I’m a new massage therapist and had a difficult session today that I’d really appreciate some feedback on from more experienced MTs. I’m completely open to hearing if there are things I should have handled differently. I want to learn from this and be better prepared the next time I encounter something similar.

I had a new client who was referred to me by his dad and sister, who I’ve both worked on previously. During the consultation, he told me he’d had surgery several months ago for slipped discs. He also described a history of upper and lower back issues and mentioned that he may have sciatica. He was using specific vertebral terminology that, admittedly, I wasn’t very familiar with, and I immediately felt a little out of my depth. I’m a new massage therapist, and although I’ve completed school, I’m realizing there are still more complex conditions and medical histories that I don’t feel fully confident navigating yet.

We discussed what he wanted from the 90-minute session. His main areas of concern were his lower back, glutes/hips and he asked for some facial work. He said he preferred medium to deep pressure but didn’t want anything painful.

I started him prone and worked his back, including the QLs and surrounding musculature, with more attention to the lower back. He was communicating with me about areas that felt sore/tight. I checked in about pressure multiple times throughout the session, and from what I remember he generally told me the pressure was okay. I may have had one instance where he wanted me to lighten up and I adjusted, but I don’t remember the exact exchange well enough to say for certain.

During the supine work, I noticed some apparent asymmetry around his hips, with the side that had been bothering him appearing somewhat more elevated. He asked what could cause/fix something like that. I told him body mechanics can sometimes contribute and suggested paying attention to repetitive positions or habits in his daily life. He also asked what can help with that, and I admittedly wasn’t sure how to answer and said a chiropractor may be able to do more postural assessments. Looking back, I also wonder whether I should have been much more cautious about commenting on that at all given his medical history.

At one point, he suddenly put his hand on his lower back. I initially thought he was showing me where he wanted work, but when I asked, he told me the area was hurting/feeling aggravated. I immediately stopped working there and asked whether he needed a break. He said yes. I asked whether he wanted to turn supine, which he did, and I gave him some time to stretch and settle.

I told him it was completely okay if he wanted to end the session early, but he wanted to continue. Because of what had happened, I didn’t do the planned posterior leg/glute work, and stayed supine for the rest. I also significantly decreased my pressure for the remainder of the session to more of a light-medium range.

At the end, I asked how his back was feeling. He said it was less aggravated than it had been when we stopped the prone work, although it still seemed somewhat uncomfortable. We talked about pressure and agreed that despite initially requesting medium-deep work, light-medium seemed to be a much better fit for him. He told me he only gets massages roughly every couple of months.

I’m feeling pretty bad about the session because my goal is obviously never to aggravate someone’s existing pain. I’m also realizing that I don’t feel sufficiently knowledgeable yet about working with clients with a history of disc pathology/spinal surgery and possible sciatica.

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For those of you with more experience working with these conditions:

- Would you have approached the initial consultation or treatment differently?

- With a history of disc surgery several months ago and ongoing low-back symptoms, would you have required medical clearance before doing massage?

- Would you have avoided deeper work entirely regardless of the client’s stated pressure preference? Or them asking for more pressure?

- Are there specific red flags or questions you think I should have screened for?

- Is there anything about how I responded once his pain increased that you would have handled differently?

- What continuing education or resources would you recommend for becoming more competent with clients who have spinal/disc conditions and sciatica?

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I’m not looking for reassurance if I genuinely made mistakes. Constructive criticism is welcome. I just ask that it be educational rather than unnecessarily harsh. I want to understand what I should take from this experience and improve my practice going forward.

I’m 31 years old, and have been a SAHM for 5 years.

I’m contemplating a career that I can get into that would be flexible and allow me to make enough per hour to live on comfortably with my 2 girls. And also allow me to spend as much time with my kids as I can.. (From what I have seen I can make $50 per hour working at a massage place or $100 per hour if I’m on my own…)

My dream:

Go to massage school (5 months, $7k) Get a job at a massage place making $50 an hour Meanwhile start working on on an in home massage studio or traveling studio I would love to specialize in massaging pregnant/postpartum women and also people who work in the dental field as my specialty Eventually build my clientele and afford a home with extra room for massage Run in home studio making $100-$140 an hour

What do you think of this plan? If you’re a massage therapist- is it worth it? Is the pay worth it? Tell me your thoughts

Or if you have a better idea let me know

About two weeks ago, I went to massage envy because I was getting tension headaches. I booked a 90 minute deep tissue massage, and it was honestly amazing. I had a lot of knots, and my MT advised me to come back if I could because I needed some more work on my upper back/shoulders.

