Jul 15, 2025

A client has a recently placed stent in their left anterior descending branch of the coronary artery. The therapist isn’t clear about safety. What to do—get permission to work? Or get information to work safely? (You get two guesses, and one of them doesn’t count.)

This episode explores a helpful communication to...

May 20, 2025

A massage therapist wonders about the communicability of herpes from lesions on the sacrum: How might this infection spread from one person to another? “I Have a Client Who . . .” host Ruth Werner takes the opportunity to talk about herpes epidemiology, communicability, and asymptomatic viral shedding. You won’t...

Apr 22, 2025

A 70-year-old client fills in an online intake form, saying she has myasthenia gravis, hypertension, and hypothyroidism. She only takes Synthroid, and says her hypothyroidism and hypertension are well controlled. She has low back pain and muscle soreness.

At first glance, this seems fairly simple. MG does not appear to...

Mar 25, 2025

A contributor sent me several descriptions of people dealing with the aftermath of Lyme disease, hoping for some answers to the questions this mysterious condition brings up. Sorry, no answers here—just more questions. Chronic Lyme disease, post-treatment Lyme disease syndrome, Long Lyme… whatever you call it,...

Feb 25, 2025

For his 40th birthday, a man is treating himself to his very first massage. His health history includes a few noteworthy details, one of which is a condition neither his massage therapist nor I had ever encountered before: hereditary spherocytosis. Are there any potential concerns? Possibly.

Resources: 

Hereditary...