Ep 559 – Skull Fractures and Failures in Communication: "I Have a Client Who . . ." Pathology Conversations with Ruth Werner
About this episode
Ruth Werner discusses a client's adverse reaction during a massage and the communication breakdown that led to it.
A client asks for a specific technique on their face. They have a bad reaction. Then they say they didn't want work in that area anyway, and by the way, they had a skull fracture four years ago. Now they're leaving because they feel a migraine coming on. The therapist is left wondering what just happened. In this episode of I Have a Client Who . . . , Ruth unpacks this interaction, what may have been going on for the client and their bones, and takes a closer look at where things started to break down. Has this ever happened to you? You're not alone. Resources: Cheatham, S.W. et al. (2025) "International Expert Consensus on Instrument-Assisted Soft-Tissue Mobilization Precautions and Contraindications: A Modified Delphi Study," Healthcare , 13(6), p. 642. Available at: https://doi.org/10.3390/healthcare13060642 . Instrument Assisted Soft Tissue Mobilization (no date) Physiopedia . Available at: https://www.physio-pedia.com/Instrument_Assisted_Soft_Tissue_Mobilization (Accessed: March 13, 2026). Skull Fractures: Types, Treatment and Prevention (no date) Cleveland Clinic . Available at: https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diseases/skull-fracture (Accessed: March 13, 2026)…
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