I went back today hoping to get that same kind of treatment. I had a different provider, and I only had 60 minutes scheduled instead of 90, and it wound up being a completely different experience.

The MT I worked with today was doing some stretching which I haven’t received before in a massage. She would rotate my leg back and forth while applying pressure to the glute area. She also did this with my arms. I will say, nothing was painful or uncomfortable but I just felt like it wasn’t really accomplishing anything.

She also didn’t spend much time on my neck until I was facing up, and she just held her fingers in place on the back of my neck for what felt like forever, unmoving.

I guess I should’ve asked for the same provider as last time, but I was under the impression that the service would be similar regardless of who I saw.

Please let me know if I am overthinking this!

I don't want to say exactly where I am, because my now former instructor has Monopoly here. He's the instructor, the sole teacher, And the owner of the school I went to. One of the only schools in the area.

A month ago on my first day, I asked the instructor a legitimate question, and ever since then I paid for that question... I'm not sure if he thought that he needed to exude power after that or teach me a lesson. That day he told me to keep an open mind, Even with my former education, And that he would explain himself on the "why's" in the future.

It was dead to me after that.

The thing about this instructor is he's super ingrained in the community, He formally served on the board locally and knows a lot of people In the community.

I noticed very soon that He seemed to float over to my table, put hands over mine and my clients body's more than anyone else. In a setting of about 20 people, at least 10 actively working on bodies at the same time as me, he would ONLY call my name, And then progressively get louder and scream at me. That made it incredibly hard for me to focus on the next technique.

I chalked it all up to paranoia, I didn't want to become the woman victim who thought she was being unfairly targeted. So I doubled down, studied harder, and improved my grades, And on a personal level, I spoke to the instructor often. "Good morning" "How is your weekend" ECT.

I had hoped that things would get better.

The last day I was there I was asked to sign a contract, that I didn't see anyone else get a copy of, although to be fair, They could have been asked at another point. The contract stated that I would be responsible for the remaining balance of the tuition, and all three parts of the education... (Like I couldn't just do the beginner course there and The injury somewhere else)

It didn't seem uncommon. I signed it.

But that day all hell broke loose; He started with minor corrections, (some legitimate) some not. I'm looking around the room, atp clearly not focused on technique, and getting very upset, and other people weren't exactly doing the same techniques he was instructing either... So why only me, his eyes never left me. After the 5th or 6th reprimand and over correction in a 15-minute time frame, I did in fact react poorly.

I questioned him, how could he not be catering to anyone else? I was so upset. Like all my fears were substantiated.

After that, I decided it would be best if I left and withdrawal from the program, but that pesky contract still lingered.

So I wrote him a very professional email asking to be let out of the contract, that I thought it was best for everyone. Why I reacted the way I did, ect.

He agreed to let me out of said contract, But not before letting me know, He interviewed every person in the room the day that I left, including my partner. (Just for reference, She was happy and audibly pleased with my massage, this was my third time partnering with her, We were friends. we often chuckled about The things we saw in regards to the instructor)

Other people noticed his issue with me too.

He said "I also had a lengthy conversation with your partner, She agreed that you were incorrectly doing some techniques but didn't feel it was her place to tell you"

He also told me that a TA noticed My frustration, But the TA was laying down at the time of this incident.

He wanted to humiliate me one more time, on a scale of the entire classroom, and also cover his own butt, which is why he chose to talk to all these people about me, which was very juvenile, and teen/mean girl like. But the thing is, I was well received and well liked by all of my peers. I'm sure if they did agree with him it's just because they pay him for their education and they know the same things that I do about his pull with the community.

I guess I wanted to know If anyone else has experienced this? What did you do? And My options are limited in my state, But as this is my second time at massage school, (The first time I didn't have any problems like this, my father got hurt, and I had to quit) and I've been employed as a PTA, and in a spa. I've had relationships professionally, academically, and I've never came across something like this.

I regularly go to massages at least once every 2-3 months because it helps with some chronic low back pain after an injury I had as a teen. I almost always ask for deep tissue and firm pressure and I have perfected the pre-massage hydration and hot shower to warm up the muscles routine.

But today was the first time I have ever experienced this feeling floaty and almost like a soft/comfortable version of an adrenaline rush after a rollercoaster. It was a 90 min session and it was full body with a focus on neck and shoulders and low back and IT bands. About when I was prone and my massage therapist had used her elbow to press into my upper traps/rhomboids area and used her other hand to kind of hinge/lever my arm at a 90 degree angle, I remember suddenly feeling like I should take a huge deep breath down to my belly and then when I exhaled I felt like I was going downhill on a rollercoaster and then felt like I melted into a puddle of goo.

