Massage Pathology Chronicles

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

While reading Chapter 9 I learned about Gastrointestinal Pathologies. The Gastrointestinal system is responsible for the digestion and processing of the food necessary to live. Some signs and symptoms of common pathologies are blood in stool, nausea or vomiting, abdominal pain and a few more. Anorexia Nervosa is a known gastrointestinal pathology, this is an eating disorder when the client avoids food for a very long time, massage can be performed with clearance from their health care provider, the massage should be soft and nurturing. A Hernia is also common, it is a protrusion of an organ that has moved through a cavity wall or connective tissue, it can happen soon after birth due to walls not fully closing, massage can be preformed if the hernia does not cause pain.

Tags: Massage Therapy Pathology, Massage Pathology Chronicles, Massage Therapy Gastrointestinal Pathogies, Mosby’s Pathology for Massage Therapists

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

Chapter 9 might be the most painful section for me to review. For two straight years, I had untreated GIRD. The pain still haunts me to remind me to take my acid management medicine. However, the experience has allowed for some intimate knowledge on contraindications and comfortable positions for people with gastrointestinal ailments. Once again, unless I plan on biopsying my clients, why do I need to see appendicitis, or liver damage, or colonectomy surgery? I do not understand why this book insists on showing me things I cannot legally evaluate from the outside of a person’s body. Beyond that, though, it includes useful information on how to handle some liver and kidney diseases and shows us what to expect if someone’s colon has been replaced.

Tags: Massage Therapy Pathology, Massage Pathology Chronicles, Massage Therapy Gastrointestinal Pathology, Mosby’s Pathology for Massage Therapists

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

It was interesting to read in this chapter about both anorexia nervosa and bulimia and how they related to massage therapy. I had learned about these eating disorders while studying abnormal psychology, and psychological and nutritional treatment programs were outlined. In addition, massage therapy can be a helpful supplemental and complimentary treatment. For clients with anorexia nervosa, the massage therapist needs to first obtain clearance from the their health care provider. Massage may help to improve the client’s self-image and decrease anxiety, which will aid psychological counseling. For clients with bulimia, massage may also help them decrease their anxiety.

Tags: Massage Therapy Pathology, Massage Pathology Chronicles, Massage Therapy Gastrointestinal Disorders, Mosby’s Pathology for Massage Therapists

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

Chapter 9 is an overview of gastrointestinal system assessment, ileostomies and colostomies, how to massage large clients, and identifying gastrointestinal pathologies. This chapter shows how important it is to know the nutrients, gastrointestinal structures, the digestive process, accessory and digestive organs, infections, disease, and disorders.

Tags: Massage Therapy Pathology, Massage Pathology Chronicles, Massage Therapy Gastrointestinal Disorders, Mosby’s Pathology for Massage Therapists

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

I had always believed that massage could be helpful on my friends who were (recovering from) anorexia. I had it in my mind that I could help them relax and feel better, which is true, but I found it interesting that it could help with their self-image and anxiety as well. After some research, I found an anorexia study called "Anorexia Nervosa Symptoms are reduced by Massage Therapy" done by the University of Miami. In the study, 19 women and a control group were given 30 minute massages twice a week for 5 weeks, the ones who had massages had a lower count of eating disorder symptoms, which I found amazing.

Tags: Massage Therapy Pathology, Massage Pathology Chronicles, Massage Therapy Gastrointestinal Conditions Pathologies, Mosby’s Pathology for Massage Therapists

Review of Mosby’s Pathology for Massage Therapists, by Salvo and Anderson.

This chapter was about gastrointestinal pathologies. The chapter starts but introducing the parts and importance of the gastrointestinal system. Massage can affect this system directly and indirectly. For instance, abdominal massage helps the digestive system directly. It helps stimulate the intestines so that substances can move forward. In addition, it has been found that digestion occurs more efficiently in a relaxed person than in someone who is stressed out. The digestive system performs six basic functions: ingestion, secretion (water, enzymes etc), mixing and propulsion (peristalsis), digestion, absorption, and defecation. The digestive process actually begins in the mouth. Teeth mechanically break town the food while the saliva, which is a digestive enzyme, is the first step in chemical digestion. The book details the entire process of digestion on pages 253-255. Similarly to other chapters, this one introduces questions the therapist might ask to evaluate a client’s digestive system in the pre-massage interview. If the client has abdominal pain, blood in stools, difficulty swallowing, masses in the abdomen, nausea, vomiting, oral lesions, rebound tenderness, or significant fatigue the therapist is advised to refer the client to his/her health provider. The types of gastrointestinal pathologies are outlines on pages 256-273. Some of the pathologies include cirrhosis of the liver, diverticulitis, GERD, Hepatitis and ulcers. Massage in these pathologies differed from pathology to pathology. Massage was contraindicated in some but encouraged in others. I found figure 9-31 very interesting. It detailed the breakdown of hemoglobin. The pictures of the various organs affected by these pathologies were also very helpful and interesting.

