Why give massage to clients after surgery? Is it necessary? Is it dangerous? Is it just ‘pampering’? 

Let’s be clear - the client and their physician are worried that massage may be an unnecessary expense provided by an untrained person for an unclear reason. 

Knowing this, we can change our approach to the topic by asking the right question when considering massage after surgery. 

Instead of asking: 

‘SHOULD someone have massage after surgery?’ 

ask: 

‘is gentle massage provided by a professional educated in oncology massage CONTRAINDICATED after surgery?’ 

Why do my clients seek massage? 

For most of my plastic and reconstructive surgery clients, it is most often to reduce edema and give them reassurance that their recovery is going according to plan. It’s only after a few visits that they realize how much massage therapy has helped them to increase their range of motion and get back to activities of daily living like toileting and putting on clothes and shoes with less difficulty. 

Massage is also one of the few experiences in a client’s life during cancer treatment that is NOT necessarily medicalized. Massage can be a time for the client to relax and experience being gently cared for in a compassionate manner. 

One of the key lessons I learned in Jen Hartley’s Burn Scar Massage Therapy class was the importance of ASKING the client what they want from the massage and not assuming I know what they need. Let me explain. Burn Scar Massage Therapy is a one day class for massage therapists. The truly amazing part of the class is that she invites people with burn scars to the class in the afternoon so the therapists can test out their new skills. 

We had been learning from her lectures all morning and now it was time to put our new knowledge to work!

My first ‘client’ had a partial foot amputation as well as a below knee amputation after getting frostbite. Oh boy was I excited! In massage school I worked on a fellow student who had an above knee amputation due to a war injury, so I was pretty confident I knew what to do. Still, I asked my ‘client’ how he was feeling and what he wanted to concentrate on during the massage.

And … it wasn’t the legs at all. He was walking so much with his prosthetic that he was developing pain in his hips. Because I took the time to listen, I was able to use all the techniques I had learned in massage school and make him feel a little bit better that day. 

My point - our clients don’t always want a medical treatment focused on the area that had cancer. We can help them to reduce pain, relax and feel a little more whole again with gentle massage - massage by a therapist that has training in oncology massage and is familiar with their surgical and oncological treatment history. 

Let’s read about the experiences of clients enrolled in the ‘Myofascial Massage for Chronic Pain and Decreased Upper Extremity Mobility After Breast Cancer Surgery’ study: 

One participant said, “I had no idea how much pain I was in…all the time. I feel like I have my life back” (Massingill et al., 2018).

Another stated, “This was a life-changing experience, I thought that surviving cancer meant I should be happy regardless of if I couldn’t move my arm how I used to. Now I can have it all”  (Massingill et al., 2018).

Medicine Hands author Gayle MacDonald shares that, “the immediate benefits of touch or light massage after surgery is reassurance and love. Gentle touch massage brings people back to earth; back into their bodies in a pleasant way” (MacDonald, 2014). 

What benefits have your clients seen in having massage after surgery?