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COMPLEMENTARY
HEALTH
cles being conditioned to retaining the fetal position. It’s no small running to their primary care physician every time something is sore.
wonder that I see so many clients with chronic pain patterns second- The general populace still considers massage therapy to be a luxury
ary to shortened anterior muscles.
and many doctors aren’t sure exactly how to utilize us, but when a ther-
Licensed massage therapists can’t erase 20 years of pain and stress apist is working within their scope of practice in conjunction with
in an hour, or even two. I wish we could. I explain to my clients that proper medical advice for patient referrals from a doctor, we are a valu-
massage is most useful as a preventative therapy, much akin to an oil able resource within the healthcare community. We may be able to as-
change on a car. You can drive your car for a long time without sist in reducing the long-term use of NSAIDs, steroids, muscle
changing the oil and not see any ill effects. Eventually, the engine is relaxants, and narcotic pain medications while increasing quality of
going to start showing signs of wear and tear, and when it does, you’re life in many patients who are unfamiliar with alternative options.
going to be looking at a much more significant investment than if
you’d taken the time to do the preventative maintenance. Massage Megan Benson, LMT has been a Licensed Massage
therapy can still help, but the results will not last forever without fol- Therapist since 2005. She is currently a junior studying
lowing a treatment regimen. biochemistry at Southwestern University in Georgetown,
Texas. Her website is meganbenson.massagetherapy.com.
Licensed massage therapists spend more time one-on-one with
each individual client than any other physical healthcare professional i Allen, L. Excuse Me, Exactly How Does That Work? Hocus Pocus in Holistic
because we are typically paid by time and have the luxury of listening Healthcare. Amazon; 2014.
to our clients go into great detail explaining the circumstances of
their complaints while we work. In short, we get the big picture that ii Crane J, Ogborn D, Cupido, C, et al. Massage Therapy Attenuates Inflammatory
most doctors don’t, simply because we aren’t rushed. We are also one Signaling After Exercise-Induced Muscle Damage. Sci Transl Med. 2012 Feb
of the few bridges people have between checking Dr. Google and 1;4(119):119ra13. doi: 10.1126/scitranslmed.3002882.
iii Chaudhry H, Schleip R, Ji Z, et al.Three-dimensional mathematical model for
deformation of human fasciae in manual therapy. J Am Osteopath Assoc. 2008
Aug;108(8):379-90. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18723456
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