Massage Therapy, A Case Study
My participant was a nine year old male with a diagnosis of Autism Spectrum disorder, Pervasive Development Delay (PDD), Moderate Intellectual Disability, asthma, seizure disorder, and an educational designation of physical disability or chronic health impairment (PDCVH).
He also experiences challenges with focus, aggression, and functional movements as a part of his diagnosis and would elicit a rigid rocking behaviour when he became anxious.
When I first met this patient, it turned out in the past he had been turned down by other RMTs when his guardian sought treatment for him. I was nervous at first to take on this case as I was only a Massage student, but put those feelings behind and decided to take it on as the well being of this child meant way more to me than staying within my comfort level.
I performed this case study over the course of three months and was broken into fifteen treatments, seventy minutes in duration, which were divided into three phases:
Treatments consisted of manual modalities to the lower extremities and back such as:
Measurement tools included:
The results from the study concluded that the patients focus and behaviour had improved, became more social with other children, less aggressive at times of frustration, less anxious, and his balance, motor function, gait and posture had improved.
The patient also completely stopped the rigid rocking behaviour and was able to follow direction when asked to perform simple tasks.
In just three months, a young child's quality of life had significantly improved.
This proved that more can be done for these people to help improve their lives.
It just takes health care professionals like RMTs to take a risk and work beyond their comfort levels to improve the health and wellness of people of all ages at all stages of physical and mental development.
So what are some rules I created for working with children with developmental disabilities?
He also experiences challenges with focus, aggression, and functional movements as a part of his diagnosis and would elicit a rigid rocking behaviour when he became anxious.
When I first met this patient, it turned out in the past he had been turned down by other RMTs when his guardian sought treatment for him. I was nervous at first to take on this case as I was only a Massage student, but put those feelings behind and decided to take it on as the well being of this child meant way more to me than staying within my comfort level.
I performed this case study over the course of three months and was broken into fifteen treatments, seventy minutes in duration, which were divided into three phases:
- phase 1- introduction to touch and massage
- phase 2- behaviour and focus
- phase 3- motor function
Treatments consisted of manual modalities to the lower extremities and back such as:
- relaxation techniques including general swedish massage
- rocking
- full limb vibrations to trick the nervous system (helping to relax muscle contractions)
- deep pressure stroking
- myofascial release techniques
- joint mobilizations
- passive range of motion
Measurement tools included:
- postural assessment
- gait analysis
- orthopedic tests
- range of motion (ROM) for the motor function aspect of the study
- focus tests and qualitative feedback from the patients guardian for the focus and behavior aspect
The results from the study concluded that the patients focus and behaviour had improved, became more social with other children, less aggressive at times of frustration, less anxious, and his balance, motor function, gait and posture had improved.
The patient also completely stopped the rigid rocking behaviour and was able to follow direction when asked to perform simple tasks.
In just three months, a young child's quality of life had significantly improved.
This proved that more can be done for these people to help improve their lives.
It just takes health care professionals like RMTs to take a risk and work beyond their comfort levels to improve the health and wellness of people of all ages at all stages of physical and mental development.
So what are some rules I created for working with children with developmental disabilities?
Was this article helpful?181 Posted by: 👨 Robin L. Jackson
