Massage Therapy & Deep Vein Thrombosis (DVT): Precautions & Considerations

Question
I am in a massage therepy class and I am doing a report on DVT. I have found most of my information. I need to know if there is a person with DVT, is it ok to give them a massage? Do you avoid the area where the clott is? Your help will be muchly appriciated.

Thankyou,
Renee

Answer
Greetings Renee. A deep vein thrombosis (DVT) is one of those few conditions that is totally contraindicated (CI) for massage. Even if you avoid the limb that the clot is in, you are still mobilizing both the lymphatic and the circulatory systems, which could put too much pressure on the vein with the clot. The drs feared that my mother had that when I graduated from massage school, and she almost did not come out for it. I use the dr's rules as a guideline; if the clot is present and a potential danger, they will tell the person to not fly. When they are clear to travel by air, they are fine for massage.

Just remember that the blood thinners they might still be on increase the risk of bruising.

I hope this helps, Renee. Please feel free to write if you have any other questions. Also please feel free to rate me on AllExperts; both constructive and positive feedback help me learn to help others better.

Sincerely,
Christopher Hall