Author

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Books

In 1993 a job change required that I leave my beloved home in Seattle. As a parting gift my mentor and employer, Brian Utting, gifted me a Mac Classic II and a charge: write a contraindications document for use in our school.

I took a year to do that, and when it was done I thought it might be possible that other massage schools might find such a thing—fully developed and referenced—useful. I eventually connected with Williams & Wilkins (later acquired by Lippincott), an academic publisher in Baltimore, and by 1995 I had a contract to start over and write what would become A Massage Therapist’s Guide to Pathology. It was the first book they published specifically for massage therapists.

The first edition was released in 1998, after some minor hiccups. If this is the edition you have, it is time for an update.

Previous Editions

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Articles

Subject	Date Published
Tinnitus and Massage Therapy	July/August 2023
Arthrofibrosis - The Most Common Problem You've Never Heard Of	May/June 2023
Skin Cancer A Closer Look	March/April 2023
Helping Clients With Complex Issues	January/February 2023
Working with Invisible Pain	November/December 2022
Multiple Sclerosis: A Viral Complication?	September/October 2022
Long-term Lyme Disease: Controversies and Challenges	July/August 2022
Trauma-Informed Care: Walking the Path of Client-Centered Connection and Collaboration	May/June 2022
Boiling Over: The Frustrations of Hidradenitis Suppurativa	March/April 2022
Unpacking the Long Haul: What You Need to Know About Massage Therapy and Long COVID	January/February 2022
Sepsis - The Hidden Crisis	November/December 2021
Oh What a Feeling!	September/October 2021
Pharmacology Basics for Massage Therapists	July/August 2021
Acne rosacea	2009
Adhesive capsulitis	2003
Adverse effects	2014
Adverse effects	2020
Alzheimer’s disease (see dementing diseases)
Amputations	2014
Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis part 1	2005
Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis part 2	2005
Anxiety disorders	2016
Arthridites	2012
Asthma (see atopy)
Atopy (eczema + asthma + seasonal allergies)	2010
Autoimmune diseases and pregnancy	2007
Bad advice for massage therapists	2019
Back pain	2011
Back pain	2016
Bariatric surgery	2009
Bell’s palsy	2009
Benign paroxysmal positional vertigo	2010
Bipolar disorder	2014
Body shaming	2016
Botox	2011
Cannabis-infused lotions	2015
Celiac disease part 1	2006
Celiac disease part 2	2006
Central nervous system injuries, neuroplasticity	2008
Central sensitization	2013
Cerebral palsy	2002
Cerebral palsy in adults	2012
Childhood infections in adults	2013
Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD)	2019
Chronic pelvic pain in women	2016
Communication with health care providers	2008
Complex regional pain syndrome (see reflex sympathetic dystrophy syndrome)
Contact dermatitis	2009
CREST syndrome	2009
Crohn’s disease	2015
Dementing diseases	2017
Diabetes	2017
Dislocations (see joint disruptions)
Eating disorders	2009
Eczema (see atopy)
Ehlers Danlos syndrome	2019
ELAPtitude	2015
Endangerment sites	2020
Exercise injuries	2014
Female infertility	2009
Frozen shoulder (see adhesive capsulitis)
Fungal infections (see mycoses)
General benefits of massage	2019
Giant cell arteritis (see polymyalgia rheumatica)
Guillain-Barre syndrome	2017
Headaches	2013
Health history form	2008
Hemotologic cancers (lymphoma, leukemia, myeloma)	2011
Hepatitis ABCs	2011
Hepatitis C	2015
Herpes simplex	2002
HIV pathophysiology	2017
HIV/AIDS update	2017
Hygiene (general)	2012
Hygiene (hands and skin)	2016
Hyperthyroidism	2002
Hypothyroidism	2002
Indications and contraindications for massage	2018
Inflammation (Feb/March)	2007
Joint disruptions	2011
Joint replacement surgery	2010
Leukemia (see hemotologic cancers)
Lou Gehrig’s disease (see amyotrophic lateral sclerosis)
Lyme disease	2009
Lymphedema	2013
Lymphoma (see hemotologic cancers)
Manic depression (see bipolar disease)
Medical implants	2014
Metabolic syndrome	2004
Mirror therapy	2015
Morton’s neuroma	2009
Motor neurone disease (see amyotrophic lateral sclerosis)
Methicillin resistant staphylococcus aureus	2008
Multiple sclerosis	2002
Multiple sclerosis	2013
Mycoses	2019
Myeloma (see hemotologic cancers)
Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease	2010
Obesity Part 1	2018
Obesity Part 2	2018
Opioids	2019
Orthorexia nervosa	2015
Osteoporosis	2006
Pain (see central sensitization)
Parkinson’s disease
Patent foramen ovale (M&B Oct/Nov ’07)
Peripheral artery disease
Peripheral neuropathy
Pertussis
Pharmacology
Piercings (see tattoos)
Poison ivy
Polycystic ovarian syndrome + metabolic syndrome
Polymyalgia rheumatica + giant cell arteritis
Post herpetic neuralgia (M&B 2006)
Post-polio syndrome
Postconcussion syndrome
Postural orthostatic tachycardic syndrome (POTS)
Prostate problems and estrogen dominance (M&B 2007)
Psoriasis
Raynaud’s disease
Reflex sympathetic dystrophy
Research vocabulary
Scar tissue
Sick and tired (low grade illness)
Sjogren’s syndrome
Skin cancer (M&B Dec/Jan 2006)
Sleep deprivation
Small intestinal bacterial overgrowth (SIBO)
Spinal cord injury (see central nervous system injury)
Spondylolisthesis (see back pain)
Squamous cell carcinoma
Statins
Superbugs
Tattoos
Temporomandibular joint disorders
Tick borne diseases
Tick-borne meat allergies
Topical medications
Trigeminal neuralgia
Warts
Whooping cough (see pertussis, childhood infections in adults)
Zika
Skipping a Beat: Cardiac Arrhythmias	2020
Including People of Color in Pathology Images	2020
Lipedema: The Skinny on Painful Fat	2020/2021
Spinal Fusion Surgery: Common, Complicated, Controversial	2021
Critical Thinking	2021
Pulmonary Fibrosis	2021
What the CDC’s New Mask Recommendations Mean for Massage Therapists	2021

