Massage for MS

[OHwlfYESuxxxZ]

Hello,

A lady has rung me up to book an appointment for a massage. She mentioned that she has MS and also that she has very limited movement and is pretty much bed bound. Nearing the end of the conversation she admitted that she was frightened of having a massage.

As I am only just setting up this means she will be amongst the first of a new wave of clients (I have had some regulars for about a year, but all of these have been for relaxation of sore backs!) and so I am hoping that someone out there might have some experience of working with clients with MS and would be prepared to give some suggestions.

I have reassured her that anything I do will be gentle, considerate of her and I will keep up communication throughout in order to adjust to her needs and give her the best attention I can.

Any advice would be gratefully received.

Many thanks, and good wishes to all.

Alison

 

[Admeral]

Keep it gentle and keep it short. I have several MS clients, and initially, they couldn't cope with any longer than 25-30 mins. We built it up over the months, and now they are quite happy with an hours treatment - although I do guage how they are feeling when they come for a treatment, and if they look in the least bit 'off' we opt for the shorter treatment. It is a case of finding the 'happy medium'. They sometimes feel whacked after a treatment, so make sure they have a drink and time to recover before they leave.

 

[Heakesaurry]

I also see a lady with MS. However she prefers a deep massage despite what is going on with her body.

She has been having massages for years tho' long before me.

Patchouli

 

[Pompal 09.]

Hi. It's nice that you'll have the chance to work together. Not massaging for too long at first sounds good. Maybe try to see if you can get some feedback of how she feels over the few days after having the massage.

At first she may need as much time to talk and allay her initial anxiety as she does time for massage, but it's mutually rewarding if it turns out that it does bring some relief and comfort. Later it may be that the stimulation of tapotement helps though some MS sufferers may then have muscle spasms, so perhaps just feel your way into trying things gradually.

Sending you peaceful thoughts and love x

 

[help me!]

I don't use any tapotement, just effleurage where appropriate, with some spine work - but mainly MLD.

 

[jakedakota2005]

I've recently taken on a client with severe ME who is bed bound and I learnt to do some manual lymphatic drainage from another therapist - we covered this on my sports massage course but not in great detail and I've never needed to use it until now. I found these good videos on Expert Village which were helpful.

As mentioned before you need to start off with a short session as if you do too much too soon it could overload the lymph system by releasing too many toxins and the person may feel worse rather than better. How people respond is unique - and you need to explain that if she feels a little worse afterwards its because you often need to feel worse before you feel better.

Good luck and this will be a great learning experience for you.

 

[calibabe]

Thank you for the helpful suggestions and relating your experiences. I have just come back from working with this lady, so we shall see where that takes us. I think we worked through it well enough, but both of us are discovering what does and doesn't work. Hopefully she'll ring me back and we can develop further.

I was pleased when she reacted positively to some work on her feet. She cannot walk as her legs will not support her so enjoyed have her feet moved around.

Best wishes all

Alison