Contraindications: Acute Infectious Diseases
Massage is contraindicated in the case of acute infectious diseases for a number of reasons:
1.
The
therapist is at risk of exposure to the disease
2.
Massage-especially
deep massage-can sometimes further weaken a client already weakened by disease.
3.
Massage
can spread infection through lymphatic channels to other areas of the
body. In certain bacterial infections
such as tuberculosis, the body attempts to “wall off” the infection with a
connective tissue capsule. Massage can
burst this capsule, allowing the infection to go from a latent state to an
active infectious state.
In meningitis and
encephalitis, two infectious conditions where the central nervous system is
involved, the client may exhibit severe headaches, erratic behavior, confusion
and loss of memory. A person with one
of these conditions should be referred to a physician.