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Videos

Title	Appeared in Conjunction with Publication...
Pathology Perspectives: Tinnitus | Massage & Bodywork magazine	Tinnitus and Massage Therapy
Pathology Perspectives: Arthrofibrosis | Massage & Bodywork magazine	Arthrofibrosis - The Most Common Problem You've Never Heard Of
Skin Cancer Signs and Symptoms with Ruth Werner | Massage & Bodywork magazine	Skin Cancer A Closer Look
Why “Get a Doctor’s Note” Isn’t Good Enough, and What Is Better | Massage & Bodywork magazine	Helping Clients WIth Complex Conditions
Fibromyalgia: What Do We Know About Its Pathophysiology? | Massage & Bodywork magazine	Working with Invisible Pain
Multiple Sclerosis stories | Massage & Bodywork Magazine | ABMP	Multiple Sclerosis: A Viral Complication?
Trauma-Informed Care | Ruth Werner | Massage & Bodywork Magazine	Trauma-Informed Care: Walking the Path of Client-Centered Connection and Collaboration
Autoinflammatory Diseases | Ruth Werner | Massage & Bodywork Magazine	Boiling Over: The Frustrations of Hidradenitis Suppurativa
Talking With—and About—Long Haulers | Ruth Werner | Massage & Bodywork Magazine	Unpacking the Long Haul: What You Need to Know About Massage Therapy and Long COVID
Sepsis - The Hidden Crisis	Sepsis - The Hidden Crisis
Reading a Drug Guide	Small Pharmacology Basics for Massage Therapists
Fun with the Gut Microbiome	Small Intestinal Bacterial Overgrowth
Fungal Vocabulary	Mycoses Abounding
The Miracle of a Healthy Respiratory System	When You Can't Catch Your Breath
Connective Issues: 13 Subtypes of EDS	Ehlers Danlos Syndrome
POTS: Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome	The Lowdown on Lightheadedness
Endangerment Sites: A Conversation with Whitney Lowe	"Low Risk" Does Not Equal "No Risk"
TMJ Disorders with Ruth Werner	Temporomandibular Joint Disorders
Trigeminal Neuralgia	Tic, Tic, Tic Douloureux
Post-COVID Screening Questions	COVID-19-Related Complications
Coagulopathy Questions	COVID-19-Related Coagulopathy
Heart Rate Variability	Skipping a Beat: Cardiac Arrhythmias
Fast Fat Facts	Lipedema: The Skinny on Painful Fat
Spinal Fusion Controversies	Spinal Fusion Surgery: Common, Complicated, Controversial