Issue link: https://www.massageandbodyworkdigital.com/i/588318
F r e e S O A P n o t e s w i t h M a s s a g e B o o k f o r A B M P m e m b e r s : a b m p . u s / M a s s a g e b o o k 93 Though worrying may have had an evolutionary advantage for survival through being prepared for potential negative outcomes, it has a deleterious effect when connected to pain. Worrying can lead to hyperfocusing on the pain, and if pain is viewed and treated only as a physical phenomenon, the worry intensifies as each attempt to eliminate the pain fails. If your client is a worrier, try redirecting her problem-solving attention from pain relief to practical goals. 10 For example, years ago Hong came to me with knee pain. She had a Baker's cyst in the back of her knee, resulting in constant inflammation, and had multiple knee surgeries for ligament and tendon damage. She had avoided knee replacement because she was susceptible to infection. Hong's brain had two settings: worry and more worry. She was a problem-solver on steroids. In retrospect, I was ineffective as a massage therapist when my focus was only to eliminate her pain. My massage was more effective when it was meant to support her meaningful goals, like completing a charity bicycling event, where the focus then was on managing the pain, not eliminating it. 4. SELF-EFFICACY MODEL Self-efficacy can be defined as the belief in one's capacity to figure out and execute actions that will produce desired results (i.e., active coping). 11 Active coping gives a chronic-pain sufferer confidence that she can deal with the pain, resulting in an improved quality of life. A chronic-pain sufferer who has embraced the self-efficacy approach to pain management understands her condition, uses self-care strategies to deal with a flare-up, works around limitations, and has a support system. You can help a client engaged in active coping by showing her self-massage options, suggesting different ways to lift objects and move during a chronic pain flare-up, and providing recommendations to health- care professionals you've vetted. My massage was more effective when it was meant to support realistic goals, where the focus was on managing the pain, not eliminating it.