At Therapeutix Wellness Center

Safety Precautions when Massaging Seniors
Though massage therapy is beneficial to the elderly, safety measures should be put in place to ensure that the massage will not lead to more complications. Some of these precautions are:

• If a client is bedridden for over three days, do not carry out deep massage as it may lead to clotting of blood in the veins.
• If the senior has an open wound, rashes, high fever, or any other skin condition that may be made worse by the massage, do not carry out the massage. Wait until the condition is under control to offer the massage therapy.
• If the client has a heart complication, do not use a prone position during the massage session. You should ensure that her doctor has given the go-ahead to carry out the massage and even at that, the massage should not exceed thirty minutes.
• Deep tissue massage should not be carried out on the elderly as it will be very easy to cause bruises to the fragile skin.
• You should also inquire if the elderly client is under any medications especially blood thinners as the massage therapy will lead to contraindications if carried out on a person who is taking blood thinners.

A massage therapy for senior citizens will also be a way of assuring them that they are still important and make them feel wanted. You should, therefore, be careful so that they will not get more harm from the massage as this will make them feel as though they are not wanted. If they were depressed as a result of body pains and were coming for a massage to find relief, hurting them more will make the depression worse and will make them shy away from a massage therapy in the future.
A senior’s massage should only be carried out by a professional who will know the dos and the don’ts when it comes to the sensitive body of an elderly person.


​Therapeutix Wellness Center

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