After a person undergoes surgery, a massage can often help to reduce scarring, stress and acute pain. Various physiological effects occur during a massage after surgery including lymphatic drainage, increased tissue elasticity and increased vasodilation.
- Abdominal Surgery
- What's Involved: Abdominal surgeries involve various abdominal organs such as the reproductive organs, stomach, gallbladder, intestine, appendix, liver, spleen, or esophagus. They can be performed for reasons like obstruction, infection, inflammatory bowel disease, or tumors. Different types of incisions are used based on the surgical technique.
- Most Common Post-surgery Complaints/Complications: More than 9 in 10 patients develop scarring or adhesions, leading to muscle inhibition and tighter adhesions over time, often resulting in compensatory back pain.
- How Massage Therapy Can Help: Massage therapy has been found to help patients with chronic low back pain, similar to anti-inflammatory pain drugs. It can aid in changing the body's alignment due to post-surgery complications, reactivate muscles that may not be functioning properly, and minimize scars by stretching out the tissue.
- Hip Replacement Surgery
- What's Involved: This procedure replaces a damaged hip with an artificial joint, typically involving a several-inch incision over the hip joint. Different surgical approaches can be used, including minimally invasive versions.
- Most Common Post-surgery Complaints/Complications: Misalignment in muscles and joints leading to prolonged pain, scar tissue resulting in reduced range of motion, and the potential for deep vein thromboembolism.
- How Massage Therapy Can Help: Manual calf massage has been found to reduce the incidence of deep vein thromboembolism in hip replacement patients. Additionally, massage therapy can address overcontracted muscles, helping to manage scar tissue.
- Cardiac/Cardiothoracic Surgery
- What's Involved: These surgeries are designed to treat heart or lung disease and may involve splitting the chest open or more minimally invasive techniques.
- Most Common Post-surgery Complaints/Complications: Discomfort due to impaired movement in nearby areas, feeling short of breath or discomfort while breathing, and right shoulder pain due to muscle compensation.
- How Massage Therapy Can Help: Patients receiving massage therapy in combination with pain-relieving medication reported less pain compared to those receiving only pain medication. Massage therapy can address discomfort and shoulder pain, aiding in the recovery process.