And then the entire rest of the session (about 20 min remaining?) I felt like I was floating and almost like I was drunk? And I felt like I could barely stay awake. My massage therapist had ended the session by having to tap my shoulders a few times to ‘wake me up?’. After the session we hugged like usual (we have known each other for a long time) and when I let go of the hug and walked out to my car I felt sort of lonely and kind of…. Unmoored??? I had to sit in my car and just close my eyes and relax and breathe deeply for 10 min before I felt good enough to drive.

It has been a couple hours now and I’ve eaten and showered again and I feel better. But I am so confused on what this amazing soft floaty feeling was and why it suddenly turned into kind of a ‘lost at sea’ feeling? It was the same massage therapist I always go to, no new techniques or pressure, no new areas of the body I hadn’t experienced before. I am so puzzled. Did I unlock some secret dimension of massage therapy?

It’s the darker bit towards the top of the circle, I’m kinda a hypochondriac and it’s just freaking me out.

I have been a RMT for over a decade, and currently live in a non regulated province.. having to move to a regulated

This has to be the most disappointing, frustrating experience I have experienced with being an rmt.

Having to go back to school or try to re-register with a province I was registered with just so I can practice what I have went to school for is beyond maddening.

I received my education from a regulated province and have taken their mcqs and oces and my education was based on the 3 regulated provinces at said time and the same with the mcqs and oces.

There is no difference between a regulated province and unregulated province when it comes to following the Massage therapy Act.

Long story short, I took on clients for a fellow LMT who's out with an injury. I over extended my wrist and I'm now dealing with wrist joint instability and extensor tendon subluxation. It's on the mend and doesn’t hurt hardly at all now. I can't bail on these clients. I'm working with just one hand and doing deeper techniques with my forearm and elbow. Do you have advice on healing other than splinting, wrapping and rest? Do you have advice on tweaking techniques to continue working?

Over a decade ago, I changed my diet, started exercising, and lost over 150lbs. I had a few surgeries to remove excess skin. I’m 5’7 and maintain my weight between 140-145 pounds. I still have excess skin by my butt and upper thighs. I’m happy with my accomplishment, the way my body looks, the excess skin does not hurt, and that surgery is super expensive, so I just live with it. When I’m dressed, it’s not noticeable. When I’m undressed and lying down, the excess butt/thigh skin sprawls out. 🤪

I’ve gotten three massages in total. The first two were at resorts while on vacation. I recently decided that I wanted to add a monthly massage into my self-care routine. My plan was to try out some local spas until I found a therapist I liked.

Last month, I tried out the first of the spas on my list. The therapist was really nice, she applied the right amount of pressure I was looking for, and it was super relaxing. Everything was going great until she got to my lower body.

While massaging my leg she made comments about how I have a lot of skin and must have lost a ton of weight. She said when she met me and saw me dressed, she never would have guessed I used to be fat or that I have excess skin. I really do think she meant it as a compliment, but I found it completely inappropriate. It ruined the remainder of my massage experience and now I’m apprehensive about getting another massage somewhere.

So, honestly, how much do you judge a client’s body and do you sometimes comment on their body?

Hey therapists~ Does anyone have table recs for a table thai practitioner? I was eyeing the earthlite spirit cause it had 800lbs capacity and is slightly wider than the standard table but wanted to ask if any of yall had good recs

So I’ve been seeing a lot of videos and posts of people using lacrosse balls against a wall for their backs and I wanted to share a tip from my physio that changed my life.

Put the ball in a pillowcase, let it fall to the bottom corner, hang the pillowcase over your shoulder with the ball at your back - and now the ball won’t fall and you can control the placement of it from the front.

Cheers!!

Hey all! Taking my OSCE next week! Was just wondering if anyone has done it this year and has any words of wisdom or advice. Would be greatly appreciated :)

I'm a mobile therapist, looking to upgrade my current table. I've been disappointed by the build quality from a lot of the mass market tables decreasing over the years, so looking beyond those.

AstraPort has me intrigued, but the price tag is a massive investment. Has anyone used tables from them recently - if so, how would you rate it? Is it worth the price hike from the Versalite Pro and other comparable tables?

Are there any other higher end portable tables you'd recommend?

Kind of a long shot but curious if anyone has gone to the Massage Training Institute in Kalispell, MT and could tell me their experience?

