Sometimes I visit people at home for massages instead of at my therapy office, usually for convenience but sometimes because they are not able to travel. Folks who cannot travel to the office tend to be in recovery from injuries or in a fragile state. Usually they are getting plenty of homecare from their relatives, … Continue reading New Tricks
This massage therapist loves a challenge, and I frequently get them. Yet sometimes I wonder if I am doing the “right” thing. You know, the right thing as in “Do the Right Thing.” Massage therapists are darned good at shaving a few points off a golf game. We excel at getting rid of the post-lunch … Continue reading Massage as Rehab
Recently a prospective client quizzed me on the phone about my massage therapy services. This is the type of call I used to be frustrated with – some people only ask about price and hang up. I’ve never found a great way to turn the price-callers into appointments – I try to get a … Continue reading Finding the Right Touch…
As an “old hand” at massage, I am not too impressed with tools sometimes used in massage therapy. I have stayed away from knobbles and thumb covers and even hot stones in my practice, largely because they tend to create elbow and shoulder problems for therapists who are tempted to use too tight a grip. … Continue reading Tools for Massage
At a recent continuing education class, our instructor went around and asked us to introduce ourselves and talk about how we are doing with our massage therapy practices. Our first participant said she is doing a few house calls and working for a chiropractor two days a week. Her practice is slow. Renting … Continue reading Class Struggles
Massage therapists are not all alike when it comes to their understanding of how to build a practice. I have heard lots of explanations as to why bookings stay low, very few explanations of why they are full. How to develop a practice is an art just as much as massage. It requires some … Continue reading Practice Punts
The tough part of massage therapy long-term back pain is chasing trigger points in the quadratus lumborem. This is one of those muscles that not only keep clients awake at night; it keeps the therapist up, too. I have done prone QL massage, prone with approximation, prone with stretch. I have … Continue reading Steamrolling the QL
Going to massage school, this massage therapist learned a lot about dealing with “tense” situations and people. The other day my local association asked for some massage schools memories and it made me laugh. Warm Fuzzy? More like shrieking students levitating on the practice tables. My first scream came during the first class. We were … Continue reading Massage School Memories
Folks with big troubles like this client – blinding headaches and vertigo – shop around for help. This massage therapist has been working with this client for a while. Her headaches get better with massage and heat packs but it never seems quite enough to make them go away.This client has tried injections, acupuncture, a … Continue reading Blinded by the $10 Grand Solution
I’m making it official: It is possible for massage therapists to map a stress pattern of trigger points related to home loan modifications. Folks going through that process have had months of fruitless phone calls, waiting on holds, sleepless nights. When they come in for massages, I have found they have the runaway stress trigger … Continue reading Loan Mod Trigger Points