Benefits of Massage and Aromatherapy in Aged Care
/
Photo by Matthias Zomer from Pexels
I work with many different people of all age groups. I work with healthy active people; people with debilitating health conditions such as cancer, chronic fatigue, dementia, cerebral palsy, disabilities; and all kinds of people in between! I love working with different people as it enriches my life. I like connecting with people and making a difference to people’s lives. A great massage can really uplift a person’s mood, calm the nervous system and relieve tension and pain in the body.
I am focusing here on my experience working with people in aged care facilities as I find massage and aromatherapy improves quality of life. Some of my clients are in retirement villages, nursing homes or they have a carer with them in their own home. Some of these people have mobility issues and others have memory issues due to dementia. I feel that human touch is very important and even more so for people who are living lives with little to do and with less human connections.
Benefit 1: Connection
When I visit some of my regular clients with dementia it is like a first meeting again for them. I re-introduce myself, advise them that I have come to do a gentle aromatherapy massage on them and I build rapport with them again. I am able to establish a connection and build on that connection each time I work with the person because I get to know their personality, their interests and what they want and need. I feel on some level they do recognise me which is why they settle quite quickly with each session. It’s like their body is familiar with me, even if they cannot access their memories. Quite often when I start working on them they do remember me.
In one session recently I noticed one of my clients opened up about something that was traumatic for her years ago. I won’t go into details out of respect and privacy. She is a sweet lady with Alzheimer’s and she is always very welcoming and really shows appreciation for her massages. She is an absolute joy to work with. For each visit I re-introduce myself as I am aware she doesn’t have short term memory. This time something was different, she remembered me straight away and she felt comfortable to share as I listened without judgement. There is something very healing in really listening to someone and not offering any advice - just acknowledging their feelings and needs. This is one of the biggest benefits that people often don’t talk about when it comes to massage in aged care - the connection. All people have the need to be listened to, acknowledged and feel connection with another human being. I also believe most humans want and need human touch.
Another client I’ve been working with for a while has dementia and is in a situation where she is immobile and cannot speak. I give her an aromatherapy massage in a height adjustable hospital bed. Being bed bound, aromatherapy massage is something that is nurturing for her and it means that she gets to enjoy two of her senses - touch and smell. I noticed that after working with her for a while she smiles more and more and appears very relaxed. She cannot vocalise how she feels but her facial expressions and her breathing tell me - you can tell a lot about a person by their breathing rate. I can tell the parts she enjoys the most because she smiles and closes her eyes. I talk to her and let her know what I will be working on each time. It is an honour to work with her. It makes me happy to see her blissing out - especially considering that most of the time she is bed bound without company and being bed bound means her muscles and joints will likely be getting tense and sore. She can’t say thank you with words, but she says thank you with her smile and her eyes. I can even tell when I make an aromatherapy massage oil blend that she loves as she lights up and smiles.
I treat these clients as I would with anyone else - greeting them, informing them of the process and what I will be working on and why.
Benefit 2: Pain and Tension Reduction
The most obvious benefit of massage is a reduction in pain and tension in the body. This is because when receiving a massage (with a therapist who you trust and works to your comfort level) the body goes into a parasympathetic state - the “relaxation response”, and the muscles relax in response to skilful touch. Please note that the massage needs to be longer than fifteen minutes for the parasympathetic nervous system to take over. The massages I do are one hour or longer which allows for the body to go into the relaxation response. This reduces pain in the body and releases feel good hormones in the body such as oxytocin, dopamine, serotonin and endorphins, all the while cortisol (a stress hormone) is reduced. Working on the muscles, even in a gentle way, stimulates the touch receptors (mechanoreceptors) which stimulates the nervous system which causes the muscles to relax. When working with aged clients, as well as clients with serious health conditions such as cancer, I use gentle pressure and adjust the level of pressure specific to the person and what their body needs. I tend to work more slowly too which induces deep relaxation. The slower the stroke, the more the mind slows down and the deeper the relaxation response.
Pain from arthritis isn’t so easily shifted however massage can help relieve arthritic pain temporarily. I find that when I’m working with clients with arthritis their pain often disappears during the massage and after, however I am not sure how long this affect lasts and it would probably vary with each person.
Benefit 3: Skin Health
As people age skin becomes thinner, loses moisture and elasticity and is more prone to breaks, cracking and bruising. Moisturising becomes very important and the vegetable oils I use are deeply moisturising and good for the skin. The body produces oil (sebum) to keep the skin moisturised and to provide a protective barrier. Therefore using natural oils on the skin can be highly beneficial and compatible with our biochemical makeup.
I use natural vegetable oils with all of my clients and for these clients with more delicate skin who are receiving aromatherapy massage the essential oils are blended at a concentration of 1% to 1.5% to ensure that it is safe and beneficial for their skin. I usually use a mixture of almond, macadamia and sunflower oil (unless they have nut allergies and then I use avocado oil instead) and I add a blend of essential oils specific for the person. For example, one of my clients loves floral notes so one blend I like to use includes geranium, ylang ylang, palmarosa, Roman chamomile and lemon. This blend is really good for the skin - four of the five oils are used in skincare to improve elasticity, moisture and preventing inflammation. The geranium, ylang ylang, palmarosa and Roman chamomile are calming for the nervous system and the lemon is uplifting and clarifying for the mind. The blend is absolutely divine to smell. What I love about aromatherapy is the emotional, mental and physical benefits; as well as the creativity involved in selecting blends that my clients will love.
