Alternative Therapies: Massage

There are several alternative therapies offered here at Kennedy Krieger. I signed up for all of them in addition to all my usual therapies. I figured why not? I may as well. I would be able to try them out and they may even help my recovery.

The first and easiest therapy was massage. Frankly speaking, I wouldn't have said no to a massage even if I wasn't in a hospital. Working the long hours that I am, there is nothing better on the muscles than having a massage.

Depending on the masseuse, some weeks were better than others. I've seen a total of three different people during massage therapy, all with varying specialties and areas where they did the most good. The first focused on my lower back and shoulders. She was good at relieving the tension of days filled with tiring work. My muscles were sore and in dire need of care. And this she did marvoulously.

The second masseuse was far less direct. She spent more time on my feet and my legs. She slowly worked up the body and used more pressure in certain spots than active massage. She pressed on matching sore spots on my feet and back and the harder she pressed on both, the better they both felt. She also used used a weird heat release. She pressed on certain spots and suddenly my skin felt warmer and warmer, getting really hot. She then proceeded to trace this heat down my back, through my legs, and finally, releasing it at my feet. I don't understand how or what she did, but it was amazing feeling. The combination of pressure, active massage, and heat left me feeling amazing. To quote my facebook status of the day:

I just got a massage and my body feels like Jello!.

A friend asked me what type of Jello I was. The answer, as should be obvious from this blog was Lime (it's not easy being green).

I must admit that something macho in me resisted the idea of getting massage. But I can now freely say that when I leave here I'll go out and get a massage on my own dime. And advise you to do the same.