Geriatric Massage Therapy

What is a geriatric massage?

A geriatric massage means a massage on an elderly patient. There are quite a few differences and considerations that must be made when a massage will be performed on an elderly person as opposed to a younger person. Some situations and considerations that might apply include:

Mentality of the patient

This can mean that the patient is mentally ill (such as with Alzheimer?s disease) or that they are agitated with life, as well as everyone around them, on a regular basis.

Health considerations

While there are many elderly people who are in excellent health, most have at least some medical situations that must be taken into consideration when performing the massage.

Institutionalized

Many elderly patients are in retirement homes and nursing homes, and not all of those are by will. Many of them were placed in a home by a child who could no longer take care of them, and they do not want to be there. Many patients chose to go to the community, but still have a hard time dealing with aging. This can lead to agitation on the part of the patient, and this is something that a massage therapist may not be prepared for.

More easily injured

Most elderly people have more sensitive skin, as well as other issues that must be taken into consideration before a massage can be given.

What are the benefits of geriatric massage?

The benefits of geriatric massage are steadily being studied all the time, and they have proven so far that geriatric massage can be very beneficial to elderly patients. The following listed benefits are ones that have been determined through clinical trials and studies:

Hand massage:
In this study, many nursing home patients were no longer as verbally agitated (meaning no longer griping and yelling as much) for one hour after the massage. This study also determined that the touching involved in massage helped meet the emotional needs of the elderly patients which helped lead to a better physical response to traditional medications.

Slow-stroke massage:
In this study, slow stroke geriatric massage was tested on Alzheimer?s patients. Unlike the study done on patients without Alzheimer?s, these patients did not show a significant decrease in their verbal agitation immediately after the massage. However, these patients did show a significant decrease in their physical agitation following slow-stroke massage (physical agitation refers to such actions by the patients as pacing, resisting and wandering).

Carotid sinus massage:
This study showed that a carotid sinus massage performed on elderly patients could lead to a slightly lower heart rate and blood pressure.

Back massage:
This study tested the effects of back massage (with and without casual conversation) on anxiety in geriatric patients. The results showed such promising results that more studies are expected in this area. The back massage as well as the conversation help to meet patient's emotional needs and relaxed them, leading to less anxiety.

Why is geriatric massage not used regularly?

With all the benefits that have been offered by the study results, one may wonder why it is not common practice to incorporate geriatric massage into daily or weekly routines of retirement and nursing homes. There are many reasons for this, including the following:

Insurance will not cover it:
Unless there are certain extenuating circumstances, insurance will not cover the cost of regular geriatric massages. This means that the patient?s children are left paying for it (and many can?t afford to) or that the patient has to pay for it themselves (and most of these are living on either retirement or disability and cannot afford to pay for such treatments).

Not enough studies:
While tests and trials and studies are constantly being performed, there have yet to be enough completed with positive results to make a big enough difference. Once there have been more documented studies performed that can show significant health increases, it will become more commonplace.

Not enough believers:
There are still many skeptics that believe Western scientific medicine is the only necessary treatment, and these skeptics help to keep regular geriatric massage therapy at bay.

What are the options?

While geriatric massage has yet to become commonplace in nursing homes and retirement homes, there are still some things that the patient, child, grandchild or friend of the patient can do.

Talk to the insurance company:
While this one is the least likely, if the patient?s doctor will recommend massage as a form of physical therapy, it may qualify for coverage (this is especially true for patients who have had surgeries or injuries).

Hire one yourself:
While it can be quite expensive, many massage therapists travel to the patient?s location when necessary. It is possible to simply hire one to come to the patient?s room to perform the massage. If this isn?t possible, or isn?t appealing, you could take the patient out for a day to a massage therapist?s office.

Talk to the nursing home:
If your parent is in a nursing home, and it seems that geriatric massage could be beneficial, you can talk to the director of the nursing home. There might be a way to work out a regular massage therapist visit (perhaps several patient families would be interested and the therapist could come see all patients one day a week or something similar).

Do it yourself:
While this is always not the best option (a trained professional is always best), it could still be beneficial to the patient. You can study up on geriatric massage, talk to the patient?s doctor to find out if there are any techniques or areas you should avoid, and begin massaging the patient on a regular basis. There can be many benefits to doing it this way, including that it can strengthen the relationship between the patient and the family member giving the massage.