2. Avoid fatigue while working. Leave enough time between massage sessions to take a short break, stretch, hydrate and breathe deeply. Avoid scheduling too many massages in one day or week, and avoid scheduling clients needing deep work back-to-back.
Build some recovery time from repetitive hand motions into your massage sessions by incorporating such techniques as active and passive stretching or positional release. Try to sit for at least 15 minutes out
3. Practice good self-care. Exercise regularly, but avoid working the same muscles you use all day while doing massage. Stretch the muscles in the front of your body that may get shortened from your work, and strengthen the muscles in your back that may be stretched and weakened.
Include exercises to maintain or increase endurance, such as walking. Don't smoke, since it impedes circulation and impairs your body's ability to heal itself. Avoid foods with saturated fats or trans fats, since they can provoke an inflammatory response. Get plenty of sleep, since sleep is the time your body's repair and self-regulation processes are the most active.
4. Plan for your future. Use continuing education as an opportunity to learn modalities that are less demanding, such as positional-release techniques, or that allow you to use your hands less, such as lomi lomi .
Invest in your well-being and peace of mind by getting good health insurance and long-term disability insurance. Think about where you want your massage career to take you 10 or 20 years from now. Will you still want to be doing full-time, hands-on treatment work, or would you rather be managing a clinic or spa? Start working toward your goals now, so that you can continue to work well beyond the eight-year average for massage careers.
by Lauriann Greene and Richard W. Goggins
Comments
Location: Clovis, Cal.
The heading "Listen to Your Body" really caught my attention. Glad I checked it out, I am dealing w/tennis elbow but have my first visit w/a PT is Fri afternoon (approx 2wks after symptoms began). I've got a pretty good handle on the first 3 items. I "espouse" # 4 about goal planning but have not really thot about what I might do in the future. My speciality is Sports Massage. Any ideas would be greatly appreciated. Thank you for this adjunct to my education. Patricksmassage@yahoo.com
Location: Silver Spring
Great information. It made me take a long look at myself. I check off two of the symptoms. I will see a doctor. Renee Wiggins,RD.LD/CPFT/CMT WWW.stressdownandliftup.com