Client With MS

[ANON123456]

I will be starting a new client who has MS.  I have never worked on a client with condition.  I was wondering if any one here had and if any one had and helpful advice or tips to pass along my way.       TIA           Morgan

 

[Carly123]

Knowledge of lymphatics helps!Sometimes it helps to work in coordination with his or her physician. That really ensures the best results, but a personal matter. BJB has good advice, talk with yourclient. Discussing the topics she suggested will help you most in the long run, and your client as well.   She or he may also have a problem getting on or off your table if you aren't using a hi-lo? Depends on the progression...you may want to keep an eye on that.  Also, you may have to avoid irritating the "pitting" areas, commonly on the legs, if such signs present themselves.  They sometimes manifest as small open sores.

 

[Christina d]

Thank you for you advice.  I saw her for the first time yesterday and it went great.  In fact Im going to be seeing her agian in a couple of weeks!  It was a lot less "scary" then I thought it would be. ) Thanks Agian!          

 

[Fuzzy]

Client With MS

Good to hear it went soo well. The current issue of Massage & Bodywork has a fascinating article about how CAM treatments can help MS patients.Foz xxx)

 

[Nic]

When working with MS, here are a few points to remember:[Do not over heat them, I would suggest if using a warmer to keep it on a very low setting, better yet only use a sheet] [Watch out for injection sites, they periodically change them] [Some MS patients ask for deep pressure because they have loss the ability to feel, don't do harm to them and yourself][If massage is new for them, their tissue texture will feel clay-like, use a little extra oil and moderate pressure, use long strokes and broadening. After a few massages, you may feel improvement] [Remember not to tire them out with too long of a massage. I would  suggest keeping it under 60 minutes]Good luck and be well.lmf

 

[Rockownsrap]

I finally was able to give the massage to my friend with MS. Thank you all for your advice in this post and the one I orginated.I did a medium pressure massage, with quite a bit of stretching. She used to be a dancer, so these were much appreciated! She was totally floating when she got off the table. Her daughters wanted to know how long the good mood would last!  ;D

 

[bjjnoobie]

Thank you very much for the imput!  I have been able to see her a couple of times now and it has been going very well.  You have just reconfermed what I thought would be best although I didnt know about the heat thing that I will keep in minde.  MITherapist  ;D

 

[CaliBlondi7]

"A Massage Therapist's Guide to Pathology" by Ruth Werner is a must have basic medical guide book.  It has a great section on MS, where it is mentioned to avoid heating the inner core of the client.It is also important to chat with the client before hand because each MS client varys and depending upon how often they have flare ups, a lot can change from one time to the next.Keep up the good work.

 

[justmeh1987]

Client With MS

A few other threads we have here regarding MS:

Multiple Sclerosis & Massage
http://www.massageplanet.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=21849

and

Multiple Sclerosis
http://www.massageplanet.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=21102