Archive for May, 2010

Disease awareness

May 11, 2010

Review of Mosby’s Pathology for Massage Therapists, 2nd edition, by Salvo and Anderson. Within the course of Dr. Johnson.

Disease awareness is definitely a topic massage therapists need to be on top of. This chapter has helped me become more knowledgeable in the terms related to pathology, the study of diseases. I have become more efficient in identifying the risk factors of these diseases as well as being able to name the various agents of these diseases. Some of these diseases I have known previously because they are considered more dangerous but I feel more confident knowing as much as possible so just in case I do get a client with something rare there is a chance i can catch it before becoming hands on with my client. Knowing these terms and definitions as well as what these diseases look like makes me a more responsible massage therapist for the client and my safety.

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Reproductive system pathologies, conditions and Sexually Transmitted Infections Chapter 13

May 3, 2010

Review of Mosby’s Pathology for Massage Therapists, 2nd edition, by Salvo and Anderson. Within the course of Dr. Johnson.

Reproductive pathologies: there were a lot of pathologies in this chapter, Prostate, & Female reproductive system which was very interesting to me because I am female. The pregnancy and pregnancy pathologies were good to be educated on to name a few, Ectopic pregnancy, Placenta Abruption, and preeclampsia. It is always good to be up to date on the sexually transmitted Infections as well. They are Chlamydia, Gonorrhea, syphilis, Genital Herpes, hepatitis B to name a few of the infections. I just took a pregnancy massage class and now see how it can benefit someone that has a pathology that is unable to lie on their back or be in the supine position. The side laying position is very comfortable. I now see why in the previous chapters they have recommended that position for many of the pathologies. I enjoyed the section on pregnancy and pathologies related to pregnancy. Hopefully I won’t run across many women who encounter these pathologies and if I do hopefully I can help them fell less stressed about what they have gone through.

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Urinary System Pathologies Chapter 12

May 3, 2010

Review of Mosby’s Pathology for Massage Therapists, 2nd edition, by Salvo and Anderson. Within the course of Dr. Johnson.

The Kidney disorders in this chapter Kidney stones, Renal Failure, Polycystic Kidney disease to name a few were very informative. I know a few people that have had some of these pathologies. I enjoyed learning about the Renal Dialysis. I was never sure how that really worked and now I know. It sure takes up a good part of your day for the dialysis’s process. Amazing how the medical field has figured out all these amazing techniques they can do to improve and save people’s lives. The case study on in this chapter, I think I would tell the wife whose husband is on dialysis and she wants him to get a massage I would tell her that I would like to check up on my notes about Dialysis before giving her an answer and if I decided I was not comfortable giving him a massage I would refer her to someone that works with Dialysis patients. I would most likely contact a hospital or dialysis center and ask them to refer me to someone they might be able to recommend.

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Gastrointestinal System Pathologies Chapter 11

May 3, 2010

The chapter on gastrointestinal system pathologies was a great chapter I liked the information it had on the General Dysfunction of the Gastrointestinal Tract ex: Nausea, Vomiting etc. I also liked the information on the upper gastrointestinal Tract, Mumps, tonsillitis Reflux Disease, to name a few. The lower gastrointestinal tract, diseases of the liver, gallbladder, and Pancreas have been very interesting. The disorders of nutrient intake and absorption, the other gastrointestinal disorders and the hernias section were all very interesting. I have been learning a lot during this pathology course and think it has been very helpful and all massage therapist defiantly need to know there pathology or at the very least have the book handy for reference. Every Pathology in the book has been helpful and I am so much more knowledgeable then I was before I started this book.

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Respiratory System Pathologies Chapter 10

May 3, 2010

Respiratory System Pathologies was a good chapter to cover the upper respiratory tract infections, Lower Respiratory tract infections Chronic Obstructive pulmonary diseases and Immune disorders to name a few. I found Box 10-1 on Manifestations of Respiratory disease nice to be able to keep as a reference, altered breathing patterns, Wheezing, Pale Skin, Sore throat, & Enlarged Lymph nodes where good to be aware of and that was just a few of the manifestations. It was nice to see the muscles of respiration, so I know what muscles to maybe work on to help someone be more comfortable. I also liked the Postural Drainage Guidelines. Good to be able to loosen up a person’s mucus. I learned a lot in this chapter, I also liked learning more about Sleep Apnea seems a lot of people have this. I liked the comparison of the common cold to Hay Fever also. All in All another great chapter.

