Remedial Massage is great.
Remedial Massage is beneficial.
Remedial Massage is effective.
But do you actually know what Remedial Massage is?
Remedial Massage is a specialised, focused approach to locate and assist with repairing damage to muscles, tendons and other connective tissue/fascia. By doing a thorough assessment of our clients, we are able to provide a massage that is all about relieving aches and pains while improving their posture and movement.
In order to get the most from your massage – your therapist needs to know their craft but just how do you know they do? I’ve written a guide that will help you understand what you should be getting out of your treatment and how to know if your therapist is striving to help you or just going through the motions figuring that you probably won’t even notice.
You get what you pay for.. and you may not even get that
One of the reasons I decided to get my Massage Therapy Diploma was because I went in for a remedial massage at one of the local shopping centre massage businesses. As a PT – I know my body and I knew what I needed so I explained it to the therapist who replied “OK” and then proceeded to do a sequence which had nothing to do with what I needed. It was just a routine they had learned and would have done regardless of who I was.
This incident pushed me to get my massage certifications so it was a blessing in disguise but what it also uncovered was that if you go to a shopping centre massage joint – there is a good chance you won’t be seen by an actual qualified remedial massage therapist. So long as someone in that business has their qualification and registration with a massage association which in turn allows for a Private Health Provider Number – that business can say they have Remedial Massage. Meaning that they could have over a dozen people working under that one registration.
Those people might know some form of massage therapy – be it a weekend course or just from copying another therapists’ routine in a couples massage – but they are relying on you to not know this and that whatever sequence of treatment they give you – it’s loosening up some parts of the body – it may feel good (or painful which you think IS good) – you walk away thinking you got a remedial massage. Did they have you fill out a treatment form? Did they discuss with you exactly what was the problem? Did they do a postural check or even a range of motion check – or were you just on the table and away they went?
When the massage was complete – did they ask if there was improvement? Did they discuss stretches, exercises or certain things to consider after your treatment? If not – again – highly probable they aren’t a qualified therapist and you have to ask – are you paying more for a basic rub down sequence with some common spots to cop an elbow but with no rhyme or reason to why? OR are you paying for a qualified therapist who will provide you with a high standard of care who can address the reason for your coming in on that day and possibly even what lead to you making the booking in the first place?
Are you okay hun? PM me?
As outlined in the previous point – if your therapist doesn’t start a dialogue with you regarding your reason for getting a massage – you’re not off to a great start. If you aren’t filling out a client form for your first treatment – that’s a red flag. Prior to getting you on the table, if the massage therapist doesn’t spend a few minutes doing a needs analysis (posture and/or range of motion test) how can we truly gauge the improvement post massage?
Something I *must* address here though – a therapist is VERY aware that a client wants to get on that table as soon as possible. There’s an element of anticipation and wanting that massage but there is also an element of wanting to get what they pay for. A 60 minute appointment is NOT 60 minutes on the table. There’s a few minutes of allowing you get undressed and on the table but even before that – It’s important to recognise that a massage appointment SHOULD have a process of assessment so that we can identify issues and then put together a treatment plan. This does take time and it needs to take as long as it needs to take – so please be understanding of this and be helpful and informative because I can assure you – we know you want to start that massage… but if you have a list of ailments as long as your arm – expect that it will take a bit longer to discuss – especially if you spring them on us then and there.
Furthermore, actually fill out the massage form correctly and thoroughly. We aren’t mind readers and we want to ensure your massage is safe for both of us. Casually telling us mid massage you recently had a stroke or something similar and you didn’t bother to write it down on your pre-massage treatment form – Yeah – not a good time.
Communication is key.
We’ve all had a massages where the therapist will not stop talking about stuff (my personal “favourite” was being given advice to let my neighbour hit me so I could call the police on him) or the complete opposite where they say absolutely nothing at all. Massages are about you – and part of that focus is that there are times a massage therapist will need to communicate with you and you will need to communicate with us. During a remedial massage – feedback from a client is incredibly helpful. I know my way around your muscular system but if I’m on a spot and you think I should go just a smidge higher – please volunteer that information. Do NOT just lie there like a pound of flesh and say nothing and then be disappointed that I may not have hit that exact trigger point that you wanted. A good therapist should also be telling you when some trigger point work is about to occur so you are ready for it and you can – if needed – give us some guidance to an exact spot so you get the most out of the treatment.
At the end of the massage – if there is anything you would like for next time – please let us know. It may be something we will do additionally OR we may have a valid explanation as to why we did things differently.
Murder On The Massage Table
There is no medal or achievement to win from surviving a brutal massage.
