Quick! Massage & pleurisy help

[yummymummy2be]

I've got a long time regular client who has just been diagnosed with pleurisy. She has an appointment tonight. Is it okay to work on her?

Thanks!!

 

[DCuchillas]

Hi mamajen,

Do you know what led up to this diagnosis? According to the pathology book I consulted, there is a number of serious respiratory infections that can result in pleurisy. My husband had it after a bout with pneumonia, and boy was it painful for him. I used a lot of moist heat applications prior to working with him, which he found soothing.

As long as your client is in a subacute seforum.xxxe of illness, its' probably okay to work with her, but you may want to consult with her physician. Hope this helps.

wellnessgarden

 

[MamaBas]

Mamajen, how did this go??

I had pleurisy many years ago and I just remember being very, very sick. My chest and ribs were very sore and it was hard to breath. I also remember not being able to lay down completely, I had to be at least semi-reclined in order to breath.

Angie

 

[Marcia]

Inflammation of the pleura, should not affect any relaxation or musculo-skeletal work you do.. as mentioned above the person maybe sore around the ribs or have referred pain into the arms and lower back..

 

[the mysterious stranger]

I ended up not working on her. Originally I had gotten a voice mail with this info. When I finally did talk to her she was saying how much her ribs hurt and she wasn't comfortable lying face down. She's an insurance client (MVA) so I work extensively on her back. Add to that the fact she spent the entire phone call coughing, I decided not to work on her last night. She's headed to the dr this morning for an update on her condition for insurance so she's going to have the dr check her lungs out again.

I have her rescheduled for Sunday so hopefully she'll be feeling a lot better by then, and not coughing all over my office!

Thanks for the help!
Jen

 

[Muninn]

I remember having this about 14 years ago. I dont know where it came from, it just happen. It was very painful whenever I had to take deep breaths or exert myself. I dont remember having a cold, just sharp pain when I coughed or took a deep breath. As I recall, it took a rather long time to go away totally, something like 2 to 3 weeks. The doc didnt give me any antibotics, it healed on its own. It probably was a viral thing for me.

 

[Angela Level 03]

Jenn offhand I do not know if it is a contraindication or not.
After your conclusion should you choose to work on her I think semi reclined or supported sidelying may be most comfortable for her. Let her find her comfortable position.
Pleurisy is NOT coneforum.xxxious...so aside from the noise(and maybe needing a tissue for sputum), it is safe to be around her.
Betting dimes to dollars that aside from her sore thoracic region, she has been bracing each time she coughs so the whole body will have been in a hypertonic state. If it is determined to be safe, a relaxation massage is probably what she needs right now.

Robyn

 

[SexySoccerGurrl]

After having my wisdom teeth pulled 5 years ago, I went through a time with pleurisy. My physician figured it was from the anesthesia that I had for the extractions. My physician also mentioned that there are two types of pleurisy, dry pleurisy or pleurisy with fluid in the pleural cavity. Whenever a pain (contraction) would come about, it was extreme stabbing pain. I had dry pleurisy.

I did get some relief with a heating pad on my chest. I actually preferred laying on the heating pad, the compression helped a great deal. They offered pain meds, but I didn't use them. I didn't have pneumonia, I figured there wasn't a need for any medication.

Heat and compressing a pillow to the thoracic region helped. It might help your client too. Just a thought.

-Grapeseed

 

[just a thought]

Thanks for the continued info. I did work on her over the weekend, she was feeling better. Still had some trouble laying prone, but wanted to so I made her as comfortable as possible. Also had some trouble moving around but again, she dealt with it.

My major concern with working on her originally was her comfort level and the fact that she was hacking away. I know pleurisy isn't coneforum.xxxious but she has some respiratory thing going on that I didn't want her to pass on. This isn't the first time she's come in sick, even though I remind her that it's not always the best time to get a massage. I wasn't sure if she was pretty much over the resp issue or not so I decided not to chance it. I certainly don't need a client coughing all over me, I've got kids to do that! :

I'll see her again in a couple of weeks, hopefully it's all gone by then.

Mamajen

 

[shimeringstars01]

pleurisy and massage

Yes! I have just had this and it feels wonderful! I am in massage
school right now, and I started hurting around the ribs. I have pleurisy every year around this time. It never fails, they say once you get it, you usually get it every year. It has been true for me, but I know one thing for sure. Massaging the area where it was hurting felt absouloutely wonderful. I could breathe soooo much better. My husband actually did this for me. I showed him where to rub and exactly how to do it. And, it did wonders for me.

 

[pepito]

t089

Have had dry pleurisy several times in my lifetime [unfortunately] and would rather take 6 beatings and a hanging than ever have it again! As much as I loath, hate and despise taking meds, I religiously took my anti-inflammatory meds, used castor oil packs over my back to hopefully help the inflammation indirectly, and prayed for sweet release from the sandpaper and firey gasoline applied to soft tissue sensations of dry pleurisy.

The heating pads helped quite a bit, and so did very gentle, relaxing massage anywhere but on my back........ kind of took my mind off of the rest of my plight!

Hope your client gets well soon!