Whitney Lowe is the developer and instructor of one of the profession’s most popular orthopedic massage training programs. His text and programs have been used by professionals and schools for almost 30 years. Learn more at academyofclinicalmassage.com.
Low-back pain is not only costly, it’s often hard to diagnose. Taking a proper health history and exploring assessment tools will get practitioners closer to finding an answer for their clients.
Massage therapy alone can’t fix bony misalignments, but it can help manage soft-tissue disorders and symptoms associated with valgus and varus alignments.
Massage and soft-tissue therapy play particularly beneficial roles in treating radial tunnel syndrome (RTS). It is essential to address the entire arm comprehensively, so massage treatment should focus on the upper extremity and cervical regions.
Massage therapy is a core component for treating ankle sprains and is used with other treatments used by other providers, such as laser therapy, ultrasound, microcurrent, and electrical stimulation.
Rotator cuff issues can vary from mild strains to severe tears, posing treatment dilemmas. Massage can play a key role in conservative treatments if the therapy is well-designed and targeted to the client’s individual presentation.
While massage therapists do not perform diagnostic imaging, understanding its role and limitations in identifying rotator cuff pathologies can enhance client education and interprofessional communication.
Expressing a genuine interest in hearing the nature of the client’s complaint is the first step to building trust between you and them. Knowing what information to delve into is partly experience, but having a working knowledge of the most common musculoskeletal issues can help develop your investigation strategy.
There are several potential causes of plantar foot pain, including the most common, plantar fasciitis. Other nerve entrapment syndromes, such as tarsal tunnel syndrome, Morton’s neuroma, and Baxter’s neuropathy, can also cause plantar foot pain.
