Have a look at the Massage Case Studies article for a background and description of the cases.
Some thoughts on the experience of volunteering at Mother Theresa’s Mission:
It was a chance to put those obscure lessons we learned into practise. In massage training there were many lessons that seemed like a waste of time as we would never come to face them in a massage clinic environment. Most of the work I do concerns treating 20th century problems such as stiff necks and sore backs from poor posture and too much computer work. It was professionally challenging and rewarding to go digging into the depths of my training to help people with conditions that I had never seen first hand.
It was also an amazing opportunity to do the most good possible. The patients were triaged and only the ones that could benefit the most from treatment were treated. Helping somebody remember how to stand and walk again or possibly getting that rickshaw driver back on the road earning a living to support his family were unique moments that I will treasure forever.
The work seemed more important because there weren’t many other alternatives. The patients were not going to get help from doctors, physiotherapists or other health care professionals. Their loved ones would not collect them and care for them after the treatment. They relied completely on the help they were given at the mission and were extremely grateful for it.
The unmeasurable results are priceless. The feeling of hope was more responsible for the stroke victim standing and walking than the treatment was. Same goes for the rickshaw driver. It could be that just feeling a small physical change was enough to start turning those big gears that result in rehabilitation.
The simple treatments can bring huge results. The decrease in swelling that the was achieved with the two patients with broken legs and the one with liver damage was drastic. And it all came from something as simple as nodal pumping and manula lymphatic drainage.