And, if they are interested, I do a little coaching, too.
It is just part of the business, especially for newbie
therapists, to end up working in rooms that are too small and on tables that
don’t adjust and all kinds of body-mechanic horrors.
The worst body-mechanic situation I have ever seen is a 5’7”
therapist working nights at a casino doing table-side massages. No room for
feet, no room for body and the result is long hours spent leaning on clients.
Well, it is a job that pays the bills.
With most of my non-therapist clients, they have the options
of changing their work-stations and tweaking with their smarty-phone mechanics
to eliminate the return of trigger points.
All in all, some massage therapists can’t change up their
situations – but they can change how they use their bodies in massages.
With tiny rooms, I recommend putting a foot on the wall to
provide the fulcrum for effleurages. If the power of the stroke comes from a
foot pressing against the floor or wall it does not come from your serratus,
rotator muscles, T3 or worst, C-6.
Feet need to be lined up with the direction of the stroke.
If the foot is at 90-degrees, chances are your psoas is the fulcrum and your
massage career will be short.
For therapists doing back massages from the head of the
table, I recommend inching close to the side of the headrest right up against
the table. As a short-armed little wobble-toy myself, I can’t even entertain
the thought of standing a foot behind the face-rest. Lucky me. I work the back
in quadrants following lymph flow.
The casino? That’s a toughie. I recommended that it be a
starter job – good experience and get out of there as soon as the right
opportunity comes along. Think of it as just another way of working with your
feet.
6 comments:
Start by soaking your feet in warm water for 5 to 10 minutes. You may add scented oil if desired. This will help clean and warm the feet and provide aromatherapy if scented oil was added to the water. Dry your feet with a warm towel.
LOL. The previous commenter must not have read the post.
I've worked in tiny rooms before and they've always been a nightmare. Just recently I tried to explain to an acupuncturist friend of mine that the room he was planning to rent to a massage therapist in his new office was just too small. People don't realize what we have to do to maintain good body mechanics.
It is really new thing you shared here with us about massage.
I think for this massage therapy is very good for your body relaxation and feeling really very warm and stay cool as through your mind also.
Thank you for posting this information on your massage therapy business. That is awesome that you have other massage therapist coming to learn from you. You must be really good. Where can I find more information on your business? Thank you for your help!
Y'all are so kind...it is tough to keep your mechanics in a tiny room. I've also seen folks who paid no attention mechanics until the first sympts...let us all ne sage put there..hugs, sue Peterson
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