Cautions or Adverse Effects of Massage Assignment

Cautions or Adverse Effects of Massage - Assignment Example 3). The inspiration of the nursing profession, Florence Nightingale, had stressed the importance of creating an environment that supports healing and noted that in such an environment supportive to healing, complementary therapies like music perform an important role (Snyder, 2006, p. 8). Complementary therapies are important for holistic nursing. This is because holistic nursing considers the individual’s interior, collective interior and collective exterior (Dossey, 2009, p. 4). Snyder and Lindquist’s (2010) list of complementary therapies include massage. Citing several sources, Snyder and Taniguki (2010, p.337) identified massage therapy as â€Å"one of the most widely used complementary therapies and has been a part of the nurse’s armamentarium for centuries.† In many cases, â€Å"massage is combined with other therapies, such as music, aromatherapy, acupressure, or light touch† that it has become difficult to separate the effects of the benefi cial specific effects of massage from those of the other therapies (Snyder and Taniguki, 2010, p. 337). However, several studies have reported that massage has beneficial effects for relaxation, improving sleep, and minimizing pain (Snyder and Taniguki, 2010, p. 337). Based on at least two sources, the term â€Å"massage† was derived from an Arabic word that means â€Å"to press gently† (Snyder and Taniguki, 2010, p. 337). However, the term â€Å"massage† was defined by American Massage Therapy Association as â€Å"the application of manual techniques and adjunctive therapies with the intention of positively affecting the health and well-being of the client† (Snyder and Taniguki, 2010, pp. 337-338). Snyder and Taniguki emphasized that there is a scientific evidence for the view that massage therapy works. One study indicated that massage promotes relaxation and pain reduction, and stimulates the mechanoreceptors that activate the nonpainful nerve fibers ( Snyder and Taniguki, 2010, p. 338). Thus, based on the study, Snyder and Taniguki asserted that massage prevents pain transmission from reaching the consciousness. Studies also suggested that massage can affect the psychoneuroimmunological functions of the mind and body (Snyder and Taniguki, 2010, p. 338). Although anecdotal, there are indications that massage produces positive results in persons afflicted with HIV (Snyder and Taniguki, 2010, p. 339). A study also pointed out that massage is used to decrease aggressive behavior, improve sleep, facilitate communication, improve patient mobility, increase body weights, and increase psychological well-being (Snyder and Taniguki, 2010, p. 344). In practice, nurses explain to a patient the basis why massage therapy has to be used, assess a patient’s history, and secure the consent of a patient (Snyder and Taniguki, 2010, p. 343). Snyder and Taniguki (2010, p. 343) stressed that it is important to find out a patient’s overal l response to touch because some people are adverse to touch as a result of negative experience. Others are also hypersensitive to touch and this matter must be factored in by a nurse (Snyder and Taniguki, 2010, p. 343). In overcoming the situation, Snyder and Tanigu