| |
“Alice” My work as a remedial massage practitioner is varied and interesting. I love my job because the people I meet are strong and determined to get well. Once in a while someone comes along who is extraordinary. Alice was such a case. She had had a recent accident at work. An injury to her arm that at first appearance might not have been serious was exacerbated by the fact that she had been injured 30 years ago when she had been hit by a car on her way to college. It was a dark, foggy morning on a narrow road, the car was on the wrong side of the road and she had ended up going through the windscreen bouncing back out and finally being dragged under the car for 500 yards. She sustained multiple, serious injuries. When she came to me for her first appointment I sensed a very delicate state of physical health and I naturally felt that I should approach cautiously. This is not my usual style and my signature in my remedial work is tough rather than soothing! Alice came in and sat down delicately. She seemed so fragile that I wondered whether I would be able to touch her at all. I reassured her that I would be guided by her instruction as to what pressure to use. I worked very gently using only effleurage (flushing strokes) to begin to move stagnant fluid within tissues and realign muscle fibres, and to be able to let her know that I would be respectful of her damaged body. On the surface her body seemed to have mended very well but she had deep scar tissue and was left with pain, daily grinding, incessant pain. Her right arm would not function properly. When the body receives crushing blows, layers of tissue get mangled. The body needs massage assistance to align these as they grow back. If it does not receive this assistance, the layers stick to each other and subsequent movement causes pain, as some areas are stretched beyond their limit in the attempt to make normal movements. In the first accident she had had multiple injuries and not been expected to survive. Her extraordinary spirit meant that she had made a remarkable recovery and gone on to lead a normal life, marrying and having children and a long career. However, she had then had this recent accident at work where she had suddenly raised her arms to protect her head as something heavy fell on her. This accident after 20 years of working at a physically demanding job, coupled with being of small stature meant that her body was unable to continue and she finally had to admit defeat and say that she could not work at such a tough job any more. I was struck by Alice’s overall improvement in health and wellbeing. She would come in and say that her whole body felt better . Remedial massage works on many levels. The muscles, tendons and ligaments that are helped by removal of blockages enabling fresh blood to flow in with oxygen and nourishment to heal the soft tissue; the lymphatic system that removes damaged and diseased tissue, identifying and isolating cells that need removal; emotional wellbeing by offering healing, caring touch. This treatment is quite in-depth and not relaxing but feels useful and suitable all the same. The process of hastening healing is often painful. The progress that she made with the physical treatment that I gave was good. Week by week as she became stronger and more energetic, I was able to use a variety of massage strokes requiring more pressure and new techniques that I learned during the time that I was treating her. Some weeks she felt tired and in more pain, so I had to be guided by her condition when she came. As I work I chat. Depending on the patient, the topics can vary widely, or I may work in silence for those who prefer it. Mostly my patients see me as a resource, and I get asked many things. I talk about the other work that I do, some editing and proofreading as a contrast to my physical job, but also the breathwork that I teach, a style known as Rebirthing. One day Alice phoned me and asked if I thought that Rebirthing would be useful to her. She described the nightmares that had been increasing, that she was afraid to go to bed because sleep merely brought fear, the flashbacks that she was having during waking hours now . So I thought for a moment and said yes. It was perfectly suited to healing the trauma that she had received. We began to work with her breathing to enable her to revisit her accident time. She worked superbly and unflinchingly through painful, frightening memories and made speedy progress. One of the healing things that we did was quite simple: I asked her exactly what her injuries had been. Alice also attended the pain clinic run in Oxford. She was asked to join a research project which she welcomed and was able to work further with some of the issues that we had raised, all the time helping to heal the physical, mental and emotional scars that she had. It is common for a recent injury to spark off unfinished business from previous traumatic injury. She worked hard to present her case and her employer and the medical staff accepted it. When I spoke to her this week she told me that she feels that she has really begun her healing journey this year, that there is still more to do but that she is happy with the steps that she has taken and the direction that she is moving in. She has come such a long way in the last year and she wouldn’t have been able to do this without the tools that we had developed, used to address the history and allow her at last to come into the present. She still has pain and lack of use from the latest injury at work, and still comes for remedial massage. She is planning to find work using her years of experience in some suitable way, within her physical capacity. | ||
| | |
CATHERINE HOLLAND Tel: 0701 7415310 Email: catherine@catherineholland.co.uk | |
| |