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
Holidays bring out the best in people – and the visiting relatives. I have just moved the office and the massage therapy room still looked a little bit like a MASH unit. My phone message, for a change, said I was off for two days before and after the holiday – but the calls just … Continue reading Family Matters
This massage therapist thinks she is organized. She thinks she has a good grip on where things are and handy when needed. Ho, Ho, Ho, delusional again. Moving is a drag under the best circumstances. This circumstance was a Wednesday. I had clients on the book. Ho, Ho, Ho. Mistake again. When we got to … Continue reading Moving Grumbles and Sage Advice
That’s a lot of old-fashioned chronic inflammation with the posterior scalene stretched far from its anatomical role. Those poor guys are stretched over the precipice and desperately pulling back. Adhesed, unloved, overworked and so far under the trapezius that even a deep tissue massage barely touches it, the posterior scalenes are crying for help. Massaging … Continue reading Chopsticks: Catching the Posterior Scalene in Action
Stress comes in all forms, and I feel it on my massage table. Most likely it is a personal issue, a problem, a challenge in life or relationships. But a lot of people get their biggest stress from work, most specifically the feeling of being out of control, powerless, voiceless. It is a tall order … Continue reading Touch and the End of the World as We Know It