Contraindications to Massage Practice/Medications

Medications can have a dramatic effect on the physiological state of your client, as well as their emotional and mental state. Massage can also have a dramatic effect on these same aspects of your client. It’s important that you as a therapist understand the effects that massage may have, and how that may interact with your client’s medication.

The brandnames of medications vary from country to country, and from time period to time period, so it’s a good idea to use online databases for current up-to-date information on the medications that your clients are using.

Please note that your clients may or may not tell you if they have drunken alcohol or indulged in recreational drugs. It’s important to make your own assessment of this, as intoxication may impair your client’s ability to give you accurate feedback. This is particularly important in remedial work.

The Process of Medication Assessment
The process that you go through will depend on the country that you are operating from because of the variety of brandnames. Please choose the appropriate country
 * New Zealand

Try It

 * Have a look through your old treatment records and go through the process of medication assessment with each medication that you find.


 * Ensure that you understand the implications of the medications on the massages that you have provided. Would anything have changed if you had known this before the massage?


 * Any time your client states a medication on your medical screening form that you are unfamiliar with, go through the process of medication assessment before beginning treatment

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