Text: Pharmacology for Massage Therapy by Jean Wible, RN, BSN, NCTMB, CHTP, Lippincott Williams and Wilkins, 2005, 298 pages.
Pharmacology for Massage Therapy provides answers to the typical massage therapist question, “How does my client’s medication list impact a massage?”
Wible connects the often overwhelming subject of pharmacology to the application of touch-based therapy. The common ground both medications and massage share is that each has a physiological effect on the body. Wible, with qualifications as both a registered nurse and a massage therapist, is a pioneer in integrating allopathic and complementary medical modalities into a single perspective.
This text accomplishes the goal of teaching linear reasoning skills to someone without the technical vocabulary of a pharmacist. Organized by body system and/or symptom, Pharmacology for Massage Therapy outlines drug categories and the affect drugs have on the systems of the body (such as the nervous system, respiratory system, gastrointestinal system, endocrine system and cardiovascular system). Additionally, there are specialized chapters covering drugs for pain control, infections, inflammation and allergies, fluid and electrolyte balance, psychiatric conditions, cancer and a variety of over-the-counter supplements.
The first step in grasping the connection between pharmacology and massage is to understand what drugs do and how they work. Each chapter addresses key concepts such as pharmacokinetics (how the drug is absorbed, distributed and excreted from the body), pharmacodynamics (how the drug produces its effects in the body) and pharmacotherapeutics (how the drug is used to treat diseases or symptoms).
The strength of this book is the section discussing massage implications for each drug category. This gives the massage therapist the tools necessary to answer the question: “What does this drug mean for my client within the massage setting?” Using this deductive reasoning model, the massage therapist can logically determine cautions, contraindications, effects on massage and the best massage strokes to use based on the medications his/her client is taking.
Pharmacology for Massage Therapy contains bonus features such as; sidebars detailing adverse reactions and side effects of each drug group, quizzes throughout the text to integrate the information, case studies to understand the application of the material and a drug index at the end of the book for easy reference.
This text underlines the value of massage therapy within a medical setting. Wible’s demonstration of the impact different massage strokes have on people taking various medications highlights a relationship with which every massage therapist should be familiar. This is also an extremely valuable reference tool for bodyworkers and can be used as part of the movement toward fully integrating massage therapy into traditional healthcare.
Recommended Study
Pharmacology for Massage
