Study the condition, then practice the decision: postpone, avoid locally, modify, or gather more information. Actual decisions depend on current presentation, not the diagnosis label alone.
| Condition | Core concept | Massage reasoning |
|---|---|---|
| Acute fracture | Break in bone continuity | Do not stress the injured region; follow medical restrictions/healing status. |
| Osteoporosis | Reduced bone strength | Modify pressure/leverage/positioning; fracture risk matters. |
| Osteoarthritis | Degenerative whole-joint disease | Work to tolerance; avoid forcing painful/irritable joints. |
| Rheumatoid arthritis | Systemic autoimmune inflammatory arthritis | Avoid aggressive work over acute inflammatory flare; consider systemic symptoms/medications. |
| Bursitis | Irritated/inflamed bursa | Avoid direct aggressive compression of acute bursa. |
| Sprain | Ligament injury | Acute swelling/instability needs protection and possibly evaluation. |
| Strain | Muscle/tendon injury | Acute severity and healing phase determine local work. |
| Tendinopathy | Load-related tendon disorder | Avoid provocative aggressive friction on highly irritable tissue. |
| Adhesive capsulitis | Painful shoulder stiffness/capsular restriction | Comfortable work/ROM only; forcing motion is not the goal. |
| Gout flare | Urate-crystal inflammatory arthritis | Hot, acutely painful joint = local avoidance. |
| Joint replacement | Prosthetic joint after surgery | Consider healing stage, precautions, scar status and provider restrictions. |
| Peripheral neuropathy | Peripheral nerve dysfunction | Modify pressure/temperature because sensation may be unreliable. |
| Carpal tunnel syndrome | Median nerve compression at wrist | Avoid provoking neural symptoms; do not promise to “release the nerve.” |
| Radiculopathy | Nerve-root dysfunction | Radiating symptoms/weakness require careful screening; progressive deficit warrants referral. |
| Multiple sclerosis | Immune-mediated CNS demyelination | Adapt to fatigue, heat sensitivity, mobility and current symptoms. |
| Parkinson disease | Progressive movement disorder | Consider mobility, rigidity, balance, fatigue, medication timing and transfer safety. |
| Stroke history | Prior cerebrovascular injury | Consider sensation, weakness, spasticity, communication, medications and transfer safety; acute stroke signs are emergency. |
| Suspected DVT | Deep venous clot | No massage; prompt medical evaluation. |
| Varicose veins | Dilated superficial veins/valve dysfunction | Avoid aggressive direct pressure over affected veins. |
| Hypertension | Persistently elevated arterial pressure | Consider control, symptoms, meds and orthostatic dizziness. Avoid simplistic universal cutoff rules. |
| Anticoagulation | Reduced clotting tendency from medication | Bruising/bleeding risk may require pressure modification. |
| Anemia | Reduced oxygen-carrying capacity/hemoglobin depending on type | Fatigue, exertional tolerance and underlying cause matter. |
| Psoriasis | Immune-mediated inflammatory skin disease | Not contagious; modify around cracked, painful or irritated plaques. |
| Tinea | Fungal infection | Avoid affected contagious area; prevent cross-contamination. |
| Herpes active lesion | Viral lesion | Local avoidance and hygiene precautions. |
| Cellulitis | Bacterial skin/subcutaneous infection | Do not massage infected region; medical treatment needed. |
| Open wound | Loss of skin integrity | Local avoidance; contamination/infection-control precautions. |
| Diabetes | Glucose-regulation disorder | Screen neuropathy, wounds, vascular status and glucose/medication timing. |
| Hypoglycemia | Low blood glucose | Recognize sweating, shaking, hunger, confusion; severe symptoms require emergency response. |
| Hyperthyroid state | Excess thyroid-hormone effect | Consider heat intolerance, tachycardia, anxiety and medical stability. |
| Hypothyroid state | Low thyroid-hormone effect | Consider fatigue, cold intolerance and associated symptoms; do not massage thyroid to alter hormones. |
| Asthma | Inflammatory airway disease with episodic narrowing | Position comfortably; acute severe breathing difficulty is emergency. |
| Acute contagious respiratory infection | Transmission/systemic illness concern | Postpone when illness/transmission risk makes treatment inappropriate. |
| COPD | Chronic airflow limitation | Position for breathing, pace transitions, monitor tolerance; do not make respiratory cure claims. |
| Lymphedema | Impaired lymph transport | Requires condition-specific management; routine deep massage is not manual lymph drainage. |
| Lymphangitis | Inflammation/infection of lymphatic vessels | Acute infection needs medical treatment, not massage over region. |
| Lymphoma | Lymphoid malignancy | Treatment planning depends on status, symptoms, oncology care and practitioner competence. |
| HIV | Virus affecting immune system | Not spread by ordinary intact-skin massage; use standard precautions with everyone. |
Systemic acute illness or embolic/emergency concern → postpone/emergency response. Local contagious/open/acute inflammatory problem → often local avoidance. Stable chronic condition → often modification based on symptoms and complications. Unclear risk → gather more information rather than guessing.