Podcast

A client reports that she has a femoral artery stent, placed in 2017. Her doctor and nurse think massage is fine. All systems go, right? Maybe, maybe not. It turns out this topic is a lot more controversial than we knew, and a lot depends on what kind of stent she got.

Full show notes available at https://www.abmp.com/podcasts/ep-218-femoral-artery-stent-i-have-client-who-pathology-conversations-ruth-werner

A client is recovering from a very severe case of COVID-19. She is in physical therapy and wants to add massage to her recovery. What do we need to know to work safely? What are some assumptions we can and cannot make about this client’s situation? Put on your critical thinking cap and listen in!

Full show notes available at https://www.abmp.com/podcasts/ep-216-little-bit-o-covid-i-have-client-who-pathology-conversations-ruth-werner

What happens when your stomach pushes up into the mediastinum and compresses your lungs—and maybe even your heart? This common condition starts as a simple sliding of the esophagus but can progress to be life-threatening.

Full show notes available at https://www.abmp.com/podcasts/ep-213-hiatal-hernia-i-have-client-who-pathology-conversations-ruth-werner

What is a migraine?

What is cortical spreading depression?

What is trigeminovascular system activation?

And what does it mean when this causes temporary one-sided paralysis?

And most of all: What if it’s not a migraine—what if it’s a stroke?

Migraines generate more questions than answers, but this episode will help sort out some of the basic factors.

Full show notes available at https://www.abmp.com/podcasts/ep-211-hemiplegic-migraine-i-have-client-who-pathology-conversations-ruth-werner

A client can’t find a massage therapist, because they have a condition that no one knows how to work with: Chiari malformation. This is a problem in the spatial relationships between the cerebellum, the brainstem, and the foramen magnum—one patient describes it as, “My brain is too big for my head.”

But is massage really off the table for people with Chiari malformation? Probably not! Listen in for more on what this condition means, and how to figure out where our work fits.

Full show notes available at https://www.abmp.com/podcasts/ep-208-chiari-malformation-i-have-client-who-pathology-conversations-ruth-werner

In this follow-up to last week’s episode on bowel resections and colostomies, Ruth has a chat with massage therapist Marie Ruxton, who shares her story of abdominal surgery and the remarkable experience she had with bodywork while she was recovering.

We could all wish to receive touch with such sensitivity and skill.

Full show notes available at https://www.abmp.com/podcasts/ep-206-follow-your-gut-i-have-client-who-pathology-conversations-ruth-werner