trigger-point therapy, sustained pressure, and muscle stretching. Very sensitive trigger points can be numbed by applying ice to the area before massage. Massage helps chronically tight or tense muscles experience more efficient blood circulation. When muscles are tense, they receive less oxygen and are less able to carry away waste products manufactured by the body. Inflammation, as well as normal muscle function, contributes to the accumulation of waste, and can also irritate nerves in the tense area, causing pain to spread. The cycle of pain and poor circulation can also encourage a build-up of collagen fibers, the beginnings of scar tissue, as collagen fibers “glue” the muscles into their shortened state. Massage helps to increase circulation, rehydrate, and
soften the contracted muscles and fascia, helping to “unglue” the fibers to which collagen has adhered. As massage relaxes the nervous system, blood vessels dilate, increasing blood flow, which flushes the waste products away from the muscles. As circulation is increased, healing oxygen and nutrients are directed back to the muscle tissues. Massage helps restore normal movement by increasing circulation, releasing trigger points, removing waste products, and stretching shortened or “glued” muscles. Massage can help a person feel better, increasing their level of energy and desire for more physical activity. This enhanced feeling of well-being counteracts the effects of stress, and can increase one’s awareness of how and where the body is holding tension as a result of stress.
CHRONIC ILLNESS
Chronic illness refers to a disease, injury, or condition that changes little or progresses slowly. Like chronic pain, chronic illness can be a grave stress and strain on the individual, taking a heavy toll on emotional as well as physical strength. Acute illness or injury, by comparison to chronic illness, is a short-term condition and heals normally. Long-term debilitating diseases like Parkinson’s disease, fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue syndrome, HIV/AIDS, multiple sclerosis, systemic lupus, and disk problems that cause back pain respond well to massage, relieving clients’ pain for short periods of time and helping to strengthen clients’ coping mechanisms. Chronic pain can be inconsistent, varying in degree over short or long periods of time. Massage intensity and length should be adjusted to suit the client’s needs on both “good” and “bad” days. Individuals experiencing chronic illness are usually under a physician’s care. Typically, massage is just one part of a team effort necessary to treat and manage chronic illness. Ideally, the massage therapist works closely with the physician, as well as the Condition management When therapeutic change is not a possibility, or when recuperation or a successful outcome cannot be anticipated, condition management and palliative care — to support the individual and ease suffering — become primary goals. Condition management in massage therapy is used to support a client who does not have the necessary physical or emotional resources to invest in a process of therapeutic change. When change is unlikely, massage for condition management may be indicated. Positive change requires energy and creates some stress, so it is important to involve the client in decisions about his or her treatment plan. The client may not feel that he/she has the necessary physical or emotional resources to engage in a process of therapeutic change. The practitioner must engage in a thorough assessment of the client, along with the client and the other members of the client’s health care team to determine the likelihood of successful change, to determine whether condition management and palliative care should become the primary mode of treatment. Clients seeking massage for condition management account for a great number of massage therapy clients. They are individuals employed in stressful jobs, dealing with chronic health conditions, and caring for elderly relatives. Many feel they do not have the physical, financial, or emotional means to change their situations. Massage is a viable treatment in such situations,
other members of the client’s health care team, and all are privy to knowledge regarding all medications and treatments, both prescription and non-prescription, that the client may be taking. In general, the more the practitioner knows about the client’s illness, medication, and treatment plan, the more targeted and effective massage treatments can be. Massage therapy may be able to lessen or decrease the client’s dependence on certain medications, and may speed healing, due to increased circulation and the client’s enhanced ability to deal with stress. Our medical systems tend to emphasize acute and trauma care, and may seem poorly suited to the needs of the chronically ill. Massage therapists may feel some frustration with “the system” and their part in it. Practitioners who work with chronic illness must have realistic expectations about their own efficacy and the client’s illness; clients may show little change or progress, or even deteriorate slowly, or noticeably, over the period of treatment. Stabilization, rather than recuperation, may indeed be the best-case scenario for a client with chronic illness. providing both physical and emotional benefits, slowing the progression of chronic conditions, and easing muscle tension and stress, leaving the individual better able to cope with the problems of his/her life. Massage can offer a respite from life’s cares; a way to recharge the body and mind, allowing a person to approach life with renewed vitality and energy. Massage may be useful in the treatment of Alzheimer’s disease and/or Parkinson’s disease: Trager therapy, which utilizes the concept that an individual can relearn movement patterns and increase range of motion through the experience of stress- free, relaxed movement in massage and physical therapy, may be effective in reducing rigidity in individuals with Parkinson’s disease. The supportive movement of the client’s body within a pain-free range of motion may reduce the rigidity commonly experienced by individuals with Parkinson’s. Studies also suggest that massage correlates with a reduction in levels of agitation and the prevalence of other behaviors, such as pacing and vocalizing, associated with Alzheimer’s disease. Massage has implications for disabilities including cerebral palsy and spinal injury as well. Clients with cerebral palsy report decreased spasm and increased relaxation and circulation not only in the areas affected, but throughout the body as a whole, while individuals with spinal injury tend to have fewer decubitus ulcers with regular massage.
THE ELDERLY
Massage is beneficial for adults of all ages, including those who are considered elderly. It can reduce pain and decrease the sense of isolation felt by the individual, by providing a human connection often lacking in the elderly person’s life. It can also provide a means of reconnecting with a body that is slower and sometimes more frail than it used to be, as well as increase circulation, benefiting both the body and mind.
While massage methods are not qualitatively different for a younger person than for someone over age 70, there are some important considerations to keep in mind. For example, an elderly person has less muscle tissue than a younger individual. Muscle is replaced by fat and more connective tissue as a person ages. The connective tissue is not as flexible as that of a younger person; bones are thinner and more easily broken, and skin is
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Book Code: MTX1323
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