Issue link: https://www.massageandbodyworkdigital.com/i/72098
FIBROMYALGIA'S MYSTERIES Client Homework 9 Remove the hot pack from the lumbar spine region after approximately 5 minutes. Repeat the previous procedure, starting first on the left side of the upper gluteal area then moving to the right side. Final effleurage strokes will be directed toward the lateral area of the gluteal region (10 minutes). If a physical therapist and/or personal trainer are part of your client's health-care team, then the client is on the road to physically managing her condition. The following homework assignments, however, assume she is relying on you for motivation to get moving. As with the focus of each massage session, self-care is for increasing circulation, stretching a stiff body, and maintaining efficient breathing. Emphasize that an element of each of these goals must be performed daily. Here is how a therapist could convey this to a client: One goal is to increase your ability to 10 Apply the slow, even strokes of effleurage (medium pressure) to the entire back, from the lumbar region to the base of the neck (5 minutes). 11 perform a gentle aerobic routine, with your final aim a consistent 30-minute workout most days. You can choose dancing, walking, bike riding, swimming—any form of low-impact movement that you enjoy. If you can only start moving for five minutes, that's acceptable. The point is to move every day to the best of your endurance and ability. Keep an exercise journal to chart your progress, and during your exercise be sure to breathe deeply. While watching TV or driving, inhale Position the client supine. Using slow, even strokes, apply compression (medium pressure) to the entire anterior surface of the body (2 minutes). deeply, hold your breath for a few seconds, and then exhale forcibly. Do this a few times every day. (Don't do this while driving if it makes you light headed.) Before you get out of bed in the morning, stretch your whole body. Lay on your back and stretch your arms up over your head and out to the side; bring your knees up off the bed, roll your hips from side to side; tense and release your abdomen and gluteal muscles; roll your head from side to side; shrug your shoulders. In the shower, support yourself and try to stretch every joint and muscle; vigorously wash your hair and soap your body. If your budget and time allow, get 12 Using open fingers, apply slow, even stroking (light pressure) through the hair, from the top of the forehead out through the length of the hair (2 minutes). 13 Allow the client to rest, untouched, for the final few minutes. a personal trainer or physical therapist who understands fibromyalgia, and ask him or her to help you create a progressive exercise routine. No matter how tired you are, try to move, breathe deeply, and stretch every single day. 40 massage & bodywork september/october 2011