During my time as a Massage Therapist, I’ve had the odd small talk asking me why I decided to become a massage therapist. Truth be told, I enjoy helping people but that doesn’t stop me from joking that an elbow into a hip flexor or pec muscle scratches an itch like the supposed monster I am. Jokes aside – I actually put a LOT of focus on ensuring that the massage isn’t this barrage of pain and suffering. The funny thing is though – so many people go into a massage thinking this is actually what it has to be and more concerning – unless they are being brutalised into the table – it isn’t doing anything for them.
Time for an (Un)comfortable truth – You don’t get a medal for surviving a painful massage. You certainly doing get an Xbox Achievement for enduring being bashed, elbowed or folded like a deck chair. I’ve had these people and they ask for more pressure and when you give it to them – they tense up as a means of protection.. a way to endure the pain. Let’s revisit that – they tense up – which goes against the very point of a massage. We need the muscle soft and relaxed – that way we have a better opportunity to get those deeper muscle fibres. Finding that precipice – the edge where discomfort has to then be combated by protective tensing – that’s important and it needs to be discussed.
I work on a scale 1 to 4.
1 – Pleasant and enjoyable.
2 – Some tension and/or discomfort but nothing that makes you need to tense up.
3 – Managed discomfort – it’s uncomfortable and you need to focus on keeping your muscles from tensing up.
4 – Tap out/Safe Word – The pain/discomfort is too much and you have to protect yourself so you effectively need safeword. For some reason we settled on Barnaby Joyce because let’s be honest – no one wants to be saying his name or thinking about him during a massage and he has been a royal pain for decades. For reference:
A therapist needs to start with 1 to get you warm and the muscles pliable and then we can move into the 2 and 3’s but we are really trying to avoid the 4 so – do us a favour and not ask to be smashed into the table and if we are close to the 4 – please tell us so we can give you the most effective massage.
You have to be an active participant in your own rescue.
Being a PT for well over a decade – I am well experienced in providing exercises and stretches to my clients. It is no different for being a Massage Therapist. The one thing that is the true struggle? Getting clients to do these exercises and stretches at home or at work.
The two most common reasons for coming for a massage are:
- Work is destroying me.
- Being a parent is destroying me.
Now – in some other parallel dimenion a massage therapist is telling someone to quit work so the issue of sitting at a computer desk and screwing your posture could be sorted. In another even more ridiculous dimension – telling a parent to stop picking their squirming child up and leaving them on the ground would be another amazing life hack. Unfortunately we are in this dimension and your child may or may not be trying to kill you.
Alas we have to work and we have a wriggling toddler that just has to wriggle. So – we can’t remove these causes of muscle pain and discomfort – we have to find ways to combat them. This could include:
– Strengthening muscles to balance out the muscles and joints that are under stress
– Stretching muscles that are too tight and are pulling muscles and joints out of alignment
– Finding different approaches to these tasks such as correcting lifting techniques or assessing your desk set up and posture.
– Setting up routines and programs that can help implementing all of these things.
But here’s the rub – these things only work if you actually do them. Just like how as a PT I can’t be there to slap the giant piece of cake out of your hand if you are trying to lose body fat.. as your massage therapist I can’t be there to massage your shoulders, release your pecs and walk you step by step on how to lift your kid. You have to do these things yourself. As much as I enjoy massage and yes – it pays the bills but I can assure you – a happy client who is no longer in pain is a far more rewarding outcome.
A Piano On A Rope
A huge part of being a massage therapist is providing a service where we can move a client forward in terms of their health and well being. It’s a common complaint I’ve heard “Oh the last therapist didn’t help me at all” and when I try and find out what they did (partly to identify the issue they have AND to potentially learn from the previous therapists mistakes) it becomes apparent that there is a problem with setting expectations and not providing clients with some understanding about their own bodies.
Allow me frame it this way.
Here we had a piano on a rope. The rope was frayed and now about to get up close and personal with Carl. Why does the piano fall and smush Carl?If you said because the rope was frayed.. you’d be kinda right. But the truth of the matter is that the weight of the piano was too much for the rope and the rope eventually frayed and then gave out and thus – no more Carl.
So let me put it into massage terms – you have a shoulder that is continually sore – is it the shoulder that is the problem? Or is it the tight muscles elsewhere that are creating the issue that is making your shoulder sore? More times than not – it’s the pec and neck muscles that are creating an issue which is in turn causing the shoulder issues.
This is a common issue that massage therapist will have to treat. The question is – will your therapist adjust your expectations by telling you why they worked on your pec and neck muscles far more than they did on the shoulder? Or more worrying – did the therapist simply massage the sore bit because that’s what you thought would fix it?
Make Good Choices
Hopefully this article has given you some good advice to consider when it comes to choosing and staying with a massage therapist and what it means to receive an effective remedial massage. It can be very challenging to know and at times it can feel like getting in to see a good therapist can be difficult – they’re likely popular because their a good therapist! Now armed with the knowledge above – you’re ready to make good choices and hey – that likely means we’ll be seeing you soon 🙂
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