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December 7, 2007
The Case Of The Kidney
I had an emergency session last night at the end of a long day. The client had a kidney stone three several weeks prior. Following that they developed a slight kidney infection which included fever. Local doctors put in a stent and put my client on antibiotics. The stent was irritating to the client, but luckily the fever went away and the kidney was able to produce urine normally. At this point, the doctors removed the stent. However, as soon as one course of antibiotics was finished, the fever would come back and my client was put on another round of antibiotics.
This continued for three weeks at which point my client decided to seek medical attention at the nearest research hospital. The findings of the new doctor revealed that the ureter is bent and twisted (torsion). This acts much as a bent and twisted garden hose that does not let any fluid go through. As a result, urine is not able to drain from the kidney and ultrasound reveals that the kidney is five times larger than normal because of collection of excess urine. My client is scheduled for surgery to have a permanent stent put in leading from the kidney to the bladder.
What can a massage therapist do for such a condition? My visceral manipulation training allows me to offer a unique set of skills to assist with a variety of problems. No, I can't fix a sick kidney, but the goal for the session was to reduce restrictions around the ureter in preparation for accepting the stent. Upon palpation, what I found near the bladder was the ureter tube leading out toward anterior superior iliac spine (ASIS) and then twisting and turning in toward the navel before it traveled up toward the kidney. I'm still amazed that I can actually feel things like that in the body. There was some tenderness at the lower end of the ureter as it joins with the bladder, and at one point I felt the ureter roll and slip out from under my fingertips. I looked at my client, they looked at me, "Did you feel that?" They nodded yes and I repalpated the ureter. It felt softer and less twisted and more flexible. The client reported that the original pain was greatly diminished, so we moved up the ureter.
Once I got near the kidney, I became confused about how and where the ureter was joined with the kidney because of its enlarged state. I pulled out an anatomy book and reviewed what a normal kidney should look like with my client. Since it can be such a fragile organ, especially in an unhealthy state, I decided to leave any manipulation alone and switched instead to Craniosacral mode. I simply held and rocked the kidney along its normal line of motility and sent it love. Sometimes when there is little you feel you can do, intention is all you have left.
I'm sure the surgery will go fine. The client will have to stay in the hospital over the weekend for intravenous antibiotics following the surgery. With the stent in, everything should return to normal very quickly in a matter of days. I encouraged my client to return following the surgery when they feel up to it. Again, the intention is to help the body be more accepting of the stent. I also want to reinforce healthy motility in the kidney and clear away any adhesions that may have developed around the kidney as a result of infection.
tags: massage massagetherapy wellness massage therapy bodywork health visceral manipulation
Posted by linda at December 7, 2007 7:08 AM
