Issue link: https://www.massageandbodyworkdigital.com/i/720675
F Frequently, clients in pain come to bodyworkers as a last resort. Those individuals with chronic pain are often disappointed with conventional medicine. 4 Physicians may grow frustrated trying to identify a cause that could inform a treatment plan and end up prescribing anti-depressants and pain medications. But pain is rarely fabricated, and pain medications aren't a long-term solution. There is a growing body of evidence that shows prolonged use of pain medications can worsen pain symptoms and pose substantial risk. 5 But a lack of information about massage regarding scope of practice, access (insurance reimbursement), and efficacy leaves pain sufferers seeking alternatives to pharmacology without support or counsel from their primary care providers. 6 The president of the United States; the American Medical Association; Health and Medicine Division of the National Academics of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine; the US military; and the US Centers for Disease Control have all called for a reduction in drug use, but what we really need to demand is always trying nonpharmacologic approaches first. 7 To ensure the inclusion of massage, movement, and mindfulness-based approaches, we must use current language about "whole-person approaches" and "patient-centered care," and be fluent in the literature about safety, efficacy, and patient satisfaction to entice physicians to support their patients' choice to receive massage therapy. Clients are finding their way to us, with or without the direction of their primary care providers, so let's make sure we are prepared to meet their needs. But before I go on, I want to address the most common claim I hear us make: "I can fix their pain, not just help them manage it." While this is true in many instances, and I myself have brought permanent relief to many individuals living with pain when conventional treatments failed, there are myriad degenerative or complicated conditions that may test your skills and your ability to avoid frustration or fall into the trap of blaming the client. For example, we may often slow or stall degenerative arthritis and keep the surgeon at bay, but at some point the knee or hip replacement or the spinal fusion may be necessary. Poorly healed trauma early in life may create havoc as one ages and leave the person confused about what happened to cause the current state of pain. Other conditions require treatment that permanently alter the soft tissue, such as radiation for cancer. Complicated conditions such as ALS, Parkinson's, cerebral palsy, or spinal cord injuries typically necessitate management considerations. Meet the clients where they are without judgment, keep your treatment approach flexible, adapt to their needs, and maintain your personal sense of self so as not to confuse your identity with progress that does not measure up to your ideal. MASSAGE, MOVEMENT, AND MINDFULNESS- BASED APPROACHES Disciplines that include educated, healing touch; safe movement; and conscious breathing are most often sought by clients who have given up on, not seen improvements from, or are otherwise unsatisfied with conventional approaches to 90 m a s s a g e & b o d y w o r k s e p t e m b e r / o c t o b e r 2 0 1 6 Massage therapy may also satisfy social and mental health benefits while managing pain symptoms.