QuestionHi, I am a student doing swedish massage and part of an assignment i have to explain why certain conditions are contr-indications to swedish massage and what effects going ahead with the treatment might have
Diabetes, epilepsy, spastic conditions, dysfunction of nervous system, skin disorders, severe bruising, haemorrahage, swelling, cuts, recent operations and fractures.
Also the advice to give to a client with contr-indication. I know this is long, any advice would help!
Thanks
AnswerGreetings Laura. To make this easier, let me list them in the order you described them.
Diabetes - There is little risk for diabetes itself; infact, massage actually helps temporarily lower blood sugar naturally. The risk here is if the person has peripheral neuropathy from the diabetes, where they have no sensation in their legs and feet. The risk here is that, since they cannot properly judge pain or depth, you ould injure them accidentally.
Epilepsy - Not necessarily contraindicated (CI'ed), but mroe severe forms of the disease could be. The threat is that the person could experience an epileptic episode on the table, and, if you are not familiar in dealing with it, accidentally hurt either you or themselves.
Spastic conditions - This is a general term to describe any condition that tightens muscles uncontrollably. This includes things like cerebral palsy and multiple sclerosis. While massage can actually provide some relief for these conditinos, there is also the chance for an unexperienced therapist to accidentally over stretch and damage the too tight muscles.
Nervous system disfunctions - These are much harder to describe. It can include things from above, like multiple sclerosis and cerebral palsy, neuropathy and injuries.
Skin disorders - If a skin condition is painful or contagious, it is CI'ed for massage, since it could spread to you or cause more pain for the client. Things like empitigo and ringworm are very contagious, in addition to being painful, and something like shingles (herpes viruses, similar to chicken pox, that live in the nerves in the body) would be excrutiating for the client.
Severe bruising - bruising, tearing of the capilaries near the skin, is indicative of an injury. Massage could be very painful, and might even slow the healing of the bruise, since it might re-damage the healing capillaries.
Haemorrahage - Obviously, if the person is bleeding heavily, they need medical attention. And since massage causes an increase in the circulatory system, it might make it bleed more, or re-start bleeding in a just-healed cut.
Swelling - Most types of massage actually shut down the lymphatic capillaries, the pathways used to increase and decrease swelling. Massage would keep the swelling present longer, and might even increase it. Now, lymphatic massage, a very superficial massage, done properly, is perfect for reducing edema (swelling).
Cuts and recent operations - These can be classed together, since they are CI for massage for the same reasons. Small cuts can be avoided (locally contraindicated) in a massage. For larger ones, massage would cause pain, could re-open the cut, and could cause an infection.
Fractures - This should also be simple to understand. Any pressure would be very painful, and could cause it to rebreak, slowing healing.
As for advice for the client, you can just describe what I told you. Use the proper terms (people understand more than you'd believe), and remember to never diagnose nor prescribe. If they have more specific questions or you do not know the answer, refer them to their health care provider. It is always preferrable to be safe than sorry.
I hope this helps, Laura. Please feel free to write with any other questions. Also please feel free to rate me on AllExperts; both positive and constructive feedback help me help others better.
Sincerely,
Christopher Hall
