Ep 401 – Fibroid Tumors: “I Have a Client Who . . .” Pathology Conversations with Ruth Werner | Associated Bodywork & Massage Professionals

12/01/2023

A woman holding her lower abdomen with red pain coloring.

A client wants to know if massage will help with their uterine fibroids? How can we answer this question? What does “help” mean? What are their goals? What does the research say?

Spoiler: the research, while thin, holds some surprises.

Resources: 

Pocket Pathology: https://www.abmp.com/abmp-pocket-pathology-app

Massage Today (no date) Massage Today. Available at: https://www.massagetoday.com/articles/14184/Uterine-Fibroids (Accessed: 29 November 2023).

Maya Abdominal Massage for Women: Northeast Rehab (no date) Northeast Rehabilitation Hospital. Available at: https://www.northeastrehab.com/services/maya-massage/ (Accessed: 29 November 2023).

Mehl-Madrona, L. (2002) ‘Complementary medicine treatment of uterine fibroids: a pilot study’, Alternative Therapies in Health and Medicine, 8(2), pp. 34–36, 38–40, 42, 44–46.

Rubio, E.M. et al. (2023) ‘Complementary and Alternative Medicine Use Among Women with Symptomatic Uterine Fibroids’, Journal of Women’s Health (2002), 32(5), pp. 546–552. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1089/jwh.2022.0094.

The Dos and Don’ts of Managing Fibroids – Taking Control Of Your Health : Midwest Institute for Non-Surgical Therapy: Vascular and Interventional Radiologists (no date). Available at: https://www.mintstl.com/blog/the-dos-and-donts-of-managing-fibroids-taking-control-of-your-health (Accessed: 29 November 2023).

Author Images:

Author Bio:

Ruth Werner is a former massage therapist, a writer, and an NCBTMB-approved continuing education provider. She wrote A Massage Therapist’s Guide to Pathology, now in its seventh edition, which is used in massage schools worldwide. Werner is also a long-time Massage & Bodywork columnist, most notably of the Pathology Perspectives column. Werner is also ABMP’s partner on Pocket Pathology, a web-based app and quick reference program that puts key information for nearly 200 common pathologies at your fingertips. Werner’s books are available at www.booksofdiscovery.com. And more information about her is available at www.ruthwerner.com.   

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