Save Your Hands

Hands are the best tools in a massage therapist’s toolbox and the most likely to be injured.

         

It happens to even the most careful therapists: a burn from a hot pan, a scratch that gets oily, a bit of tendonitis that turns into a raging case of nerve inflammation.

         

Plan A for most therapists is don’t do stuff that can hurt your hands. Hopefully we learned these things in school:

No unsupported thumb work, glide with the whole hand, wrist straight when using pressure. Push with the entire body from the feet, not the shoulders, neck or back. Avoid radial and ulnar deviation during effleurages.

Prudence in off-hours helps, too. No ATV riding, no mountain-biking, no rock-climbing, wear gloves while gardening, etc.

Plan B for many therapists is a few forced weeks off, with the resulting flat wallet. Few of us have disability benefits or the inclination to sit idle.

So there is a need for therapists to tap some resources from our wiser colleagues. Books are helpful, such as “Save Your Hands!” by Lauriann Greene et al.

Most conventions have one if not two classes in ergonomics for therapists, yoga for therapists, Tai Chi for therapists, etc.

I have enjoyed Val Guin’s classes and her DVD “Forearm Dance” that demonstrates the principles of working with a Tai Chi stance and avoiding use of the hands as much as possible.

One good self-audit for your work is to video yourself while performing basic massage moves. You will see when you lose form or go off track.

The resources are there for us to use before injury. Hopefully we can practice prevention and recovery as much as we preach it to clients….