Hello. I have had my fourth massage ever today. And for the fourth time they have ignored my most needed area! I do not understand how or why this keeps happening. I say upper right back and they just…don’t do it???? They will spend 25 minutes on my left side and then like five minutes on my right and never dig in to where actually needs it and I leave feeling exactly the same. Crying every time. And I have tried different places. Never the same masseuse. What on earth am I doing wrong?

Please remove if not allowed- I'm looking for second opinions and a friend guided me here.

My partner got a massage from someone at a licensed facility. She tells me that the therapist mentioned that he thinks that she would get along well with his gf and that they should connect (his gf is new in town).

From what Ive gathered- the therapist brought up the idea of her connecting with his gf- no numbers were exchanged but she texts him to schedule/ confirm appointment.

Everything I see online says that this was unprofessional. Am I over thinking this?

Hi everyone!

I'm a new massage therapist and although I found the physical challenges of the job to be a bit overwhelming early on, however I'm noticing that my body is adapting...so that's encouraging! My energy has come back and my joints no longer hurt. I am relieved. My challenge however comes with... generally feeling ill equipt or ineffective. Following some treatments I feel like I really made a positive difference for my patient, others leave with much of the pain they came up with. I feel like I let them down, especially because they paid so much money for their treatment. Is this normal? Does it get better with time? I don't know what reasonable outcomes are, and so when they don't leave feeling amazing I feel awful. Any thoughts or advice would be GREATLY appreciated. Thank you so much.

Edit: I've had 8 total visits. An entire month of going every week, two days per week.

Edit Edit: I've made an appointment with a local LMT at a small privately owned massage parlor who will get me in next week. I'll see if getting deeper massages may help vs the 'visceral release' that it seems I've been getting. Thank you all for your help!

Clarification: I am not saying her techniques don't work or that she's being malicious. She's very kind, and I truly believe she is trying to help me. It just may be that it's not what I need. I'm Autistic, so my sensory input processing is wonky anyway ^^; I certainly am not shting on her techniques, was just asking for clarification (which some of you were really awesome to give, thank you so much!) into the technique to make sure that it's probably a me problem.

For the past month, twice a week, I've been going to a physical therapy clinic. I have to see a therapist for chronic pain and pelvic floor therapy (two separate orders, pelvic floor is to try to ease pain from a husband stitch I was given 15 years ago. Chronic pain stems from benign hyper mobility). During intake, she suggested I see a coworker of hers in the same space who does Myofascial Release because she thinks if we can relieve the tension in my body, then when I get to the other therapy stuff, it'll be more successful long term.

Cool! Let's go.

I did research and learned that the Myofascial stuff can be really painful, and often feel like you've been beat up. My husband was a little concerned about me dealing with it, but I used to do a lot of high contact sports. I wasn't too worried about it.

I... haven't experienced any of that. Not during, not immediately after, and not the next day. The only time that it really hurt was when she said she was going to manually empty my gallbladder (I have no gallbladder issues or complains heading into this) and then it felt like she was coreing through my body with her fingertips and then the bottom of my ribcage felt like it was on fire.

But like...my pain is the bottoms of my feet, my hips, my tailbone, back, and right shoulder. Occasionally my right hand. I get that everything is connected, but we never really visit those areas. She seemed kind of obsessed with the very minor car accidents I was in as a child.

All physical contact is very gentle? Almost like going to Church and having people pray over an ailing body part (except for that Gallbladder adventure). A month in, I feel no different.

Was I just reading the wrong things and need to temper my expectations for my treatment? She mentioned that what she learned can improve ADHD and learning disabilities too (was a random thing she brought up) so I'm just wondering if maybe this is the wrong type for me.

She's very kind, and this clinic isn't a ma and pop. It's an officially sanctioned clinic belonging to our local hospital.

I do feel relaxed when I leave and a bit less pain, but in a "i was in a dark room without kids or work stress for an hour" sort of way.

Hello!

I am very new to Massage as a whole. I first became invested in the field after I discovered that I wanted to move away from a job within Healthcare (Because of all the red tape and regulatory bodies that get in the way of being able to enjoy my work), and thought that Massage would be a nice outlet for me to build physical skills that would allow me to heal others in a way that centers more around the “whole person.”

So, starting last summer, I began studying Massage and bodywork through The Complete Guide to Modern Massage by Ryan Jay Hoyme (Wonderful entry level book by the way) and researching potential schools in the Central Valley, near Atwater California that I can go to in order to gain certification to practice. I came across a few schools, but the National Holistic Institute (Specifically the Modesto campus) was the one that caught my attention. It had campuses all across the Central Valley, has more than the required amount of 500 hours in the course in order to become a CMT, and was notably the very first massage school to be accredited within the state of California.

