Unique and specific techniques, like myofascial release, can greatly enhance the therapeutic benefit of your work on your clients, but when using them, it’s important to consider, and appropriately set, the client’s expectations for the session. Myofascial release is a wonderful way to create space for muscles to relax. Tension in muscles can sometimes be caused by the layer of membrane, called fascia, that surrounds the muscle group, which can be adhesed or dehydrated, preventing the muscles from moving freely.

If you have someone with an old sports injury or who has recently undergone surgery, or just somebody where it feels like their muscles are bound up and barely have any room to move, that’s a good indication that the top layer of the musculoskeletal system may need some stretching to give the muscles room to expand. So, myofascial can be a wonderful way to start a massage to make sure that the rest of the work will have the most beneficial impact.

One time, though, I had a massage therapist who started using myofascial release on me as the very first technique in our massage session and proceeded to do it for close to 30 minutes, which was a full half of the session. I found that very unusual because myofascial usually doesn’t involve any oil or lotion, and most of the time, someone’s applying oil or lotion within the first few minutes of a session.

If someone comes in and their main complaint is stress or a busy life, and they’d really just love to have an hour to relax into a nice Swedish experience, they’re going think it’s weird that for half their massage there isn’t even any oil or lotion being used and you’re just pulling on the top layer of their skin. It’s about the context, and it’s about your intent as well as your client’s goals. It’s important to remember that if you’re going to start off and do a lot of myofascial work, which might be the right thing to do, you need to be sure to tell your client why. Consider the typical experience your client may have had before in massage, and clearly dialogue through it.

We’ve all heard from clients the occasional horror stories of their having been “brutalized” in a session with another massage therapist in which techniques were used that were so deep as to be painful and leave them bruised. Some of us may have even experienced that type of massage ourselves. How does that happen?

While clients do have different levels of sensitivity to pressure and it’s always important to check in with them about it, it’s also essential to consider the speed with which we administer deep techniques. A good rule of thumb is to remember that if you know that you’re going for depth, slow way down and make sure that the tissue lets you in first. Otherwise, you’re going to be tearing through muscle tissue and causing your clients unnecessary pain. That kind of pain can alienate clients, not just from you as a practitioner, but from massage in general. Then their stories to their friends and family can even leave others scared of ever getting massage in the first place.

If you know you’re strong, really take the time to check yourself and see if your speed is correct for the level of pressure you are using. If you think that you might be going too fast, slow down and keep checking in with your client. To keep in touch with the client’s experience as you work your way in, you can ask:

“How’s the pressure for you as I work here?”

“Is it ok if I go a little deeper now?”

“How’s that?”

Remembering that it’s not just about the pressure, but also the speed can help you better calibrate your deep work on your clients to ensure that they enjoy an effective session with you that leaves them feeling great.

I’ve noticed a ‘narrowing syndrome’ that sometimes develops among experienced massage therapists. When you first go to massage school, you learn all sorts of techniques which are new and exciting, and you try them all on your clients. Then, as you practice and become increasingly more confident, you find that a certain set of techniques emerge as your favorites. You develop a level of comfort and expertise with them, and you use them increasingly often. What can happen over time, though, is that by favoring those few techniques, many of the others that you learned go unpracticed and, eventually, get forgotten. This narrowing of your repertoire can lead to clients experiencing massage from you that consists entirely of only one or two techniques.

For example, I have experienced massage from seasoned therapists that consisted of nothing but slow friction strokes. While those may be effective, that singular focus risks a massage that can feel repetitive and not entirely effective. What’s more, it’s important to remember that different techniques  produce different effects, each suited to the various needs presented by clients. So, while using a lot of deep friction can be fine, it could be even more beneficial if you were to occasionally throw in some invigorating petrissage, or soothing effleurage.

The antidote to this ‘narrowing syndrome’ is to continue to keep your skills fresh by ensuring that you not only take continuing education, but build up a network of different therapists that you can occasionally get massage from, as well as give massage to, so that you are able to get honest feedback from other professionals in the industry and continue to be exposed to different techniques.  This way you will keep your toolkit of techniques broad enough to provide your clients with varied, effective, and pleasant massage.

Let’s say you have a big, beefy athlete of a client on the table, with lots of delicious areas to work on. You dive in. You get the belly of the muscles. You get into the soleus, work their erectors. You proceed to work on their arms and get into the deltoids. Everything’s great, but you have to ask yourself: are you massaging the whole muscle?

