Issue link: https://www.massageandbodyworkdigital.com/i/230373
Why does it work? All nerves need oxygen to function and survive. As one of my earliest instructors at massage therapy school put it, "A nerve in pain is a nerve screaming for oxygen." Although DPN and CIPN have multifaceted causes, one recurring factor is that the peripheral nerves are in oxidative debt. One of the greatest benefits of massage therapy is its ability to increase localized circulation. If DPN and CIPN are on some level caused by a lack of cellular oxygen (poor local circulation), then any techniques that increase local circulation to the peripheral nerves should decrease symptoms. Assess Your Client When seeing a client who has been diagnosed with DPN or CIPN, your intake questions should clarify the location and severity of signs and symptoms. Perform a careful, detailed visual examination of the hands and feet, looking between fingers and toes and inspecting both dorsal and plantar surfaces. Gentle touch should also investigate significant changes in tissue temperature. Pregangrenous tissue can feel alarmingly cold. Gentle pressure is applied to the affected tissue with careful observance of the client's response. Using the 0–10 pain scale will help the therapist determine the aggressiveness with which she can then apply the appropriate protocol. Charting all observations and responses will prove invaluable as the therapeutic relationship progresses, and in reporting improvement to the client's physician. It pays to be ABMP Certified: www.abmp.com/go/certifiedcentral 87