Massage & Bodywork

JULY | AUGUST 2016

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options are complex, interdisciplinary, and often unsatisfactory. 2. Treatment strategies for CPP can include various forms of manual therapies. Visceral manipulation that focuses on the pelvic organs may be one approach, but more general massage that promotes a pain-free focus on the abdomen and pelvis may help a client experience her body as a beloved and interwoven whole. 3. Many CPP patients struggle with other conditions that may exacerbate their situation. Depression and/or anxiety can make the burden of pelvic pain even worse. Interventions that promote a sense of power and autonomy, that preserve a sense of safety, and that impart a sense of hopefulness for continued improvement appear to have the best promise for long-term improvement for this complicated problem. Massage therapists are uniquely capable of creating settings that promote these important qualities. We invite our clients into our beautiful, clean, quiet, welcoming space. We can provide accurate information that allows them the power to take some control of their situation. We can remind them they are not permanently broken. We can offer them the opportunity to design the session they need most. And we can show them that they can make progress toward what better really means to them. Ruth Werner, BCTMB, is a former massage therapist, a writer, and an NCBTMB-approved provider of continuing education. She wrote A Massage Therapist's Guide to Pathology (Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, 2016), now in its sixth edition, which is used in massage schools worldwide. Werner is available at www.ruthwerner.com. PATHOLOGY PERSPECTIVES C h e c k o u t A B M P 's l a t e s t n e w s a n d b l o g p o s t s . Av a i l a b l e a t w w w. a b m p . c o m . 45 her own functional goals, and her therapist creates strategies to work toward them in incremental steps. Any pain that is elicited in this process must be within the patient's tolerance level, so that her sense of safety and control is not challenged. Ultimately, the goal for CPP treatment is for the woman to achieve a level of function that meets her priorities, and for her to be able to continue to independently maintain and improve her function. "If it takes me for them to be successful, then I have not been successful," Hilton says. WHAT DOES THIS MEAN FOR MASSAGE THERAPISTS? A person with CPP may pursue treatment in a lot of different directions. Occupational therapists, physical therapists, psychotherapists, gynecologists, and surgeons all have contributions to treat this complicated condition. But massage therapists may have advantages that some of these other providers do not. We have time to listen compassionately, and to offer accurate and hopeful messages about self- empowerment and improvement—often in a way that amplifies the interventions of other providers. We also have the privilege of being able to provide a perception of luxury and indulgence that accompanies our clinical skill. This allows our clients to feel they are being rewarded at the same time that they are doing the hard work of taking control of a difficult situation. In a nutshell, the best interfaces between massage therapy and CPP may boil down to these key points: 1. CPP is a common disorder that is not well understood. This multifactorial condition compromises the quality of life for millions of women. Its treatment Ultimately, the goal for CPP treatment is for the woman to achieve a level of function that meets her priorities, and for her to be able to continue to independently maintain and improve her function.

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