By Pete Whitridge
I regularly feel incredibly grateful to be a massage therapist. A particularly gratifying aspect of my work is when I get to combine both my teaching and clinical practices. Many of you know that I have a part-time massage therapy practice here on the Treasure Coast. Many of my clients are fellow therapists and healing arts practitioners and it’s not unusual to be asked to provide an assessment of one of their clients. We generally use the time together to explore issues in the therapy where they might be feeling stuck or want some further input from a more experienced therapist.
I recently had the opportunity to offer this service to the nine year old client (D) of a colleague I’ll call J. The boy had been suffering from persistent neck and shoulder pain for approximately four months. D is an elementary school student, is in generally good health otherwise, and has a six month old baby sister. His mom is a regular client of my colleague and her son had received several treatments from J previously. Those massages had helped D but had not eliminated his pain. J has taken various myofascial workshops with me previously and incorporates the work into her practice. She requested that I provide a short treatment (30-45 mins) for D that she could observe to see if there were additional approaches she might include in her work with him. Mom was invited to be in the room during the treatment as well so that she could observe our work together and so I could teach her some ideas for follow-up homecare. J particpated in the session at various times and was encouraged to ask questions and make comments as she observed the treatment.
During the session, I worked to build trust and relaxation by gently rocking and slowly rotating the cervical spine, applying gentle movements at the occipital ridge, and initiating various isometric contractions against my hands or the massage table. D seemed to really enjoy the movement and commented that he did not feel dizzy, just floaty. I put a pillow under his head and neck and proceeded to pull on his left arm (the painful side) and to gently test the range of motion of the humerus at the socket as well as all motion of the scapulae and clavicle. Generally, I was investigating D’s ranges of motion and his relaxation response. Any place that felt “stuck” or slow would receive more attention in the form of isometric contractions and reciprocal inhibition movements. Finally, I turned D over and provided some slow back massage, from the occiput to the lower hamstrings, to bring his attention to his breathing and to notice changes in his sensory awareness. We included a few more isometric contraction patterns to solidify and reinforce the concept of allowing targeted muscles to relax (inhibition), while the muscles on the opposing (reciprocal) side engage.
This was a learning session for everyone. Mom gained confidence that D was healthy and didn’t need advanced medical care. My colleague was reminded of the power of active and resistive movement tests and also the benefits of eliciting better feedback and actively engaging the client in the therapeutic process. The client learned to gain control over his discomfort and to actively participate in the reduction of his own pain; excellent knowledge to gain at such a young age!
All this learning was the result of adding movement and positive pressure into the muscles and joints while encouraging internal awareness. This in turn supports better sleep, reduces anxiety about pain and restricted motion, and engages the client in his own healing process. Most importantly, D deepened his knowledge of his own body and as a result, has become more interoceptively aware and empowered. This was confirmed when I received a sweet message from J that D was feeling so much better and was actively running, jumping, and playing on the playground again and that he was no longer experiencing pain.
These techniques and much more will be a part of the Myofascial Components of Head, Neck and Shoulder Pain workshop that I’ll be offering March 4-5. As always, it will be a wonderful opportunity to learn, to receive skillful work, and to have fun interacting with your colleagues. Please join us.
REGISTRATION LINK: https://www.whitridgewellness.com/store/p27/Registration295.html
