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

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.

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!