Resources
Al-Khafaji, Ali H. "Multiple Organ Dysfunction Syndrome in Sepsis: Background, Pathophysiology,
Epidemiology." Medscape (updated January 27, 2020). https://emedicine.medscape.com/article/169640-
overview.
Al-Khafaji, Ali H. "How are Sepsis and Systemic Inflammatory Response Syndrome (SIRS) Differentiated?"
Medscape (updated January 27, 2020). www.medscape.com/answers/169640-99167/how-are-sepsis-and-
systemic-inflammatory-response-syndrome-sirs-differentiated.
Bokhari, Amber Mahmood. "Bacterial Sepsis: Practice Essentials, Background, Etiology." Medscape
(February 5, 2019). https://emedicine.medscape.com/article/234587-overview.
Faix, James D. "Biomarkers of Sepsis." Critical Reviews in Clinical Laboratory Sciences 50, no. 1 (March 2013):
23–36. https://doi.org/10.3109/10408363.2013.764490.
Farkas, Joshua David. "The Complete Blood Count to Diagnose Septic Shock." Journal of Thoracic Disease
12, suppl. 1 (February 2020): S16–S21. https://doi.org/10.21037/jtd.2019.12.63.
Gritte, Raquel Bragante et al. "Why Septic Patients Remain Sick After Hospital Discharge?" Frontiers in
Immunology 11, 605666 (February 2021). https://doi.org/10.3389/fimmu.2020.605666.
Huang, Min, Shaoli Cai, and Jingqian Su. "The Pathogenesis of Sepsis and Potential Therapeutic Targets."
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Mostel, Zachary et al. "Post-Sepsis Syndrome—An Evolving Entity that Afflicts Survivors of Sepsis." Molecular
Medicine 26, no. 6 (December 2019). https://doi.org/10.1186/s10020-019-0132-z.
Nursing Times. "Post-Sepsis Syndrome: Overview of a Relatively New Diagnosis." (July 8, 2019).
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Torrey, Trisha. "Sepsis and Septicemia Are Not the Same." Verywell Health. www.verywellhealth.com/sepsis-
and-septicemia-2615130.
a fever, and other symptoms can be scarily
vague.
It is far more likely that we might see a
client who is recovering from sepsis rather
than dealing with an acute infection. Some
patients recover fully without long-term
consequences, but as we have seen, the
number of people with post-sepsis syndrome
is increasing as survival rates for sepsis
improve.
Can massage therapy offer anything for
a client with PSS? As always, the answer is,
"It depends."
Let's put this through a critical-thinking
process to see where we land. Let's say
we have a client with PSS, and their main
complaints are about muscle weakness
in their legs, severe low-back and neck
pain, and milder joint and muscle achiness
everywhere else. They want to see if
massage therapy might help.
Analyze the question. The client's
goals are clear. What kind of massage
therapy might improve symptoms of
weakness and muscle and joint pain for this
client with PSS?
Identify relevant variables. Relevant
variables in this situation include issues
like whether they still have an active
infection (delay massage until treatment is
completed); what medications they use and
the side effects of those medications; what
their activities of daily living are—which
gives us some ideas about their general
energy levels and resilience; and finally, what
their goals are and how to track whether
they make progress. Other variables are
more specifically related to their experience
of PSS. Some of this will be revealed as you
learn more about the client's experience.
40 m a s s a g e & b o d y wo r k n ove m b e r/d e ce m b e r 2 0 2 1