Orthopedic massage is a form of massage therapy geared towards dealing with soft tissue injury. It is a form of treatment that requires advanced training, as it pulls from many different manual therapy disciplines to accomplish its goals. They may be working in a sports massage, pregnancy massage, or medical massage setting, but before the therapist even begins working however they need to assess the injury and decide what stage of healing the injury is in to ensure a safe and productive treatment. In this article we will use a sprained ankle as an example.
There are 3 stages of healing to any injury. The first stage, the 'acute' stage, is the initial phase just after injury, likely where inflammation and heat are present. The client is generally only capable of gentle movements depending on the severity. In the acute stage, the therapist is trained to follow RICE protocol (Rest, Ice, Compress, Elevate) and is limited to working only on the body parts that are compensating for the injury. A client in this stage should also check with their doctor before proceeding. For example, if a client came to their therapist with a sprained ankle, the therapist would have the client elevate their ankle and, instead of working on the leg, would choose to work on the client's arms which are fatigued from the use of crutches.
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