Ep 436 - Pulmonary Fibrosis—An Aberrant Matrix: "I Have a Client Who . . ." Pathology Conversations with Ruth Werner

A person with rheumatoid arthritis and lupus develops new back pain in her mid-upper left side. It feels like "it's coming from under my ribs," she says. First, it's diagnosed as arthritis, but interventions don't seem to make a difference. Finally, a year into this unremitting pain, a rheumatologist asks about her breathing and discovers she has developed a complication called pulmonary thrombosis, probably related to her autoimmune diseases. They start treatment and voilà, her back pain is gone.

This is a good example of a case in which massage therapy was definitely NOT the best choice.

Resources:

Dsouza, K.G. et al. (2023) 'Management of interstitial lung disease in patients with autoimmune disease-related interstitial lung disease', Multidisciplinary Respiratory Medicine, 18(1), p. 890. Available at: https://doi.org/10.4081/mrm.2023.890.

Fibrosis as an autoimmune disease (no date) CPC - M. Available at: https://www.cpc-munich.de/en/research-projects/fibrosis-as-an-autoimmune-disease/index.html, https://www.cpc-munich.de/en/research-projects/fibrosis-as-an-autoimmune-disease/index.html (Accessed: 3 May 2024).

Gole, S. and Bankole, A. (2024) 'Nintedanib', in StatPearls. Treasure Island (FL): StatPearls Publishing. Available at: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK585049/ (Accessed: 8 May 2024).

Interstitial Lung Diseases - What Are Interstitial Lung Diseases? | NHLBI, NIH (2022). Available at: https://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/interstitial-lung-diseases (Accessed: 8 May 2024).

Kašiković Lečić, S. et al. (2022) 'Management of musculoskeletal pain in patients with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis: a review', Upsala Journal of Medical Sciences, 127, p. 10.48101/ujms.v127.8739. Available at: https://doi.org/10.48101/ujms.v127.8739.

Massage & Bodywork - MAY | JUNE 2021 (no date). Available at: https://www.massageandbodyworkdigital.com/i/1358392-may-june-

3D image of an X-ray image of lung inflamation.

Episode Hosts

Meet our hosts

  • Ruth Werner Photo

    Ruth Werner

    Ruth Werner is a former massage therapist, a writer, and an NCBTMB-approved continuing education provider. She wrote A Massage Therapist's Guide to Pathology (available at booksofdiscovery.com), now in its seventh edition, which is used in massage schools worldwide. Werner is available at ruthwerner.com or [email protected].