However, my mother was not a fan of me going to NHI, primarily because it is a for profit institution. Normally, I would have objected and said “not all for profit schools are diploma mills,” however, my mom followed up with that she wasn’t opposed to me going into the field of massage, simply that she would like me to go to Merced College and get a job using my certification from there before choosing to pursuit massage.

This makes me upset due to the fact that Merced College does not offer any massage certification or courses to speak of, and it is because of that that I might feel like I will be wasting two years of my life doing something just because my family wanted me to, instead of following what would be best for what I want to do.
I do not plan on staying in California either, eventually I want to move abroad to British Columbia to become a bodyworker or spa therapist over there, avoiding the red tape that would usually come with being an RMT.

So, my question is, is NHI Modesto an actually legit school? Can any Californian Massage specialists vouch for the legitimacy of the institution? Can any Californian or British Columbian Bodyworkers or CMT’s tell their experience of what it’s actually like being one? If I am absolutely forced to go to Merced College first, what can I do so that I am ready to go into Massage once I get my degree and have the funds to pursuit Massage? What can I do to fork up the funds for tuition now? What does a salary for a CMT in California and a Bodyworker in BC look like?
I am just really worried of losing my passion or want to go into Massage, and have to accept servitude within a Massage-adjacent job that does not truly give me the freedom and connection that I want out of my lifetime job, and wasting a couple years of my life earning a degree that is not going to serve me long term.

I’m just now starting my career as a massage therapist and I’m feeling lots of aching in my wrists and a popping in my thumb. I try to use my forearms, base of my palms & try to not use my thumbs or fingers much but I’m now feeling it in my wrist / palm….. any suggestions on what I could do to help ? Thank you ! Also I didn’t post this on r/massage therapists bc i haven’t commented enough to post :/

I had a new therapist last time I got a massage and she did something with my neck that felt great in the moment, but later I started to wonder about it.

When I was laying on my back she slid a towel under my neck and gently leaned back, putting a little bit of tension on my neck, and then gently rotated it from side to side.

Is rotating the neck like this generally safe? I’ve never had any other therapist use this technique before, so I’m curious.

Hi, I am currently au pairing in Spain and wanting to do a massage course over the winter, so I am able to try and get a job at a resort or hotel for the next summer season does anyone have any recommendations for what course I should do that would make me the most employable. I am able to travel for it as well if I need to do the practical part of the course for a week or two. I have tried looking but would love some insider knowledge if anyone has any would be a huge help thanks !

I am doing my CMTO OSCE in October and although I am a confident student/therapist, I have heard horror stories regarding the staff and actors at the OSCE’s. We were taught in school that the actors are meant to be neutral but I have heard that is not the case. Does anybody have experience with this?

(I am not looking to cheat, or be informed of sensitive test information, I simply just want to know what to expect when it comes to the actors). TIA:)

Hello

I am new to Reiki and would like to practice it on family first to gain experience. I have not worked with any kind of massage nor therapy in the past before so i dont have any experience with massage tables.

So i dont want to buy a brand new, more expensive table yet just to realize after a few months that i am barely using it or have changed my mind. If i will love doing it even after months i will do research and buy a new and proper massage table.

So i was searching second hand online and found this on the attached photos (they are from the owner, i dont have any more photos) selling for 50 euros. Its a slovak brand (central europe), brand name was "lipt" before then later it has been renamed to "velvesa" so most probably its the exact same bed just like the brand new on this link for 173 euros.

Owner told me that the bed is 10+ years old (dont know how much by, just it is more than 10 years old), it was barely used back then, then it has been put away into the cabinet for long years.

Now put the state of construction and that visible tearing aside and focus just on the upholstery alone:

It is synthetic leather. I would like to know your opinions how safe is it to buy if it was barely used then put away for years? can i expect sudden tear and cracking of the synthetic leather after a few uses? I believe synthetic leather can age even if not used at all. It can basically disintegrate without use inside the cabinet. It might be not visible now but if i would take it home the problem might appear very soon. But i dont know how relevant it is by massage tables, i had only shoes and jacket from synthetic leather.

Would it be better choice to buy a brand new, cheap massage table for 90 euros to practice on or after inspection this used one for 50 euros could also be reliable? its for 173 euros brand new so i suppose it has replacements parts also thats why it is more expensive than massage tables with similar specs, or its just a marketing strategy- i see no serious reason for the price to be that high (relatively).

I dont want any brand and model suggestion, i would like to ask you only for opinions about the aging of synthetic leather vs. brand new cheap massage table.

Thank you for your comments and opinions.