Posted under General & Marketing Massage for Special Populations & Massage for Elders
Good day!
First I want to wish you many blessings and simple joys for the holidays.
I am not one to spend much energy on daily news reports, but my husband does so we get Newsweek delivered to our home. Yesterday he called my attention to an article in this weeks issue. The piece is titled ” Can a Massage Cause a Stroke?”. It’s a question and answer column written by Dr. Patrick O’Gara, director of clinical cardiology at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and a professor at Harvard Medical School.
Someone from Sante Fe asks: “I have a deep muscle massage every month or so, including the muscles of the neck. Someone told me such massages could loosen plaque in my carodtid arteries and cause a stroke. Could this happen?” Dr. O’Gara’s answer: “It’s very unlikely that deep muscle massage would loosen an arterial plaque and cause a stroke. Your therapist is likely to stay away from direct pressure over your carotid arteries in the neck.” I’m glad to see such a question addressed from a medical professional in Newsweek. This question has come up for me from some of my elder clients as well as my Compassionate Touch® students. I believe it is our professional responsibility to be a source for education on these kinds of questions.
Has this issue come up for you in your practice? How do you handle it? As always, I invite your comments!
Ann