Issue link: https://www.massageandbodyworkdigital.com/i/1417136
L i s te n to T h e A B M P Po d c a s t a t a b m p.co m /p o d c a s t s o r w h e reve r yo u a cce s s yo u r favo r i te p o d c a s t s 41 PATHOLOGY PERSPECTIVES Articles like this one and others listed in the resources section will help fi ll in your knowledge about this condition. Challenge assumptions. What assumptions have we made so far? At this point, it would be useful to ensure we have a clear and accurate understanding of our client's priorities and a full grasp of any safety issues as we begin to envision treatment options. For instance, a client's low-back pain might be due to musculoskeletal factors—or it might be a referral from their damaged kidneys. For this reason, it is wise (with permission) to consult with the client's health-care provider about your plans and goals to be sure they're in alignment. (Note: The phrase "consult with" is not the same as asking permission. A consultation will allow you to get the fullest possible picture of the client's needs.) Consider alternatives. Before we map out a session plan, we should look for any information about what other practitioners have done for patients with PSS. I can save you some time here: My dive into what the research says about PSS suggests that there is no specifi c treatment protocol using massage or other interventions. So while there are infi nite choices for how to proceed, none of them have been documented to be better than others. Plan and conduct your fi rst session. You've gathered information about PSS, and you have a clear idea about your client's goals. You have a sense of their resilience, so you can provide a session that does not overchallenge their allostatic capacity— their ability to maintain homeostasis with ease. Take a moment now to visualize that session: What is your plan? How long will the session be? How will you position your client on the table? What kind of pressure and speed will you use? Where on the body will you focus? What other accommodations will you make for this client? Refl ect on results. Congratulations. That was a lot of work just to get ready for one session. But how will you know if your work is effective? When a client has some specifi c goals for massage (like having less muscle and joint pain, and feeling stronger), it's important to plan how to track progress. That way, if you do make progress, you can celebrate. But if you don't make the progress that you're looking for, you can adjust your strategies. Post-sepsis syndrome is common and becoming more so. Many people with PSS experience pain, weakness, depression, anxiety, fatigue, insomnia, and other situations for which massage therapy has demonstrated benefi ts. As long as you are working in conjunction with the rest of your client's health-care team, it seems reasonable to suggest massage therapy might be a great choice for people who live with this chronic, common, poorly understood condition. Note 1. Singer, Mervyn et al., "The Third International Consensus Defi nitions for Sepsis and Septic Shock (Sepsis-3)," JAMA 315, no. 8 (February 2016): 801–10, https://doi.org/10.1001/jama.2016.0287. Ruth Werner is a former massage therapist, a writer, and an NCBTMB- approved continuing education provider. She wrote A Massage Therapist's Guide to Pathology (available at booksofdiscovery. com), now in its seventh edition, which is used in massage schools worldwide. Werner is also the host of the podcast I Have a Client Who . . . on The ABMP Podcast Network. She is available at ruthwerner.com or wernerworkshops@ruthwerner.com. It's About TIME Temperature is higher or lower than normal Infection signs and symptoms may be present Mental decline, confusion, sleepiness are present Extremely ill—patients may have pain, discomfort, or shortness of breath T I M E SCAN AND WATCH "Sepsis: The Hidden Crisis" 1. Open your camera 2. Scan the code 3. Tap on notification 4. Watch!