Noteboom The Law Firm

Massage Therapy for Veterans

June 17, 2010 - Veterans returning from Iraq and Afghanistan are discovering different programs designed specifically for veterans. Some of these programs are designed to deal with mental issues and others are designed to rehabilitate physical problems.

Linda Sodaro works with Healing Appalachia's Returning Troops (HART). With the goal of helping returning veterans, Sodaro is in the process of creating massage therapy programs. Her belief is if veterans are not comfortable with themselves, then communities will suffer. Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), for example, stresses and subsequently harms the entire body. Veterans are not the only ones who feel the effects of PTSD; it affects everyone around them.

Sodaro's massage therapy program is not yet well known. The program is not limited to massage, however. Sodaro also leads a mind-body skills group; something the military is beginning to teach. The military hopes the skills they teach will supply soldiers with a platform of self-care from which to begin a healthier lifestyle. Overall, Sodaro's programs include:

• Teaching life skills;
• Stress and anger management; and
• Massage therapy.

Sodaro acknowledges not everything in her program is going to work with every veteran. Her ultimate goal is to have veterans focus on fixing themselves by providing their own health care. For Sodaro, self-care is crucial as part of overall health care. If veterans are not willing to help themselves, expecting to rely on the health care system to bear the entire burden of healing is unreasonable.   

If she has her way, there will be a national network offering HART services. While the program has demonstrated positive changes in those who have enrolled in the program, Sodaro is almost out of funding. Should she find the necessary funding to continue, her massage therapy could come to a network provider near you.