Photo by Edu Carvalho from Pexels
Benefit 4: The Joy of our Senses
One of the best things about being alive is enjoying our senses. Touch is important for humans. I have talked about the relaxation response and mentioned the feel good hormones - and this really points to the fact that we are wired to connect. Ever since we were tiny babies and our parents picked us up and cuddled us we experienced bonding and love through touch. It is completely natural to who we are. Appropriate and calming touch makes us feel like we matter, like we are loved and cared for, and with the right therapist - that we are safe and supported in life. Massage feels good!
Aromatherapy massage is even better because we are also stimulating another sense - smell. Beautiful smells, that are natural, are truly enjoyable to experience. Beyond these beautiful aromas are the benefits that essential oils have on our mind and emotions, skin health, muscular system and other systems in the body such as the digestive system. If you are interested in learning more about the benefits of aromatherapy massage please refer to some of my previous blogs on aromatherapy.
Benefit 5: Improves Sleep
The relaxation response means that clients often sleep better following massage. Please see the research articles listed below for research evidencing this.
Benefit 6: Increases Flexibility
Aged people tend to stiffen up a lot unless they’ve remained very active throughout life and practiced yoga or similar exercises that keep their muscles strong and healthy, and joints mobile. Massage therapy softens up tight muscles, which may assist with general mobility. Massage also increases blood and lymph flow.
How I got interested in this area
You may wonder what got me into working with people with special needs - from aged care, disabilities to cancer patients. I found myself drawn to oncology (cancer) massage and so I undertook training in 2015. I talked about oncology massage in my December 2018 blog. I have a connection with cancer patients as cancer runs through both sides of my family. The gentleness, stillness, slow paced strokes, presence and silence I learned in oncology massage training carries over to my work in aged care. One of my senior clients often comments “I like how gentle you are with me”.
Shortly after completing the oncology massage course I started working with a client who has mental and physical disabilities. She has full time carers. She is the kind of person where you know exactly what mood she is in - she doesn’t hold anything back! For the first few sessions I really had to gain her trust. She may have PTSD from abuse in different institutions. Still to this day she will tell me six times before I start the massage that she has a bruise she doesn’t want me to touch. She will also ask me at least ten times to come back to massage her in two weeks! This behaviour demonstrates that she doesn’t trust easily, is hyper-vigilant and highly anxious. However we have a great relationship - she trusts me as she relaxes when I’m massaging her and she always thanks me at the end and smiles. She has her own kind of sign language as she cannot speak. She has taught me deep patience.
I’m the kind of person who is always learning, I have several projects on at once and I’m quite creative and love to understand things, however when I work with my clients I become very still, gentle and patient. I am fully in the present moment and it is such a blessing.
As I advised before, I work with many different people it’s just that the massage I do is quite different depending on the state of health of a particular person and what they want from the massage. So I may do deep tissue massage when someone comes in for a remedial massage and then later that day be doing very gentle massage on an older client. However whichever massage style I am doing I still want the person to feel relaxed so my focus is on flow and staying within the person’s comfort level. This switching between different styles suits my personality well as I thrive with variety. I don’t want to do just one thing, however all the things I do have this central theme to them - they are all related to healing. It’s always about bringing joy and life force, relief from tension and pain, connection, presence and relaxing people. I work with people’s nervous systems - a massage can be very balancing and calming and I’m a therapist who understands the nervous system and the importance of the right kind of touch.
If you are interested in booking a massage for yourself or a loved one and have questions feel free to call me: 0433 523 678. Otherwise you can book online.
Thanks for reading,
Bel
References/Research Articles
Massage proves effective for insomnia:
Sable A, Sivabalan T and Shetti AN, Effectiveness of Back Massage on Sleep Pattern among Patients with Congestive Cardiac Failure https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5637143/
Oliveira D.S., Hachul H., Goto V., Tufik S., Bittencourt L.R. Effect of therapeutic massage on insomnia and climacteric symptoms in postmenopausal women. Climacteric. 2012 Feb;15(1):21–29. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
Zhou Y.F., Wei Y.L., Zhang P.L., Gao S., Ning G.L., Zhang Z.Q. Multi-central controlled study on three-part massage therapy for treatment of insomnia of deficiency of both the heart and spleen. Zhongguo Zhen Jiu. 2006;26:385–388. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
Massage for stress and well-being:
Sharpe, P, Williams, H, Granner M, Hussey J. A randomised study of the effects of massage therapy compared to guided relaxation on well-being and stress perception among older adults. Journal of Complementary Therapy Medicine 2007
Summary: “After treatment, participants in the massage group showed significantly improved results in the categories of anxiety, depression, positive wellbeing, vitality and general health. Post treatment, participants in the massage group showed significant improvement in stress perception as opposed to the guided relaxation group who showed no significant improvement.”
Field T, Hernandez-Reif M, Diego M, Schanberg S, Kuhn C. Cortisol decreases and serotonin and dopamine increase following massage therapy. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5637143/
Massage for seniors:
Robertshawe P. Massaging the elderly: a clinical perspective. Journal of the Australian Traditional-Medicine Society2006;12(3):125—127
Summary: “Working with the elderly provides the massage therapist with the opportunity to achieve much more than relief of somatic pain. Along with loss of function and chronic pain, the elderly have also lost many loved ones and much of their independence. These losses can easily lead to feelings of isolation, anxiety, frustration and fear. For these reasons, old people are particularly vulnerable to depression, withdrawal and despondency. Coupled with a warm, attentive touch, massage therapists can help them feel more connected with their surroundings and the people in them. Their massage session can provide far more than just physical benefits.”
Information provided by Essential Restorative Massage is not intended to be a substitute for medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. If you have a health condition or symptoms of one, please consult with your doctor before using complimentary remedies and therapies.
Copyright © Essential Restorative Massage, all rights reserved.