Geriatric Massage

As people get older, they just assume that the aches and pains they are dealing with are part and parcel of being an older person or living in a retirement home, or any number of assumptions. The problem is, there is no reason why an elderly person should ever have to deal with chronic pain. Some is caused by osteoarthritis, osteoporosis, or other condition associated with aging, but the discomfort of these afflictions can be overcome by the application of the techniques learned by a massage therapist. Other senior citizens feel that their stiffness, lack of mobility, and general soreness is a part of becoming old; nothing could be farther from the truth.

There is clinical proof that massage therapy increases muscular elasticity, improves range of motion, and alleviated aches and pains that normally inhibit older Americans. In fact, massage therapy techniques can improve more than the physical pains and discomforts erroneously attributed to aging. Massage therapy is an excellent pain management tool employed at retirement homes, senior living communities, and assisted-living facilities. Additionally, the euphoric feeling of even the simplest deep tissue massage, which includes close personal contact in an intuitive and loving manner, has been shown to increase blood flow, heighten depressed immune systems, and alleviate depression associated with geriatric living conditions.

There are many techniques which are useful in treating elder patients and their concerns; particularly ones which govern posture and the manipulation of the bones along the spine and head. The only caveat is that more aggressive techniques need to be left out of the treating regimen. Extremely deep tissue massages and long sessions can do more damage than good and cause inadvertent and adverse side effects like bruising and in some cases, more severe injury. Some patients also have fairly brittle bones which may limit the techniques a massage therapist can apply. Milder techniques have been shown to be more effective on older patients, so the need for more active treatment is limited, if not unnecessary.

Still, the experienced massage therapist can lead the patients in a geriatric environment toward a more active and healthy lifestyle. Some methods such as SacroCranial Massage, the Heller method, and others that involve the patient in their own care offer the best results for the massage therapist interested in working in rest homes or other geriatric environments. Geriatric massage techniques and other massage techniques that are gentler in their application have been proven to have other, medically recognized benefits that fit the geriatric community well.

Sufferers from Parkinsons disease, for instance, have been reported as having less severe tremors and the tremors and shaking tends to last a shorter time as well. Diabetes patients also respond well to massage therapy since the disease affects the circulatory system. If left untreated with geriatric massage techniques, diabetes can cause infections in extremities, especially toes, which can lead to infections and amputations of limbs. Finally, those with heart disease have been known to respond positively to geriatric massage therapy techniques, again because of the increased circulatory capacity associated with massage and deep tissue manipulation.

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