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Making connections: Foundational pharmacology for massage therapists

Submitted by RST on Sun, 06/05/2011 - 12:10

What do we need to know about the medications our clients use, in order to provide them with safe and effective massage?

 

Source: http://pubs.acs.org/cen/multimedia/img/pharmacognosy90.jpg

 

This e-Book provides a comprehensive foundation in basic pharmacology for use in clinical settings, research literacy, and communication with other healthcare professionals. Completing the material in this e-Book will prepare the student with pharmacological knowledge commonly used in diverse clinical settings. This material is prerequisite knowledge for massage educational objectives, as outlined by various stakeholders in the following table.

 

 

Massage educational objectives addressed by this e-Book

Guidelines document Learning objective
College of Massage Therapists of British Columbia (CMTBC) Guidelines for Foundational Knowledge
  • Describe the general principles of pharmacology and define pharmacological terminology
  • Define a drug, explain how drugs are classified, and list the common classes of drugs and describe the uses and effects of each class
  • Describe the importance and justifications for careful history taking
  • Discuss the importance of identifying contraindications and precautions with respect to pharmaceutical usage by patients seeking massage therapy treatment
  • Be able to read and interpret a drug profile as it related to massage therapy practice and be able to make treatment modifications to ensure a safe and effective practice
  • Identify the pharmaceutical references/compendium, internet resources and describe how they can be used in clinical practice [1]
ITEC qualifications: International Objective
ITEC qualifications: UK Objective
Massage & Bodywork Licensing Examination (MBLEx) Content Outline N/A
Massage Therapy Body of Knowledge (MTBoK)
  • General classification and types of drugs, herbs, supplements, their effects and their side effects.
  • Massage therapy considerations and potential responses to general classes of drugs, herbs and supplements.
  • Use of authoritative, medically accepted drug reference to look up drugs, their effects and their side effects.
 
National Certification Examination for Therapeutic Massage (NCETM) Content Outline
  • L. Drug interactions with massage/bodywork
  1. medications (e.g., prescription; over-the- counter)
  2. recreational drugs (e.g., tobacco; alcohol)
  3. herbs
  4. natural supplements
 
http://www.ncbtmb.org/pdf/CandidateHandbook.pdf version 08.3, p. 23, accessed 2 August 2011
National Certification Examination for Therapeutic Massage and Bodywork (NCETMB) Content Outline
  • L. Drug interactions with massage/bodywork
  1. medications (e.g., prescription; over-the- counter)
  2. recreational drugs (e.g., tobacco; alcohol)
  3. herbs
  4. natural supplements
 
http://www.ncbtmb.org/pdf/CandidateHandbook.pdf version 08.3, p. 20, accessed 2 August 2011
National Certification for Advanced Practice (NCAP) test specifications report N/A

 

[1] http://www.cmtbc.bc.ca/documents/GFK%20effective%20March%2017,%202010.pdf, p. 116, accessed 1 August 2011

 

 

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