Massage Therapy Journal Summer 2024
Summer 2024 • 65
massage sessions, and may aim to help clients better manage symptoms like pain, nausea, anxiety and depression, and sleep issues. “Compared to traditional massage therapy, palliative care seeks to help clients just feel better, and not effect a particular therapeutic change or outcome, such as reducing muscle tension, loosening adhesions or even integration,” says Michael Patrick, LMT, owner at Centered Presence. “It is simply to calm, soothe and comfort.” Symptom relief is also a benefit of palliative care, and massage therapy has shown real benefit, according to Joseph David Elder, MA, LMT. “Massage therapy for palliative care patients is used for symptom and stress management, comfort, quality of life improvement, support, and relaxation, and not rehabilitation,” he explains. “Palliative massage aims to invoke the parasympathetic nervous system,” Patrick adds. “It does this in a very gentle, accessible pace that allows clients to receive benefits without inadvertently creating resistance.” Additionally, the guidance often provided by a massage therapist during a session, such as meditation cues or therapeutic positioning
instructions, can help to improve a client’s self care skills, quality of life and comfort between massage sessions. Massage Benefits and Contraindications When Working With Palliative Care Clients Recent research continues to build on what is currently understood about the role massage therapy plays in integrative health care approaches like palliative care, reinforcing the benefits some massage therapists are seeing with these clients. A 2022 study 1 exploring the feasibility and acceptability of caregiver massage therapy for patients in palliative care, patients’ and caregivers’ experience of massage therapy, and the staff perspectives about caregiver massage therapy in palliative care, followed patients who were offered massage therapy from a caregiver who had been trained in a massage protocol. Caregiver massage therapy was provided up to five days post training, and both patients and caregivers completed self-report measures of satisfaction. Additionally, caregivers rated massage related burden and confidence.
Intake is always important, but especially so when working
with clients who are seeking massage for palliative care.
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