I was just finishing massage school at the Swedish Institute in 2008 and I remember at the time Memorial Sloan Kettering (MSK) in New York City was one of the few hospitals that had a full-time massage therapist on staff. As a matter of fact, the lead massage therapist from MSK came to my school on career day to speak to the students about working in the medical field instead of spas and other areas. As a result, I took courses at MSK to massage terminally ill patients with cancer and other conditions. I immediately found my calling. I tried to work in spas and massage franchises, but for me, there is nothing like working with nurses and doctors and helping a patient in a clinical setting. Please don’t think I am diminishing the work of therapists who prefer practicing in other types of environments that promote massage for relaxation. I worked on both practice settings, spas and hospice, and I learned from both environments. Massage has benefits on all settings.
I was recently going through some of my old massage publications and I came across an article that caught my attention in the Massage Therapy Journal (Summer 2018) related to massage therapy helping on postoperative patients. The article stated that more than 48 million surgeries of all types are performed each year in the United States. I imagined that since this was more than one-year old article, the number could be outdated. I found another article from Massage Bodyworks magazine published in 2012 citing the same number of operations. I became more intrigued, so I dug further, and I found the website Qualityforum.org and they give gave the following information: “The rate of procedures performed in freestanding ambulatory surgery centers increased by 300 percent in the 10-year period from 1996 to 2006. The rate of surgical procedures continues to increase annually. The rate of procedures performed in freestanding ambulatory surgery centers increased by 300 percent in the 10-year period from 1996 to 2006. In 2006, an estimated 53.3 million surgical and nonsurgical procedures were performed in U.S. ambulatory surgery centers, both hospital-based and freestanding. In 2010, 51.4 million inpatient procedures were performed in nonfederal hospitals in the United States…”
A lot of thoughts crossed my mind about these numbers, many are positive, such as, advances in technology, better processes in hospitals to improve patient safety and better quality of life. In addition, some less than positive thoughts come to mind. However, before I can discuss them, I would need to research and have comparable data from other developed countries in order to question, Is this a worldwide change? Are there other options before “going under the knife?” I just hope we are not becoming a culture that find surgery a quick fix option just like fast food.
So, I’ll try keeping the positive thoughts in mind. Here is how massage therapy can help on post-surgery after medical clearance:
- Muscle realignment;
- Minimizing scar tissue;
- Lowering the incidence of deep vein thromboembolism – a major potential complication of many surgeries;
- Releasing over-contracted muscles which sometimes get hyper-toned to help protect the surgical area from injury;
- Reducing pain (in combination with pain medication – massage does not replace prescribed medication);
- Reducing discomfort of surrounding areas of surgery; and
- Reducing anxiety and stress, especially if combined with aromatherapy.
Before having massage therapy, please always check with your doctor if massage therapy is indicated for your condition. It is important to inform the massage therapist about your surgery, medications, and allow the massage therapist to communicate with your doctor, if necessary. Always check about the licensing and credentials of your massage therapist. Essential Oils should only be used in your massage session if the massage therapist is also clinically certified in aromatherapy or if the oil was blended by a Clinical Certified Aromatherapist. Essential Oils are potentially dangerous if not diluted.
