Meet Christine
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Christine is a Registered Practical Nurse (RPN), and her very physical job can take a toll on her body. She spends her 12-hour shifts on her feet, bending, turning and twisting when providing care or repositioning her patients. She first sought massage therapy treatment three years ago to address pain after her shifts.
“My lower and upper legs would ache on a scale of 5 or 6 out of 10,” Christine said. “I would need to take Advil after every shift.”
After massage therapy treatment and accessing orthotics and compression socks as suggested by her Registered Massage Therapist (RMT), Christine’s legs no longer hurt at all. She still had some concerns with pain in her lower back, neck and shoulders after her shifts and she found massage therapy helpful for those concerns as well. However, not being able to access massage therapy during the initial stages of the COVID-19 pandemic had a significant negative impact on her body.
“My neck and shoulders were so stiff and sore and my lower back extremely tight,” Christine said. “I was getting headaches from the tension in my neck as it would travel up to my head. Generally my whole body felt this way after no massage therapy for 6 months.”
Generally, Christine felt tired and worn down, and returning to massage therapy after not accessing it for 6 months felt like just what her body needed.
“After one 60 minute massage the tension in my back was gone and my neck and shoulder range of motion were greatly improved,” Christine said. “I woke up the next day without feeling sore. I felt like my old self again!”
Christine felt very at ease with the safety measures her RMT was taking, and appreciated the fact that her RMT went through the COVID-19 safety protocols with her beforehand to ensure she was comfortable.
“The office was very clean and used all the necessary protocols to ensure my safety and the staff’s safety,” Christine said.
Going forward, Christine hopes to continue at least quarterly massage therapy sessions throughout the year, stretch and move her body between sessions with the suggestions her RMT has provided, and continue to use massage therapy to reduce her pain and tension.
Massage therapy helps Christine perform her job as an RPN to the best of her ability, and she thinks it’s essential that RMTs were able to reopen when they did.
“RMTs needed to reopen as they play a very important role in many people's health care,” Christine said. “My RMT is a part of my health care team. Massage therapy keeps my body's tension at ease so I’m able to perform my job to its fullest.”