A Public Service Announcement from your Friendly Local Massage Trainee

[percival]

Nobody should get bruised as a result of a massage. I repeat, there should be no bruises, no tissue damage. I don't even think that the muscles should be sore afterwards, because that is a sign of damage to the muscle fibres, overexertion.

If a masseur or a masseuse ever bruises you, complain to him or her. Let him or her explain to you why you had to sustain that damage, and why it had to hurt the way it did. The person who massaged scieppan is a JERK. She should not go back to him, warn her friends off, and ask the spa why they are employing him and what his qualifications are. Believe me, you can unknot shoulders without bruising people. I've done it several times already.

Normal reactions after a massage are:
- lightheadedness
- headache (toxins being released); that mainly occurs if you haven't drunk enough water
- tiredness and drowsiness
- warmth and redness in areas where muscle fibres have been unknotted

Anything you might want to add, saucebook?

I've already had four people scared off by incompetent masseurs who hurt them. When you massage such a person, you are not only dealing with tense muscles, but you also have to work against a fear of massage. Not a good situation to be in as a masseuse, let me tell you this from experience.

Comments

[murasaki99.livejournal.com]

Wish I could Apparate! I could use some muscle-unknotting tonight. I've been shovelling snow and my back, legs, and arms are all whining. Guess I'll do some yoga and stretch things out gently.

I was worked on by a massage student and he did a wonderful job. No soreness, but I did sleep really good that night. I do a form of rolfing on my middle-aged horse and she loves it and seems to move better the next day.

[perceval.livejournal.com]

I have met somebody who does Shiatsu on horses. Do you want me to try to find out her e-mail address?

[in-the-blue.livejournal.com]

You are absolutely right. As a licensed massage therapist, I've seen many clients who have been injured by other massage therapists. I've been injured by MTs who were in practice for a dozen years or more--there is no cause for that whatsoever.

I'm also always amazed by the clients who've been injured and yet come to me for the first time afterward--they still know the inherent value of a good therapeutic massage. It's my duty to make sure that they don't walk out my door in worse shape than when they arrived. I can't (and won't) mistreat them, and always recommend that they lodge a complaint at the very least with the last massage therapist's employer, if not with the massage therapist themself. I've also offered to talk to the previous person for them, but most clients would rather leave it be than 'make a big deal out of it'--which is too bad. If there's no feedback, how will the incompetent MT learn?

Some people simply don't know how to work muscles properly, but remember this for when you're no longer a student: there are whole categories of recipients out there who think if a massage doesn't hurt, it doesn't work. It's one of my missions to court them away from that line of thought to a place where they realize that a good, gentle(r) massage can have just as much benefit as the 'it's-so-deep-it-hurts' variety. Some people, though, will not be open-minded enough to be convinced. For those few people, I recommend a local LMT who only does the deepest deep tissue massage. If they want to hurt, it's their prerogative.

This is such a subtle field you're studying, there are rarely issues so black-and-white in it. The best thing a massage therapist can do, in my ever humble opinion, is listen to what their client wants and provide it to the best of their training and ability. I do deep tissue work for a select group of clients, but I've never left bruises. That's just wrong, and the physiology of bruising is so simple... there's no reason to cause it.

Now, if you do very deep tissue work on compromised muscles, the recipient might be sore in that area for the evening, or perhaps part of the next day. If there's no pathology (such as fibromyalgia) present, the soreness should be fleeting. And we can always recommend that the client self-treat with an ice pack for no more than fifteen minutes if their muscles do hurt following deep tissue work.

Grumble. I so dislike it when a few incompetent people give our profession a bad name.

[perceval.livejournal.com]

A massage therapist who likes cats and has exactly the outlook on the profession that I would love to have! COOL!

::friends::

I just got loads of books in America, such as a Pathology book and a book that reaches you how to recognise bony and muscular landmarks. (forgot the author, but it's a great book). We don't get that in our one-year training, even though it is pretty good. I however believe that as an MT, you should know your anatomy as well as you can. Even though it is HARD. I want to understand what I'm doing, so I really don't like mentions of contraindications without discussing in detail the reasons for why this is so.

[in-the-blue.livejournal.com]

Psst. Thompson and Floyd, Structural Kinesiology.

I can give you loads of other book titles any time you want, but this one shows the landmarks, tells how to isolate the muscle and stretch/contract it, and... how to best exercise it.

[annearchy.livejournal.com]

I adore getting a massage. Wish I could afford to have one every month (no, every week!!) but I don't think I've had a full-body massage in several years :-( I do think I might have been, well, not bruised but kind of pummeled at least once, long ago. When you've had a good massage you leave the table feeling about as relaxed as a wet noodle. It's a great feeling :-) I wish I could Portkey you over the Atlantic so you could give ME one! *hugs*

[guttaperk.livejournal.com]

My ideals are congruent with yours

but aren't there whole schools of therapeutic massage that disagree?

[in-the-blue.livejournal.com]

There are literally hundreds of different massage modalities. In classical Swedish massage, though (which from her description of the aftereffects is what Perceval is studying), there should be no bruising. The end effect should be that of an invigorating yet relaxing session.

[saucebook.livejournal.com]

I have to agree with the person above who says some people just want a painful massage, otherwise they don't think you're doing any useful work. Denizens of the gym and people from south-east Asia are most prone to this way of thinking. And naturally there are some therapists who cater for this type of client (I give them a wide berth if possible)