Tags: Massage Therapy Pathology, Massage Pathology Chronicles, Massage Therapy Gastrointestinal Pathologies, Mosby’s Pathology for Massage Therapists

Review of Mosby’s Pathology for Massage Therapists, by Salvo and Anderson.

As discussed in Chapter 9, understanding the differences among body types is important for massage therapy. Keeping a nonjudgmental attitude is a main component. While people have thoughts and opinions why someone might be overweight, it is important for a therapist to know how to appropriately and professionally massage a larger client. It is possible that the client’s obesity could be attributed to a disorder or disease, making the pre-massage assessment very important. It is also mentioned in chapter 9 the importance of knowing the difference between adipose tissue and muscle tissue in a client who is overweight. If the therapist is not careful, the result could be severe or painful bruising.

The gastrointestinal system can be directly and indirectly impacted by massage therapy. As an individual with Crohn’s Disease, I know firsthand that massage therapy can be effective in reducing stress levels, but abdominal massage could be extremely painful or even dangerous. This is true for other conditions such as gastritis, irritable bowel syndrome, ulcerative colitis, etc. A particular position may be more comfortable, and there may be days when the client is in severe pain versus no pain at all. Discussing the condition with the client is important in order to provide effective treatment.

Tags: Massage Therapy Pathology, Massage Pathology Chronicles, Massage Therapy Gastrointestinal System Pathology, Mosby’s Pathology for Massage Therapists

Review of Mosby’s Pathology for Massage Therapists, by Salvo and Anderson.

Chapter 9 covers a review of the gastrointestinal system including assessment, ileostomies and colostomies, massaging large clients, and identifying gastrointestinal pathologies. This chapter emphasizes the importance and classes of nutrients, gastrointestinal structures, the digestive process, accessory and digestive organs, infections, disease, and disorders of these systems.

Tags: Massage Therapy Pathology, Massage Pathology Chronicles, Massage Therapy Gastrointestinal Pathology, Mosby’s Pathology for Massage Therapists

Review of Mosby’s Pathology for Massage Therapists, by Salvo and Anderson.

When learning about massage on the abdominals it wasn’t something that I practiced or took a long time learning about because I felt that not to many clients would feel comfortable allowing a massage therapist to work on them. After viewing the Chapter presented here on this pathology course it has become more important to me that I find out more about my clients so that I can help them with this problem that they might think is impossible to help with.

Tags: Massage Therapy Pathology, Massage Pathology Chronicles, Mosby’s Pathology for Massage Therapists, Massage Therapy Gastrointestinal Pathology

Review of Mosby’s Pathology for Massage Therapists, by Salvo and Anderson.

Chapter 9 talked about the types of problems that may occur in the digestive system. It talks about how the digestive system works and how some absorbs into the blood and lymph. It talks about what problems there are such as diarrhea, hernias, anorexia, etc. It goes over what you would do if you have a client that may have a problem.

Tags: Massage Therapy Pathology, Massage Pathology Chronicles, Massage Therapy Gastrointestinal Pathologies, Mosby’s Pathology for Massage Therapists

Review of Mosby’s Pathology for Massage Therapists, by Salvo and Anderson.

My experience with this chapter, the gastrointestinal pathologies made me learn about the digestive system and how to assess with clients who has gastrointestinal discomfort. Also it made me learn about the clients who have had a colostomy or ileostomy it explained in the book how to massage the clients with those problems and how to avoid when massaging.

Tags: Massage Therapy Pathology, Massage Pathology Chronicles, Massage Therapy Gastrointestinal Pathologies, Mosby’s Pathology for Massage Therapists