Master the Massage Therapy Exams by Peterson's

Author:Peterson's
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Peterson's, a Nelnet Company
Published: 2011-09-15T00:00:00+00:00

Postural Analysis and Physical Holding Patterns

As part of the client assessment, you will analyze the client’s posture and physical holding patterns. Postural analysis allows you to identify the possibility of muscular imbalances or other symmetry deviations that can cause or contribute to pain or discomfort. Postural difficulties can result in compensatory patterns or muscular adaptations that eventually cause the client pain, dysfunction, and/or restricted motion by putting undue stress on the skeleton, joints, or muscles.

You can conduct a postural analysis informally with a visual inspection or you might conduct the analysis more formally using a plumb line and a postural analysis grid chart. Make sure you view the client from the front, both sides, and the back.

You will also look for physical (also called somatic) holding patterns. These are less-than-optimal movement patterns that can develop over time due to muscular or skeletal imbalances, lack of symmetry, or injury. For example, if a client suffered a knee injury at some point and the injury never healed properly, you might notice issues with the client’s gait. Eventually, maladaptive holding patterns can cause musculoskeletal or other types of pain.

One example of a physical holding pattern is muscle guarding. This is the practice of unconsciously holding a muscle in a partially contracted state. This condition can occur for any number of reasons (such as a skeletal imbalance or fear of reinjuring a damaged muscle) and can result in tenderness, soreness, and pain.

All of the information you gather during the assessment will be used to determine if massage is appropriate treatment for the client. If it is indicated, you can use the information you have collected to formulate the client’s treatment plan.

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