How Massage Therapy Benefits Elderly Stroke Patients in Warrington PA

Elderly people are most vulnerable to suffering from a stroke. This usually results in debilitating after-effects for the seniors. Actually, strokes represent the foremost cause of disability among adults in the United States. The after-effects of a stroke can be eased by massage therapy given by professional massage therapists, though. Elderly patients in Bucks County, Doylestown, Warminster, Horsham, Willow Grove, Abbington, Ambler, Chalfont, New Hope, Newtown, Richboro, South Hampton and Lansdale can ask for reflexology massage therapy, deep tissue massage therapy, sports massage therapy and Swedish massage therapy from these therapists who also provide pregnancy massage therapy at reputable therapeutic massage spas in Warrington PA.

In fact, in the United States, statistics report that every 40 seconds one person gets a stroke. Every year, about 795,000 people suffer from strokes. Majority of these victims, or about 600,000 of them, will have experienced their first attack while the remaining percentage will have experienced a recurrence.

Aside from being elderly, other factors that put one at high risk for a stroke include having had a previous stroke, having had a previous transient ischemic attack, hypertension, diabetes, high cholesterol, atrial fibrillation, smoking, obesity and inactivity.

After a stroke, possible effects include numbness, weakness, fatigue, body pain, lack of balance and coordination, blurred vision, difficulty in speaking and swallowing, loss of bladder and bowel control, partial paralysis, and cognitive problems such as confusion, loss of concentration and memory loss. The patient may also experience depression as well as emotional swings from anger to crying bouts to laughter.

A study published in the journal Complementary Therapies in Nursing & Midwifery by researchers Esther Mok and Chin Pang Woo of the Hong Kong Polytechnic University Department of Nursing and the Wong Chuk Hang Hospital in Hung Hom, Kowloon, Hong Kong has proven that slow-stroke back massage can significantly lower the heart rate, blood pressure and levels of pain and anxiety of elderly stroke survivors.

The study was participated in by 102 elderly stroke survivors who were then experiencing ongoing shoulder pain but were not taking pain medication or any other means of pain relief. The minimum age of the participants was 65 and the average age was 73.

The participants were assigned randomly to a massage group and a control group. Participants in the massage group were given 10 minutes of back massage at bedtime for seven consecutive nights. The patients were given slow strokes on their backs while lying prone, sitting down or leaning on pillows. Participants in the control group were given only the standard care for stroke survivors.

All participants were assessed three times. The assessments were done before the start of treatment, after the week long treatment and three days after the week long treatment. The research nurses measured the patients' heart rate and blood pressure. The State-Trait Anxiety Inventory was used to measure anxiety levels. The Vertical Visual Analogue Scale was used to measure pain levels.

Results showed that participants in the massage group had significantly decreased levels of pain and anxiety, as well as significantly lowered heart rates and blood pressure after the week long treatment and even three days after the massage sessions had been stopped.

You can ask a professional massage therapist from a reputable therapeutic massage spa to customize reflexology massage therapy, deep tissue massage therapy, sports massage therapy and Swedish massage therapy in order to include slow stroke back massage for elderly stroke survivors. Schedule regular massage therapy sessions for your elderly stroke patients from Bucks County, Doylestown, Warminster, Horsham, Willow Grove, Abbington, Ambler, Chalfont, New Hope, Newtown, Richboro, South Hampton and Lansdale at a therapeutic massage spa in Warrington PA.


Massage Envy Warrington
1603 Main St
Warrington, PA 18976
Phone: (215) 343-3688
Fax: (215) 491-2445
Email: clinic0685@massageenvy.com
Website: http://www.massageenvy.com/clinics/PA/Warrington.aspx