M. D. Anderson Cancer Center
Place...of wellness Videos-on-Demand 2008
Duration: 0:13:57
Sat Siri Sumler, R.M.T, N.C.T.M.B.
Learn how and when to use massage and the benefits and precautions of massage for patients with cancer.
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Massage therapy for cancer patients has become more common in recent years. It can help cancer patients and caregivers, feel better, both physically and emotionally. After a massage, patients may cope with side effects better. It is a way to lessen pain, anxiety and nausea. It also helps to release stress and tension.
Massage, a form of focus touch can also provide comfort and support to a loved one. Family or friends can massage a loved one who has cancer while he or she is seated in a chair, lying on a massage table or even in a hospital bed. This video will teach you when it is safe to massage a person who has cancer and how to massage correctly with gentle slow strokes.
Before starting, let's review when massage should not be used. People with certain medical conditions should not be massaged. Do not massage anyone who has a platelet count below 10,000, untreated heart problem, such as coronary artery disease or heart disease, symptoms of deep vein thrombosis, a blood clot in the deep veins of the arm or leg. Symptoms include pain, tenderness or swelling in the arm or leg or increased warmth in the area of the arm or leg that is painful. If you are unsure if massage is safe for your loved one, please talk with a doctor or nurse before starting.
When massaging someone undergoing cancer treatment, such as chemotherapy, radiation therapy or surgery, it is important to use a gentle touch and light pressure. Use the palm of your hands to make slow smooth movements along the skin. There should be little or no movement of the person's skin as your hands gently glide along the body. Sometimes parts of the body should not be massaged. Do not massage legs if the person cannot get out of bed and walk around. Radiation markings or radiation treatment areas, areas with blood clots, tumors, surgical cuts, wounds and scars, areas near a medical device, such a catheter, port, ostomy or drain, the arm above an IV and arm or leg with lymphedema or at risk of lymphedema. Lymphedema is a build up of fluid in an arm or leg that leads to swelling. It can occur after surgery or radiation to the underarm, groin or abdomen. If your loved one has an infection or has been told he or she has fluid outside the lungs, only give him or her a gentle hand or foot massage. Do not massage other areas of the body.
Also, if you normally need to wear gloves, gown or mask when with your loved one, then it is important to wear these while giving a massage. Again, if you have any questions, please talk with a doctor or nurse before starting.
I'm gonna massage your arms below the elbows, your hands, your legs below the knees and your feet.
Okay.
[Rubbing sound]
I'm gonna warm the lotion up.
[Rubbing sound]
It's cold.
We will begin by increasing the circulation in the lower arm. Long strokes -- I know. Firmer stroke on the way up, just a gliding soft stroke on the way down. I'm gonna make small circular strokes with the thumbs going up between the bones of the arm up to the elbow beginning at the wrist.
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And gently over each of the bones and the sides of the arm. And gently turn the arm over to massage the inner arm.
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Our hands are designed to bring lots of information to our brain. And so whenever you wanna relax, it's good to lie with your arms at your sides and your palms facing upward with nothing touching your palms. There's lots of nerve endings in the hands, and so massage to the hands and the feet also is very relaxing.
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If you just massage the hands, the head and the feet, a person will feel like they've had a full body massage. I'm gonna do opening strokes across the top of the hands and just gliding, pulling as if I was pulling tension out of the little finger and thumb. Again, drawing long lines across the whole bone of each finger, repeating it about three times each, starting from the wrist coming through the palm and going down each finger.
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As the hand begins to relax, our mind stills and will relax, too.
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I'm gonna massage still pulling downward the other side of the fingers.
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And then I'm gonna change the technique. Using the thumbs, I'm starting at the wrist and massaging cephalically up towards the heart in quarter-inch strokes, just moving across the entire top of the hand massaging between the bones of the hand, just helping to increase the circulation to move upward towards the heart.
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I'm gonna massage each finger in the same way starting at the top of the finger and thinking of each finger as four-sided, massaging each side, top and bottom of the finger. Upward strokes as I slowly move down.
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People with neuropathy usually especially enjoy hand and foot massage and especially enjoy this technique.
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People usually feel like they have more feelings in their hands and feet after massage, and that the effect lasts for one to three days.
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And turn the hand over and apply the same technique in the palm of the hand.
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Then I'm gonna end the arm with long flowing strokes that's taking the blood that we've moved up in the hand and helping it to travel up the arm.
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When we do downward strokes, it's relaxing, and the upward stroke are more invigorating.
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I'm gonna move to the feet and lower legs. If you have a Hill-Rom bed, you can remove a pin at the base on the right side and then remove the foot of the bed for massaging the feet. If the foot of the bed doesn't remove on the bed that your partner is in, then you can simply put a couple of pillows underneath the feet for massage.
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So I'm just gonna expose the part of the body I'm working at and again begin warming the lotion and just applying it to the leg on the tops, underneath the ankle with long strokes.
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To massage underneath the leg, I can massage up, bring my hands down underneath. When I'm underneath, I'm just gonna move my fingers up slowly as I draw my hands down the leg.
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It usually feels good.
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I'm gonna draw circles around the ankle bones, three to five circles, and then make small circles with my fingers up along the sides of the leg, on the soft tissue, not massaging on the shin bone.
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You can use the base of my palms to do bigger circles and even get underneath the leg.
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When massaging the feet, you wanna use a lot of lotion because the feet tend to get dry.
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And everybody loves foot massage.
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We now massage the top of the foot and use my thumbs in massaging the sole of the foot, the sides of the heel and massaging each toe. And take my hands and just, kind of wring this foot, pulling it towards me.
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Again, I'm gonna begin the cephalic quarter-inch massage technique, massaging from the ankle along the entire top of the foot, pushing upward towards the heart in quarter-inch strokes.
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Massaging each toe in the same way we did the fingers, thinking of it as a top side, two sides in the bottom.
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And, again, beginning at the base of the heel, I'm just using small strokes down with my thumbs, massaging the bottom of the foot in the same way, covering the entire sole of the foot.
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Ending with long strokes from the ankle going up to the knee.
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When I finish I'm gonna drape my partner again, put the side rails up, lower the bed to its lower position. And there you go.
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