Issue link: https://www.massageandbodyworkdigital.com/i/72195
PATHOLOGY PERSPECTIVES We are in a unique position to create bodywork sessions that soothe, calm, and promote improved function through proprioceptive facilitation. injury. Stroke patients may have other cardiovascular conditions, or a risk of another stroke. Spastic muscle fibers are vulnerable to injury. The threat of blood clots and deep vein thrombosis remains high for people who are not mobile. Urinary tract and kidney infections are a hazard for anyone using a urinary catheter; lung infections are a constant threat for people who can't cough well. Hyperreflexia is a situation where a minor stimulus creates a dangerously exaggerated sympathetic response. These risks can be mitigated with education, curiosity, adaptability of bodywork sessions, and good communication with the rest of the patient's care providers. The impact that massage therapy may have on CNS injury and prognosis is an open question. New revelations about how adaptable an injured CNS truly is create a wide array of possibilities in which massage therapists may participate. teaches several courses at the Myotherapy College of Utah and is approved by the NCTMB as a provider of continuing education. She wrote A Massage Therapist's Guide to Pathology (Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, 2009), now in its fourth edition, which is used in massage schools worldwide. Werner is available at www.ruthwerner.com or wernerworkshops@ruthwerner.com. Ruth Werner is a writer and educator who NOTE 1. These numbers do not include military personnel injured in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. This population adds an estimated 320,000 to the total number of TBI survivors over the past five years. massagetherapy.com—for you and your clients 117