I find that, a lot of times, therapists will focus on the belly of the muscle, spending lots and lots of time getting in there: fluffing, buffing, twisting, turning, compressions, and such, but not tracing the muscle all the way to its origins or insertions. It is important to recognize that a muscle has its own intelligence, and when you touch any part of it, the rest of it wants to be touched, as well. If you’re going to use a technique, be sure you use it to work the full length of the muscle, to its tendon and its attachment point. The muscle doesn’t end in the middle. It ends where it ends, and it starts where it starts. Go from end to end, and your clients will love you even more-so.

In today’s digital age, with so many of our clients (and ourselves!) spending so much time hunched around our smartphones, curled up with our tablets, and bent over our laptops, a new syndrome, which I call “computeritis,” seems endemic. It may be common for massage therapists once they hear of a client’s heavy use of such devices to jump to conclusions as to the culprit of the client’s pain. It’s important that ‘Computeritis” not be our first or only assumption when a client presents with neck or shoulder pain and tension. It’s vital that we get a fuller picture of our client’s lifestyle, without which we could very well be assuming and jumping to incorrect conclusions and to an incorrect treatment approach.

I’ve been working in a massage clinic for 12 years now. One time, I saw a therapist go in to do an intake with a client and come out only a minute later to give the client a chance to disrobe and get on the massage table.  Shocked to see that the therapist was back out so quickly, I quietly observed,

“that was a quick intake.”

“Oh yes,” said the therapist. “The client seemed eager to get on the table. So I did a few questions, but kept it short.”

“Great,” I said. “What’s the problem with the client?”

“Well, they do a lot of computer work, so they have a lot of tension in their neck and shoulders.”

“I see. And does the client have any hobbies?”

“I don’t know,” said the therapist. Oops!

Years ago, I had a client with a lot of shoulder pain. He worked with software, so it would have been easy for me to assume that, like everyone else, he was also suffering from computeritis and treat him accordingly. But I asked the patient when he felt his pain and tension the most, and he answered, “when I’m on the field.” Wow, that bit of new information provided the missing piece of the puzzle and completely changed my understanding of his condition. It turned out that he was a pitcher on a baseball team and his pain was due to his pitching technique. I learned from that experience never to assume that someone’s job sums up their lifestyle and to always get a little more information, even if it means taking an extra minute or two during intake.

Clients can seek massage for stress relief and relaxation, or for therapeutic work on a specific problem. Sometimes a client with an acute problem comes for general relaxation and stress relief. You can’t assume that just because they have a chronic issue that that’s always why they’re there.

I have a chronically unhappy left shoulder due to car accident that I was in over a decade ago. My shoulder loves work, and my shoulder is perennially a thing of curiosity to every massage therapist because it’s so clearly adhesed, plus it moves around when it’s receiving massage work. What this can do, though, is cause some therapists to get “lost” in my shoulder area at the cost of doing work in other areas where I also would like to receive massage.

While therapists often feel that spending extra time in a problem area is part of doing more effective work for the client, the truth is that sometimes clients are also looking forward to other areas being worked. So, how do you strike a balance when you know that you just hit “the mother-load of all muscle problems” and yet you only have an hour? The answer is communication, communication, communication. Ask questions like:

“Do you feel we have worked this area sufficiently?”

“Should I spend more time there, or is it time to move on?”

“Would you like me to spend another 15 minutes here? It may mean that we don’t quite get to cover your arms or legs (or whatever other area is not a primary complaint).”

Share with the client what you are feeling with your hands and what would be the benefit of the additional work, but let their priorities guide your massage plan for the day. If the issue feels like one that would benefit from a more targeted session, go ahead and suggest that the client schedule a time to come back in and focus on that specific area. Make sure you give the problem areas their due, but take care to avoid getting “lost” in a body area.

Time management in the massage room can be tricky. Even with a thorough intake, you never know what you’re going to find until you get your hands on someone. It’s important, though, to keep your word to your clients. If, somehow, you can’t do what you said you would and you need to alter the plan, it’s vital that you keep the client in the loop and have them make the call.

It can be so frustrating when a massage therapist says they’re going to do something for me in a session that doesn’t happen, and some of the areas we discussed never even get touched. When I’ve asked therapists why that happened, commonly what I hear is, “I’m so sorry, I was so focused on your shoulder (or your back, or your neck, etc.), that I ran out of time.” That’s a common challenge for many therapists, of course, but as a client I’m left wondering, don’t I get a say?

