|
(Pinter
Friendly Version)
Question:
When is massage therapy for cancer patients useful and when is it not recommended?
Answer:
I am asked frequently whether massage might spread cancer by
stimulating the circulatory system and lymphatic systems. Doctors
routinely recommend walking and exercise to cancer patients,
activities that influence those two systems in much the same way as
massage. So does a hot shower and sexual activity, neither of which
is off-limits for the vast majority of cancer patients. If you're
new to massage we recommend a Swedish massage or light shiatsu.
Newcomers should probably avoid deep tissue work such as Rolfing,
which can be uncomfortable and could further stress the immune
system, certainly not the effect you would want during cancer
treatment.
However, there
always will be special circumstances and individual personalities
that might make massage inappropriate. But these considerations
rarely have to do with the disease. You should, however, draw the
therapist's attention to any area of your body that may be sensitive
-for example, if you've been having radiation treatments or have
recently had surgery.
You may be
interested to know that the American Cancer Society considers
massage "one of the most supportive and helpful complementary
therapies available" to patients and views it as helpful both
physically and emotionally because "it soothes the soul and the
mind." Beyond that, researchers at the Touch Research
Institutes (TRI) at the University of Miami have found that massage
therapy reduced anxiety and stress hormones, elevated mood, improved
the quality of life, and enhanced immune function in breast cancer
patients. Another TRI study showed that massage therapy reduced the
level of pain perception by an average of 60 percent and reduced
anxiety among 9 hospitalized men experiencing cancer-related pain.
And a TRI study of children with leukemia found that daily massage
therapy decreased distress behavior during medical procedures and
enhanced immune function.
No one suggests -
or should suggest - that massage therapy can cure or halt cancer,
but it can help relieve some symptoms and some of the side effects
of treatment, ease tension and stress, as well as improve the
quality of life and sense of well-being. We make the point that
while massage therapy can't treat the disease - the physiological
changes underlying cancer - it can address the illness - the way
patients actually feel.
Although
different types of massage therapy are often contraindicated for
cancer, knowledgeable, skilled touch is in some form rarely
contraindicated. One of the most soothing treatments for a bedridden
person is massage. In Europe and elsewhere, it is used frequently to
promote relaxation, decrease pain and speed healing. It may also
help reduce or eliminate the need for certain medications.
Massage therapy
can help prevent bedsores. By turning over, you release pressure on
the areas on which you have been lying. Massaging the pressured
areas encourages more blood to flow into the tissue. If massage is
done frequently, it will prevent skin breakdown. The buttocks, tail
bone (coccyx), wings of the shoulder blades (scapulae), hips, heels,
elbows and bumps (malleoli) around the ankles are susceptible spots
for pressure sores.
 Types of Payments Accepted
[Schedule
your appointment today]
You will be so glad you did!
| 
