Be Kind Always
How Do You Accomplish the Best Massage?
I’ve been in this field for almost 4 years and there are 3 things I have found always make the massage satisfactory. It involves a deep knowledge of yourself and taking your time in your work.
Comfort | Control | Effectiveness
These 3 principles are absolutely essential for a massage to go well.
Comfort – Comfort is always my number one primary concern for a massage. Occasionally things will come up like if your client is too hot or too cold. If they need to use the restroom before or want water before or after. Those are common examples. Another thing to consider is comfort during the massage which can revolve around physical boundaries, draping style, taking your time during the massage, and respecting each other’s wanting to communicate or just relax. These are very important things we all need to consider. The therapist needs to feel comfort as well during the session to be effective. They need to feel comfortable around the client and feel a good rapport with them. As the professional, it’s also important to be aware of yourself fully in what you say, how you maintain your body mechanics, how many breaks you’re taking, and how your body is feeling in general because that’s important too!
Control – Control may be the most important quality in this list, but let’s be honest, they’re all very important! A client needs to feel like they have complete control and so do you. A therapist who has no control will receive complaints. It’s almost inevitable. Whether it’s a complaint that is made to the therapist personally, a complaint made to the front desk, or a complaint that’s in their head that they don’t feel comfortable sharing. There’s a lot that can happen from lack of control and it’s important to know how to maintain that control for both parties. I’ll give you an example, I had to evaluate another therapist one time. And he was a wonderful guy, but he had no sense of control. To the point that it actually hurt when he touched my back. It felt like he was trying to get through the massage as quickly as possible based on his technique and rushed style. It was too fast AND too hard. I was as gentle as possible with my evaluation, but I was honest and said, “Yeah, it needs work.” I try to make sure I’m as honest as possible with my reviews and evaluations especially when it comes to endangerment sites. Yes, I have had masseuses press hard into the hinge joint where my Humerus and Radius meet and let me tell you that hurt bad. I had no comfort, I felt she had no control, and I left unhappy. Steady control means the client gets everything they need from the session and that they are happy with the results, as well as what happened in session. This is where boundaries takes a huge play. Make sure you are listening to what your client is saying in full so the session goes well. And take your time with your massage.
Effectiveness – Now, this one is key. How can you say, “Oh my goodness, that was the best massage I’ve ever had,” if it wasn’t effective? Effectiveness means you get everything you want out of the massage you came in for, or possibly more. If you go into a massage thinking, “Okay, this will be nice. A little relaxation time,” then go home thinking constantly about how beneficial the session was, how much better you feel, and are given detailed instructions about what you can do for yourself to keep it that way, then believe me. You’re gonna want to write a great review for that place. The key is to be as detailed as you can be, and we are taught all this in school. We are taught the meridians of the body to a detailed level and how to be as effective as possible in each of our own techniques. The best part of all this is that there are so many massage styles out there. I take pride in knowing lymphatic drainage and myofascial release. Why? Because it’s unique. It’s something that you can’t say you’ve had often because it’s not offered by every therapist. This is one of the reasons we do continuing education courses, to keep our minds expanding. We never stop learning! I’ve had a few clients of whom I’ve helped with lymphatic drainage and myofascial release. It was different for me, unique for them, and it helped them in a way that normal massage could not. Sometimes people need a little more than just a good elbow in the back to get the body to that relaxed state. So commit to what you’re doing, be professional, and make sure your client has an effective massage. Give your client instructions on how they can keep themselves relaxed. The body loves heat, but not for an injury. For an injury, I always suggest ice maybe 2x per day. Or, let’s say they are having trouble sleeping. That’s when you want to do some palpation of the neck to make sure something isn’t out of alignment, unless they tell you something is. Take an interest. Ask what kind of pillow they use. Is it supportive? Maybe they need a change. Then, when they’re on the table, feel the tissues and see if they are at a level that seems like it would be comfortable to lay on their side all night. Then, depending on what they need, loosen the tissue, make suggestions of what they can do, such as heat on the area right before bed so they are preparing the body for a lot of tossing and turning, and to return in 2-3 weeks or so depending on what you feel they need. That’s very professional and you’re giving them things they can do at home which will help them feel more confident in our work. An effective massage means a more impressed client and usually a better tip as well.