very light, delicate touch, and to avoid putting stress on radiation sites, sites where surgery has been performed, or tumor locations. A massage therapist who has learned to work with cancer patients has to be knowledgeable about which massage creams and oils are safe, and have the experience to make the massage comfortable and enjoyable. Some people fear that massage is dangerous for cancer patients is that there is a fear that massage may cause cancers to metastasize, because it stimulates the flow of lymphatic fluid in the body. Studies have suggested that this may be the case with some deep tissue massage modalities, but that gentle massage is probably not going to lead to a spread of the cancer. Of more concern is lymphedema, a condition caused by pooling of lymph in the limbs; a massage therapist who is not experienced in working with cancer patients could cause lymphedema by accident. Many people believe that touch therapy is very beneficial, especially for cancer patients, who sometimes feel very isolated and frightened. A very gentle massage can help reduce stress for cancer patients, and reductions in stress levels can benefit the immune system as well as one’s outlook on life.

Tags: , ,

Posted in Malignancy | Leave a Comment »

Massage during pregnancy

March 10, 2010

Massage therapy during pregnancy can often relieve many of the common side effects of pregnancy, whether woman suffer from backaches, headaches, edema or other pregnancy related problems. Back pain is one of the more common side effects of pregnancy. Back pain can continue throughout pregnancy and even after. Fortunately massage can help relieve back pain associated with muscular tension. Some of the other benefits prenatal massage are, it helps relieve edema or swelling by stimulating circulation throughout the body, leg massage can help reduce leg cramps and swelling in the legs, massage is very beneficial for relaxing anxiety during pregnancy. Massage can help promote more restful sleep and help prevent pregnancy related insomnia. Pregnancy massage may relax baby, particularly if abdomen gently stroked. However, massaging the wrong areas or focusing on certain acupressure points may actually trigger uterine contractions in some women.

Tags: , , ,

Posted in Reproductive Conditions | Leave a Comment »

Benefits and contraindications of massage for the urinary system

March 10, 2010

There are not that many benefits or contraindications of massage for the urinary system. Massage really does not benefit the urinary system. The only effect it really has is, that a client needs to visit the facilities right after a massage. This is because fluids in the muscles get pushed into the lymphatic system, which then gets filtered and excreted via the urinary system. This is a benefit for the whole body, as it helps remove wastes, toxins, and debris that build up in tight muscles. Always good to offer client drink some water after a massage to help this process. Contraindications are clients with something like kidney stones might be in too much pain to tolerate a massage, gout in a cute phase, kidney failure. Mild urinary tract infections are fine for massage, while severe infections might necessitate a delay of the massage.

Tags: , ,

Posted in Urinary System Pathology | 6 Comments »

Massage can be helpful to the clients with bulimia

March 10, 2010

Bulimia nervosa is an eating disorder in which a person binges and purges. The person may eat a lot of food at once and then try to get rid of the food by vomiting, using laxatives, or sometimes over-exercising. People with bulimia are preoccupied with their weight and body image. Bulimia is associated with depression and other psychiatric disorders and shares symptoms with anorexia nervosa, another major eating disorder. Because many individuals with bulimia can maintain a normal weight, they are able to keep their condition a secret for years. If not treated, bulimia can lead to nutritional deficiencies and even fatal complications. Therapeutic massage can be an effective adjunct to psychological counseling. A gentle, nurturing massage can help improve clients self-image and may decrease anxiety.

Tags: , , ,

Posted in Emotional Disorders, Gastrointestinal Pathology | Leave a Comment »

« Older Entries
Newer Entries »