Approaching Scar Tissue on the Oncology Patient

Date: Jul 11, 2020 - Jul 12, 2020
Time: 10:00 am - 5:00 pm

Rebecca Smith
$240
Prerequisite: Introduction to Oncology Massage
Contact vanessa@catanyc.com to register
6 CE hour NCBTMB / NY-certified

This workshop describes the processes of inflammation and tissue repair in normal wound healing and examines complications of healing such as fibrosis, delayed healing, and lymphedema, resulting from cancer treatment. Participants will review patient intake, design treatment strategies to address scar tissue and/or fibrosis, and learn and practice hands-on techniques designed to disadhere tissues and improve tissue pliability in post-operative cancer patients.

Students will demonstrate proficiency in the following hands on techniques: multidirectional friction; skin rolling/lifting strokes; active and passive myofascial release techniques; positional release; and passive stretching.

Students will practice designing and implementing hands-on massage sessions targeting scar tissue for patients with a history of surgery to the trunk wall, abdomen or pelvis, head/neck, or extremities.

We will also practice and discuss positioning options for patients with scar tissue or the trunk, head/neck, abdomen and/or pelvis.

Students will learn to list and describe the four stages of inflammation and tissue repair and the types of hands on therapies appropriate at wound sites during each stage; to define fibrosis and describe its causes and consequences; to describe radiation therapy and the differences between external and internal RT; to recognize indications and contraindications for touch therapy at RT sites; to list conditions that delay tissue healing including lymphedema, radiation therapy, chemotherapy, infection, and implanted hardware, and describe the way that each can impact a massage therapy session; to describe the anatomical effects of common cancer surgeries; and to ask questions specific to cancer patients with a history of surgery.