Issue link: https://www.massageandbodyworkdigital.com/i/885423
A B M P m e m b e r s e a r n F R E E C E a t w w w. a b m p . c o m / c e b y r e a d i n g M a s s a g e & B o d y w o r k m a g a z i n e 57 when your touch meets your client's needs, and doesn't elicit guarding or collapse. Recently co-author Mackinnon was working with a longtime client who had an acute injury to her left knee after tripping on a sidewalk the week before. It had been resolving, and then she went to see a doctor who carried out routine orthopedic tests to diagnose the problem. This flared up all her pain and she went back to using crutches again for a few days. When she came in, the knee was clearly swollen, and the client was in a good amount of pain. Mackinnon started out by employing her physical therapist skills and palpated the medial ligament in a traditional, medical manner. It was painful with very little pressure. That alone told the therapist she was going to gain little information with this kind of touch. Instead, she then put her hands on the front and back of the client's knee and listened. She was able to feel the many structures that were affected by the client's accident and found that global inflammation was the most pressing issue. As Mackinnon's hands remained on the knee, she could feel small movements take place under her hands and see movement along the lines of pull down to the ankle as the body accessed its own self-healing capacity. The inflammation began to resolve and the client reported less pain. As Mackinnon's hands continued to cradle the knee, the client recalled that this knee had been badly injured before. She was also able to see how the doctor's exam had exacerbated the pain. She was due to see another doctor later that day for more tests, and then was scheduled to travel for several days. She was able to reflect on the timing of this and see that she would be better off postponing her doctor's appointment, which was likely to aggravate her symptoms for a bit, until after her travel. Compassionate Touch for Children We work every day to help our clients gain a healthy awareness of their bodies and a healthy relationship with touch. And we're working toward the day when children aren't educated out of their natural awareness of nurturing touch. How can we raise new generations that aren't dissociated from their bodies? One way is to introduce the idea of healthy touch in school, teaching children to recognize touch that is nurturing and helpful, and how to avoid touch that isn't. There are easy ways to talk about touch, and bringing Compassionate Touch safely into schools is one way. One of the basic ground rules around touch in schools is that permission is always given for touch from both people, either verbally or by a simple gesture like putting out your hand for a shake, or bending down and opening your arms to invite a hug. Children can also be taught how to use Compassionate Touch with one another. For example, when a student falls and hurts their knee, their friend can say, "Please, may I touch you?" And if their friend answers yes, they can then put their hands on their friend's hurt knee and think kind, loving thoughts. Susan Cotta's book I Can Show You I Care: Compassionate Touch for Children (North Atlantic Books, 2003) is a great resource for children and schools, and also for touch therapists. We use the book in our offices. Students and teachers alike have found Compassionate Touch to be a very effective way of increasing pro-social behaviors in the classroom, and it's an important component of any social and emotional learning curriculum.