Post-Surgical Massage (on my mom!)

Recently (a little over two weeks now) my mom got a full knee replacement surgery. I was excited to help her through the process as I have gone through a full foot reconstruction surgery about 16 years ago now. My whole reason for becoming a massage therapist was to help others who have gone through what I went through and aid in their recovery. So I saw this as a great opportunity to not only be there for my mom but also learn how to help others in the future.

The first few days are very uncomfortable after a surgery. Thankfully knee and hip replacements have quick recovery times. what to expect after a surgery is about 24-36 hours after the surgery, the nerve blockers begin to fade and the body begins to feel the "trauma" that it just went through. Safe to say, she was in excruciating pain. At this point, I didn't do any massage directly on the area that the surgery had taken place, but above it. So I was gently massaging the surface of the skin (superficially) to help aid in lymph flow as I knew swelling was about to happen. The next few days when I went to visit, I used different techniques in order to stimulate the nerves and muscles that now feel disorganized, trying to learn where they are in space and what this new object in the body is.

The techniques i used included light tapping (which my mom appreciate the most, replicating it when I wasn't there or in the future once she began PT and doing exercises), light scraping/scratching to stimulate the nerves. I did small vibrating movements to allow the muscles to begin understanding where they are in space (reorienting their proprioception). I would do holds or compressions lightly above and around the site of the injury, or places she specifically said she felt the most pain. I consistently looked at her face or listened to her reaction to keep my pressure from being uncomfortable but helpful.

During days 3-5 she was in the most pain and it was hard for her to sleep, so these moments of massage were a way for her to finally relax and I would often find that she'd be able to take short little naps, increasing the rate at which her body healed and, once again, started to adjust to this new 'equipment' in her body.

After a week, she was allowed to take her bandages off and it had been a couple days that she had been doing PT (which she started four days after her surgery). I went to every PT session I could with her and would go home to practice the sessions. She made a comment that made me really happy. She told me that, after an exercise she felt like she was being rewarded with the massage I did. Like she could go through the pain of much easier, able to work harder, because she knew that she would receive relief from massage afterwards.

She was curious why massage isn't a part of the recovery program after surgeries. The PT also said that in a perfect world she wishes chiro, physical therapy, occupational therapy, and massage should all be a part of the recovery process for people who have had recent surgeries.

It ignited a fire in me to begin finding more people that have had surgery and help them out. Looking forward to releasing a video on my youtube soon on the techniques i did to help fellow massage therapists or anyone trying to help a friend/family member at home.

I found that massage can be done the day of surgery to begin helping the recovery, granted not on the site of surgery itself and has had benefits like reduced inflammation, swelling, bruising. Excited for scar tissue work!