So, while of course it is best to stick to what you told your client you would do, if you find that the time has gotten away from you and you won’t be able to deliver on your stated plan, my advice would be to get the client involved. Don’t just keep going and hope that they won’t notice. Honestly, you know they will. After holding an expectation based on your conversation during the intake, they’ll be disappointed, which can break their trust. They may not say anything, and they might even tip you, but you’ll never see that client again.

If you know that you are struggling with this, develop ways to recover gracefully, and always keep the client involved. You can easily say something like, “I’m sorry, it looks like we won’t have a lot of time to address your arms and your legs. If I were to spend more time on one of those areas, which would you like it to be?” That way, you preserve your relationship with the client, even if you don’t get to all the work you’d discussed.

Are you looking to build your client base? When you already have some happy clients returning to see you, but you still have lots of empty slots in your appointment book, the best way to fill those empty slots is through the slots that are already filled. One of the easiest, but most overlooked marketing tips of all is to turn to those clients who are already coming to see you.

Just letting your clients know that you are working on getting busier and that you’d appreciate any referrals is all it takes. A lot of us shy away from doing it because we don’t want to appear desperate or pushy with our clients. It’s important to remind ourselves that they’re already our friends and fans, or they wouldn’t be coming back to see us.

If your client knew that you were thinking of closing doors and going back to that other career—house-cleaning, writing code, waiting tables, or whatever it was—or that you may have no choice but to abandon your massage practice, they would say “No! Hang on. I’ve got some friends I could send your way.”
Why not give them the opportunity to do that before it’s too late? You’d be surprised how not just willing, but delighted clients are to get to help contribute to your success. Try one of these approaches:

• “It was really great to work on you today. Is there someone you know that you think might benefit from this kind of work?”

• “I’m looking to grow my practice by adding 3-4 new clients this month. Is there anyone you can suggest me to?”

• “I’m working on getting busier in my practice, so I’m looking to take on some new clients. Would you be willing to pass along my card to some friends or coworkers?”

Before you know it, those empty slots will be a thing of the past.

One of the most challenging things for a lot of therapists can be finding themselves in an intake with a new client where the connection just isn’t happening. Maybe they look at their shoes the whole time, or they’re sighing and looking out the window. You know, no click. It takes a real dedication to our profession, and a certain level of maturity, to be able to put that non-clicking, or non-connectedness, aside and still provide somebody with a thorough and caring intake to craft a massage plan that meets their needs.

It’s vital that we remember not to take that disconnect personally. Being healers, it helps to realize that our clients, as they are in front of us, are not necessarily in their best state. That’s why they’re here. They may be distracted or grumpy due to whatever’s going on in their life, or from the pain or stress that has brought them to us in the first place.

When we can be in a compassionate state of non-judgment and continue to be dedicated to our healing profession, or to our healing intent, it allows us to bridge that gap and hold a space of healing around our clients, when they can’t hold it for themselves. In doing this, we show up as truly caring human beings, available at our best for each client, and our practice becomes a space where they can trust that their needs matter.

Massage therapy can be a very fulfilling career, but it can unfortunately end up being a short one for many of us. That’s because certain energetic self-care is absolutely indispensable, but often overlooked. Most of us who practice massage find a way to mind our body dynamics, but do we take care to maintain good hygiene needed to keep our ‘energetic field’ clean?
The same openness and sensitivity that allows us to feel pain points on a client’s body also make us vulnerable to what is called energy transference, where we take on aspects of the pain body of the client we are working on. Massage therapists can develop soreness in their arms or wrists after a day of massage, which they think is just normal fatigue from the work done. Sometimes, though, it can come from this energy transference. Without having a way to clear that, it’ll wear us down.
The best suggestion I have is to make a routine of rinsing your hands all the way up to the elbows in super-cold, ideally ice-cold, water after each client session, with the explicit intent of releasing and shaking off any energy that you have taken on that is not yours. If cold water is not available, you can also briskly wipe each arm from the elbow down and off past the fingers several times as if you were brushing off dust or crumbs.
Whichever method you use, it’s most important to do it with the intention of clearing out anything that’s not yours. Afterward, you could even put your hands together and take a few deep breaths, feeling your own warmth and energy coming back up to the surface.