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Posted on: December 30, 2013

Patients who enter a hospice facility are normally at the end of their life. They can have any illness that debilitates their movements and organs. This can make it difficult to get out of bed to get the exercise needed to keep the muscles from getting stiff. As a massage therapist, you can give the comfort the patients need while they are in bed. The simple touch on the back or shoulders can be the therapy the patient needs to relax. You can work strictly with the patients in the beds, or you can provide massage treatments to the family members who sit by the bedsides of their loved ones.

Touch by the hands is one of the oldest methods of pain relief. While nurses keep patients as comfortable as possible, a massage therapist can give something more than just a pill so that the patient is not focused on the pain. You can use acupressure on areas of the body to relieve tension. This will help to decrease the pain in the area. As you help the patient with massage therapy, you are also helping the family. The family will see that the patient is not in as much pain, and it can help with the process of the patient passing away. One of the things you will need to keep in mind is that you might have to maneuver your hands in relation to the way the patient is laying in the bed. If the patient can't move, then you will have to find ways to massage the back and other areas of the body.

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