Read the following case study and answer the questions. Submit your answers in the Comments section. (Click on "Comments" below the blog. Type in your answer under "Leave your Comments". Be sure to include your initials and student number as part of your text. Click on Anonymous under "Choose an Identity", and then click on "Publish your comments").
It’s about 11am on Wednesday morning. The phone rings. Betty White would like to schedule a massage. She’d love to get in this afternoon if you can squeeze her in as she feels “achy all over.” One pm is available – that time works for her.
Betty enters your office with a facial tissue in hand. When you question her about it, she says that she began sneezing and having a runny nose yesterday – it must be allergies, but she doesn’t have a history of allergies, so she is unsure.
Looking at Betty’s face, her eyes were watery and she is so congested that she is breathing through her mouth. Prone position is off the table; Betty is already having trouble breathing normally, so you elect to massage her in a semi-reclining supine and side lying positions.
You begin asking Betty about other symptoms and she mentions a sore throat. After getting permission to palpate her neck for swollen lymph nodes (which you must avoid), you place your hands just beneath her ears and slide them under her jaw.
Betty’s skin feels warm. You suspect a slight fever. After explaining to Betty that it in her best interest to postpone massage, she seems upset and irritated.
- Are there other modalities you can offer Betty rather that Swedish or therapeutic massage? If so, which ones?
- Why are some massage modalities more appropriate than others in these cases? Be specific.
- When is Betty safe to receive a Swedish massage?
- Should she be referred to her doctor in the meantime?
- What are some home care suggestions to help her address her achiness, if any?
