A B M P m e m b e r s e a r n F R E E C E a t w w w. a b m p . c o m / c e b y r e a d i n g M a s s a g e & B o d y w o r k m a g a z i n e 13
READER FORUM
EMAIL YOUR LETTERS TO EDITOR@ABMP.
COM. INCLUDE YOUR FULL NAME AND THE
CITY AND STATE IN WHICH YOU RESIDE. WE
RESERVE THE RIGHT TO EDIT LETTERS FOR
LENGTH AND CLARITY.
SPOTLIGHT ON HIV/AIDS
Thank you so much for giving such excellent
coverage on the HIV/AIDS situation in your
latest magazine ( July/August 2017). With
little written about it in popular publications
these days, the topic seems to have fallen
off people's radar the last few years.
The result is that people are becoming
more complacent and less informed.
Thank you, Ruth Werner, for speaking
out so strongly about the myth regarding
the necessity to wear gloves when offering
touch to people living with HIV or AIDS.
In my 25-plus years of providing care to
people in this population, I have never had
to wear gloves.
I have been an AIDS educator in the
massage community since 1990 and an
HIV counselor and tester for over 10 years
to survivors of rape and domestic abuse.
As part of my annual required continued
education to maintain my certifi cation as a
tester and counselor for the state of Florida,
I am fortunate to receive the most up-to-
date information on testing.
The latest testing (available at least in
Florida) can detect, through a blood sample,
antibodies to the virus as early as three
weeks. That is a big improvement over the
six-month window we started with 20 years
ago! As was explained to me by the lead
scientist at the testing lab in Jacksonville,
Florida, it was not that the body was not
producing antibodies; it was that the testing
was not sophisticated enough to detect at
such low levels. Testing is so good now
that scientists can also determine pretty
well when a person was infected. Such a
blessing to those who have been subjected to
sexual contact against their will. The PEP
treatment that Ruth mentions is one our
agency offers regularly to survivors.
KAREN BALL
ST. AUGUSTINE, FLORIDA
PAIN-FREE BODYWORK?
Thank you, Erik Dalton, for not completely
agreeing with the idea of pain-free
bodywork [Massage & Bodywork, Myoskeletal
Alignment Techniques, "Pain Exposure
Therapy," July/August 2017, page 90].
During my 35 years of practicing massage,
I have experienced scores of massage
and bodywork techniques, and I have
used many of them with my clients.
Despite claims that massage/bodywork
doesn't have to be deep and painful to be
effective, many consumers of massage do
not respond to anything else. Moreover, a
large majority of my clients choose deep and
often painful massage because it relieves
myofascial pain and dysfunction more
quickly and the results last longer.
Not every massage needs to be painful
to be effective, but for many of us, it's a
requirement.
PAUL DAVID TUFF
MONTEREY, CALIFORNIA
AUTHENTIC SELF-CARE
I just started reading the May/June issue
of Massage & Bodywork. I connected
deeply to Leslie Young's Editor's Note
("Dare to Dream," page 10). It's a
powerful testament to how challenging
our limiting beliefs (something I'm
working on) leads to life-changing
experiences. Thank you for sharing it!
CATH COX
AURORA, COLORADO
