Dementia and Massage Therapy

We often dream of having a massage after a stressful day. At the end of life, massages yield just as much benefit. Arbor Hospice’s massage therapist wrote the following blog entry to illustrate the many advantages of massage therapy for individuals with dementia. You can see the complete entry on the Arbor Hospice blog.

Many elderly individuals become sensory deprived as their faculties fade but the basic need for touch remains constant. As individuals lose sensory and cognitive skills, they become unable to interact socially, which may lead to feelings of isolation, depression, anxiety and agitation. Touch often remains the last form of communication when all other avenues have surrendered to the disease. When massage therapy is administered to patients in the end stages of dementia, it fosters feelings of intimacy and emotional connectedness.

Dementia is a slow progression of symptoms, sometimes lasting decades. At the onset, patients experience memory loss, confusion, language problems, changes in mood and difficulty performing daily tasks. This leads to an increase in anxiety and agitation, sometimes causing the patient to act out in ways considered socially unacceptable or improper. Sleep patterns become disrupted during the progression of dementia, and massage has been useful in treating insomnia. Additionally, many individuals suffer from a loss of appetite as Alzheimer's progresses, causing significant weight loss, resulting in physical frailty. A gentle hand massage given during light conversation has shown to improve appetite within an hour of the patient receiving it.

See the rest of this blog entry on the Arbor Hospice blog.