It’s always important to keep and open line of communication between yourself and any health care professional. This helps ensure that your health care provider truly understands your needs and your situation.

A case report was recently presented at the annual conference of the American Association of Neuromuscular & Electrodiagnostic Medicine (October 2007) that highlights the need to communication between Massage Therapists and their clients.

What is a case report? A case report is simply the documentation of one individual’s experience or situation. Case reports don’t prove causal relationships. If enough similar case reports exist then the research community conduct a more formal study to determine if a causal relationship exists.

So what happened? A healthy 38 year old female had a massage. During the massage she apparently experienced left shoulder pain due to the compression during the massage. Afterwards, she had difficultly with certain arm movements. Neurological testing later identified the nerve signals going to the left upper trapezius muscle was impaired. Two years later the subject is still experiencing discomfort in the left shoulder.

Does this mean massage is dangerous and should be avoided?
No. We don’t know if the woman saw a massage therapist or went to a spa. Ontario Massage Therapists are among the best trained in the world, and we understand that massage therapy is not without risks. Effective and open communication between you and your therapist is the best way to manage these risks to ensure you have safe and effective treatments.

Remember, case reports are just documentation of one person’s experience and cannot be generalized to a larger population.

The authors of the study used this case to educated health providers of some of the risks of compressive forces during massage. The authors also stress the importance of communication between a client and a massage therapist.

The bottom line… If something hurts during a massage therapy session, speak to your therapist. Don’t worry about hurting their feelings! Your therapist can make adjustments to the techniques. Your therapist should always warn you when a technique more uncomfortable.

Active Release Technique focuses on generating tension through an area rather than compression. This helps to minimize the type of injury described above.

REFERENCE: S. Schrader, M.A. Ross, (Scottsdale, AZ) SPINAL ACCESSORY NEUROPATHY FOLLOWING MASSAGE: CASE REPORT. Presented October 20, 2007

Website: American Association of Neuromuscular & Electrodiagnostic Medicine