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Lymphatic and Immune pathologies Chapter 9

May 3, 2010

Review of Mosby’s Pathology for Massage Therapists, 2nd edition, by Salvo and Anderson. Within the course of Dr. Johnson.

The Lymphatic and Immune Pathologies chapter had a lot of pathologies I wanted to learn about. Lymphedema and edema to name a few that were from the Lymphatic system, then there were allergies, chronic fatigue syndrome, Lupus, AIDS etc. coming from the Immune system. Figure 9-1 on Page 261 was good to read up on, it was about what to do in case of an anaphylaxis reaction. It gave you the symptoms, wheezing, weak pulse, confusion to name a few. Then it gave you the “what to do” info. Call 911, calm and reassure the person, check to see if they carry an EpiPen, if so maybe you will need to administer it. Etc. The chapter also had a good explanation on AIDS and HIV. What the difference of the two are. First you get HIV then AIDS may follow then death. There is no cure for AIDS.

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Cardiovascular Pathologies Cahpter 8

May 3, 2010

Review of Mosby’s Pathology for Massage Therapists, 2nd edition, by Salvo and Anderson. Within the course of Dr. Johnson.

The Cardiovascular Pathologies chapter was a great chapter to read. I would hope that people with some of these problems would not even consider getting a massage. I would really not want to work on any of these pathologies, but if I had to this chapter is priceless. I would be very cautious. It seems you need to tread very carefully with cardiovascular pathologies. The diseases of veins I found interesting and pretty much seems like you should give very light massage to those clients that have, say mild varicose veins because they can actually benefit from massage. But should avoid areas of varicosities if pressure causes pain or it the client has a history of clot formation. Also avoid areas of clients with phlebitis because it could cause pain for the client.

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Mental disorders Chapter 15

May 3, 2010

Review of Mosby’s Pathology for Massage Therapists, 2nd edition, by Salvo and Anderson. Within the course of Dr. Johnson.

Mental Disorders are very interesting to name a few Generalized Anxiety, Panic Disorders, Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, Bipolar, SAD. I think you need to be very caring and have no judgment if you encounter someone with a mental disorder. This is where once again your client intake form could be priceless. The most difficult of these disorders I think would be the survivors of sexual abuse. Almost anything could trigger your client. You need to be very careful and make sure you are soft spoken and communicate with them during your massage. Walk them through what you will be doing and make sure what you have discussed with them will be ok with them. Otherwise to please let you know. Depression would be interesting to deal with because you would have to be very grounded so it does not pass onto you. I don’t think I would have trouble with that, I am very much grounded, but I can see how it could happen. Depression is very powerful!

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Cancer chapter 14

May 3, 2010

Review of Mosby’s Pathology for Massage Therapists, 2nd edition, by Salvo and Anderson. Within the course of Dr. Johnson.

The Chapter on Cancer was informative. It was good to know about the cancers of the breasts, digestive systems, gynecologic, skin cancers etc. I know someone that just found out that his Lung cancer that he had a while back and that he went through chemo and they thought they got it all, is back now. From what I understand about his situation is he is in early stage 4, they caught it just as it left the lungs and he is taking a pill (do not know the name of it) and what it does is keep all the cancer cells that have left the lungs at bay so to speak. They will not multiply or travel as long as he takes this pill for the rest of his life. If he does stop taking it the cells will spread. Because of taking the pill he has a very bad rash on his face that should calm down after time when his body adapts better to him taking the pill. He was a smoker earlier in his life and has not smoked for years but I guess it got him anyway. I would not massage him if he asked for one, I would tell him that he has too much going on in his body right now. I liked learning about the TNM Staging and the tumor grading systems. Good knowledge to know.

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