Shared responsibility is one of the differences between the complementary and the medical models. Recently, I saw a physiotherapist for a number of sessions. After each one I went home carrying pictures of little stick people illustrating the exercises she’d showed me. There was an assumption that I would do my bit by doing the exercises at home. We don’t have to be physiotherapists or yoga teachers in order to offer exercise advice. All the joint manipulations, all the stretches we do during a massage, can be adapted for individual use, to help the client help herself. Lois has lower back stiffness.
At the end of the massage, before she gets off the couch, I ask her to bend her knees into her chest, hold them there for a while then rock gently from side to side. When she’s dressed, I remind her of this exercise, and suggest she does it before getting up every morning. The model of shared care also applies to sharing of information. During the massage we palpate areas of tension not mentioned previously, come across rashes or bruises, discover joint restrictions, feel energy stagnant or moving.
Now it may be appropriate to share some of this at the time, depending on the level of alertness of the client – not a good idea if he is asleep – and the extent to which you talk during the massage, but surely he is entitled to know what you discovered? Sharing information isn’t just for the sake of it though; it may reinforce the suggestions you give for aftercare, or be grounds for referral. For example, a mole on Andrew’s back seemed to be growing, so I suggested he might like his doctor to take a look at it.
Massage School Classes in Maui