Issue link: https://www.massageandbodyworkdigital.com/i/1515580
A B M P m e m b e r s ea r n F R E E C E h o u r s by rea d i n g t h i s i s s u e ! 23 With your client on the table, shift your work away from breaking things up to guiding them back together. Isolate a muscle or combined muscle grouping, ask your client to fire said muscle or muscles, and move your work with the action. Use one hand to slide up the peroneal as it everts the foot and your other hand to encourage the eversion. Or use one hand to slide along the forearm extensors toward the elbow as they extend the wrist and hand and your other hand to assist in the extending. Work with the f low, not against it. Being prepared for the work you do with wounded clients is expansive, but don't get overwhelmed by it. Remember, a scar is the body's way of protecting itself. Left unattended, though, that protection can become destructive. Don't isolate the scar more. Reintroduce it to the body it belongs to and help the scar remember that it's a part of something bigger. This is, after all, a powerful tactic in preventing an uprising. Allison Denney is a certifi ed massage therapist and certifi ed YouTuber. You can fi nd her massage tutorials at YouTube.com/RebelMassage. She is also passionate about creating products that are kind, simple, and productive for therapists to use in their practices. Her products, along with access to her blog and CE opportunities, can be found at rebelmassage.com. To read more about massage therapy and treating scars, read "The Anatomy of Scar Tissue" in Massage & Bodywork magazine, November/December 2023, page 70. Scar, the character, has a shining moment in The Lion King in which he rallies his tattered hyena gang. (He does this, of course, in a song.) Gearing them up for the maliciousness they are about to enact, the point he drives home is "be prepared." And this, my fellow caretaker of scar tissue, couldn't be more on point. There are many methods for approaching an injury and the havoc it has wreaked on anatomical tissue. But being prepared for what lies on your table is by far the best starting point. What was the injury? How long ago did it occur? How severe was it? How healthy was the client when it happened? How have they managed it since? There are so many questions to ask that help you better decide your approach. But remember: Whether your client has clear answers to these queries is one thing. Their tissues, most likely, still don't know what hit them. An injury—be it a sprain, a strain, a break, or any of the -itises—disorients the anatomy it has taken over. It's your job to reorient them. CONNECT AT THE START Assess the site of the injury before getting your client on the table. Use real-life movements, like standing, leaning, or lifting, to get a greater understanding of not only the range of motion but also proprioception. Don't hesitate to palpate as your client moves through these actions. Get a stronger sense of what the calf feels like after an Achilles strain in combination with a slight squat. Or, gather information on what the rotator cuff feels like after a shoulder dislocation while it attempts to lift a water bottle. The forces and loads that shift the way muscles and fascia act are huge pieces of information. WATCH VIDEO "MASSAGE TUTORIAL: INJURED ANKLE REHABILITATION" There are many methods for approaching an injury and the havoc it has wreaked on anatomical tissue. But being prepared for what lies on your table is by far the best starting point.