Paralysis, Patience and Massage

Lately I've had a lot of clients in the student clinic with specific health issues that they are hoping to improve with massage and bodywork. Just this past week, I saw a client who suffered paralysis in his arm after being injured in a bad car accident nearly twenty years ago. Because of the paralysis, he also has a whole other list of issues with the rest of his body. Just imagine how you'd have to compensate for losing the use of one of your arms! The first thing you tend to feel when you meet someone like this is pity. After that comes admiration. I continue to be amazed by what people are able to live through and how they cope. It's proof that attitude is everything. 

This client told me that the only time this arm ever gets any attention is during massage so he likes to have the area worked. It's also important because the only time he can ever get his arm to open up (it's stuck in a folded up position where his hand is up by his shoulder) is during massage. I was able to get it to open up somewhat but had hoped for more. I felt disappointed to say the least. During the massage though he started to get a kink in his neck, which I also seemed to fail at releasing. It was only after he got dressed and we spoke after that he said it finally felt a lot better so something I did worked.

Another client I just started seeing a few weeks back has arthritis in her neck. At our first session, upon palpating the area, it felt like there was a rock about the size of a quarter on the right side of her neck. I worked the area for a solid 20 minutes before moving on to the rest of her massage. I honestly felt like I got nowhere. She returned nearly a month later for a second treatment and told me that her neck felt better for a while after the last massage. When I went to massage the area this time, I noticed that the "rock" was now moving a bit and had softened a little. Progress!

I am seeing the paralytic client again this week and, although it will likely take several treatments before I start to see changes with his arm, I know they will happen. Progress takes time and patience and I constantly have to remind myself, and clients of this. Oftentimes people come in with an issue and expect that you'll be able to treat it in one session. In my experience so far it seems that this is rarely the case but, with persistence, little by little things start to improve. So, next time I'm working on a client and I can't get a knot to release, I plan to take a deep breath and remind myself that all it takes to make a change is a little patience, persistence and a great attitude.