Massage Pathology Chronicles

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

The respiratory system’s function, with the help of the cardiovascular system, is to allow gas exchange through all parts of the body. It supplies the body with oxygen and expels carbon dioxide from the body. The elimination of excess carbon dioxide enables the prevention of acid buildup in the blood, which regulates the pH of the blood. A common disease of the respiratory system is asthma. Asthma affects 7% of the population in the United States and a total of 300 million worldwide. Asthma causes 4,000 deaths a year in the United States alone. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asthma). Asthma is a chronic inflammatory disease that is caused by airway sensitivity to various stimuli. There are many common triggers of asthmatic attacks, including: pollen, dust mites, molds, aspirin, cold air, and cigarette smoke. Massage for patients with asthma should focus on the primary and secondary muscles of respiration. The text states several useful massage techniques, including deep friction; kneading; ischemic compression; deep, gliding strokes; vibration; and percussion. It is also important to remind patients with asthma to always have their asthma medications available.

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

This entry was posted on March 29, 2010 at 3:51 pm and is filed under Respiratory Disease. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.