This is my first time blogging. I hope the information presented here will be useful to all manual therapy practitioners including massage therapists, chiropractors, physiotherapists etc. It is always useful to promote dialogue amongst health care providers so we are better able to serve the public in a safe and effective manner.
The book entitled Massage Therapy and Medications I wrote in 2001 and is published by Curties-Overzet Publications. It is the first of it's kind - an attempt to provide basic information about pharmacology and to discuss potential interactions that can occur when a client is receiving a manual therapy modality while they are currently taking medications. For example, if a client was taking an over the counter analgesic such as aspirin or ibuprofen for muscular aches, as well as receiving deep tissue massage, they are more likely to be bruised due to the blood thinning effects of the analgesics, and the aggressiveness of the manual modality.
Much more dedicated research is need in this area of drug interactions with manual modalities; as a result when I make suggestions regarding treatment modifications there is a careful reference to normal human physiology as well as to the generally accepted outcomes of manual therapy and hydrotherapy.
With subsequent posts I will be suggesting treatment guidelines that you can consider when working with a client who is taking medications. I value your feedback and suggestions about how I can share this valuable information with all.
