Alvin Paavig, 2010
Picture: David Paavig, 2010

In the beginning of the 1960s the massage of the sacrum (see picture) was added to the massage of the calves for later to be expanded further by the addition of the massage of the hip joint. It needs to be stated that “The Massage Therapy of Dr. Pressel” was indeed Dr. Pressel’s achievement, but the content was heavily flavoured by Lies Pressel, for instance by the addition of the massage of the sacrum and the understanding of the deeper spiritual connections.

The collaboration with Lies Pressel did not only result in the addition of new grips, but also in an extended duration of treatment caused by the new built-in rest periods that allowed the patients to absorb the effects of the massage on a deeper level.

The following procedure evolved and it remained the framework for the daily routine in the practice for more than twenty years: Every 45 minutes a patient was received by Lies Pressel, placed on the massage table and wrapped in order to warm up. This was followed by an initializing, further warming and relaxing massage. Then Dr. Pressel would take over. Lies Pressel would finalize the treatment and round it off with an “after treatment” or, if necessary, with an organ embrocation (rubbing in of ointment) in the Hauschka style, or maybe even a prescribed injection. Dr. Pressel noticed that the effect of the injection was greatly enhanced if given directly after a massage treatment compared to when given by itself. The patient would have a final rest period while the next client already was being treated in the next room.

Alvin Paavig, 2010
Picture: David Paavig, 2010

If possible, the patients would come for treatments twice a week at the beginning of the therapy, then once a week and then, depending on the patient’s progress, every fourteen days. This is how the patients who were already receiving therapy would create openings for the new patients. If at all possible, each patient would have a specific, recurring appointment so he/she always would come on the same weekday at the same time, all in accordance with the motto: “Rhythm replaces force”, but also in order to reinforce the above mentioned orderly impulses to the Rhythmical System of the patients.

 A fifteen hour work day was more often the rule than the exception for Dr. Pressel until the very end of his life. The patients who came to see him from far away would receive a lower and an upper treatment with just one night in between every six weeks. This only worked with patients who had completed the regular initial course of therapy beforehand so their bodies were already familiar with the massage and able to divide up and process the effects of these concentrated treatments in the proper manner. Something similar applied to the so called “lightening fast massage” for patients that arrived late for their appointments. There was a completely different scenario from what we see in today’s practices and hospitals where economics dictate that the massage therapists work increasingly faster and more “effectively” and the aspect of time as a healing tool is clearly no longer understood.