Step-by-Step Massage Therapy Protocols for Common Conditions

Discover how to use your knowledge of massage to support clients with specific medical conditions!
Step-by-Step Massage Therapy Protocols for Common Conditions is intended to give massage therapy students and practitioners the knowledge and confidence to work safely with clients who have medical conditions. Relying on her many years of massage experience, Charlotte Michael Versagi outlines the skills needed to assess wisely, think critically, and use techniques already learned and practiced in massage school to work with these clients. The text provides practical, thorough protocols to help therapists support their clients while steering them away from doing any harm.
This text prepares the student in a massage program, or the therapist already practicing, to become an effective member of a client’s healthcare team. The book is designed so that the therapist can quickly understand the basics of the condition, the most common strategies for medical treatment, and how to relieve pain and help the client deal with the condition.
The book’s easy-to-navigate organization helps create an effective learning experience, presenting the foundation for protocols in chapters 1-5, and then turning to specific conditions (arranged alphabetically) in chapters 6-44.
 Each condition chapter presents a comprehensive yet concise explanation of the condition—what causes it, how it develops, how it is treated, and how the massage therapist can assess the condition's effect on the client. The central feature of each of these chapters is the Massage Therapy Protocol, which presents in tabular form a suggested protocol for supporting healing with massage therapy.

• Pathophysiology helps readers understand the nature and progression of the medical condition.
• Thinking It Through offers a set of questions for the massage therapist to consider before working with the client.
• Massage Therapy Assessment guides therapists in evaluating a client’s condition for the purpose of designing and implementing an effective massage therapy program.
• Therapeutic Goals help readers determine what is—and is not—a goal of massage therapy when working with a client who has a medical condition.
• Contraindications and Cautions alert readers when particular massage techniques may be harmful or medical intervention may be necessary.
• Review Questions assess understanding of the medical condition and its treatment.

Part I Groundwork: Fundamental Knowledge for Intelligent Hands
Chapter 1 Defining and Practicing Clinical Massage
Chapter 2 Physiologic Effects of Basic Massage Strokes and Techniques
Chapter 3 The Physiology of Muscular Activity and Pain
Chapter 4 Medications for Common Medical Conditions
Chapter 5 Beyond the Table: Client Homework and Referring Out
Part II Step-by-Step Massage Therapy Protocols
Chapter 6 Ankylosing Spondylitis
Chapter 7 Bell's Palsy
Chapter 8 Bursitis
Chapter 9 Carpal Tunnel Syndrome
Chapter 10 Cerebral Palsy
Chapter 11 Chronic Fatigue Syndrome
Chapter 12 Constipation
Chapter 13 Degenerative Disc Disease
Chapter 14 Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness
Chapter 15 Fibromyalgia
Chapter 16 Frozen Shoulder
Chapter 17 Headache—Migraine
Chapter 18 Headache—Tension
Chapter 19 HIV/AIDS
Chapter 20 Hyperkyphosis
Chapter 21 Iliotibial Band Syndrome
Chapter 22 Insomnia
Chapter 23 Multiple Sclerosis
Chapter 24 Muscle Spasm
Chapter 25 Neuropathy: Diabetic Peripheral and Chemotherapy-Induced Peripheral
Chapter 26 Osteoarthritis
Chapter 27 Parkinson's Disease
Chapter 28 Piriformis Syndrome
Chapter 29 Plantar Fasciitis
Chapter 30 Post-Polio Syndrome
Chapter 31 Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder
Chapter 32 Raynaud’s Phenomenon
Chapter 33 Rheumatoid Arthritis
Chapter 34 Scars
Chapter 35 Sciatica
Chapter 36 Scoliosis
Chapter 37 Sprain and Strain
Chapter 38 Stress
Chapter 39 Stroke
Chapter 40 Temporomandibular Joint Dysfunction
Chapter 41 Tendonitis
Chapter 42 Thoracic Outlet Syndrome
Chapter 43 Trigger Points
Chapter 44 Whiplash
 Index