Category: Opinion

Miracle Cures

September 10, 2019 admin Leave a comment Client Relations, Opinion

Good evening, Monkeys.

While reading a narrative review of pediatric massage research, my mind drifted to the thought that massage therapy is a “Miracle Cure”. I immediately rejected it, recalling the dozens of books my mother had in our house growing up. “Garlic Cures All”, “What Your Doctor Doesn’t Want You to Know”, “Deodorant Will Kill You”…blech. What kind of research did those authors do to make their claims? Assuming they even did research, there is a big difference between good and bad “research”. Some people think reading something without verifying the source or accuracy counts as them having done their research.

The best thing I learned in the Occupational Therapy program was how to critique a research study and determine if the results could even be valid from their methods. You’d be surprised what can get passed off as scientific study. For example, only about 7 women were involved in the study which is the basis for everyone thinking women’s menstrual cycles sync up when they live together. Not only did not all the women’s cycles sync, but they only synced up coincidentally for about one cycle. The same thing happens with car turn signals. If they’re blinking long enough, they’ll eventually sync, then unsync again. The researchers were over-excited to have some kind of results so their flimsy study made headlines. Same thing happened with the doctor who drew a connection between vaccines and autism. Bad research that became popular.

That’s why it’s important to read these narrative reviews of where the research currently stands, based on all the studies that have been done. Not just one study. Or two, or six. All the studies. According to the author of this research summary, massage therapy is looking to be a very promising solution for a wide variety of ailments that children and infants suffer. Unfortunately, all the studies involve daily massages, so we don’t know what the results would look like if people were to only receive weekly or even monthly massage. But I support daily massages, regardless.

*https://www.mdpi.com/2227-9067/6/6/78. Field, T. Pediatric Massage Therapy Research: A Narrative Review. Children 2019, 6, 78.

Massage and Safety

July 22, 2019 admin Leave a comment Client Relations, News, Opinion

Massage and Safety

We need to talk about massage and safety.

In 2017, Buzzfeed broke a story about abuse occurring in Massage Envy franchise locations. There has been a lot of conversation about the story online and in the news, which you may have seen. What you probably haven’t seen (unless you’re a part of our profession) is the uproar it has caused in the massage therapy community. Horror is a common emotion: who would do such a thing? Sadness: for the people who will be too fearful to receive the bodywork they need out of fear for their safety. And anger. Plenty of anger.

To be clear, this anger isn’t for the thousands of ethical massage therapists, managers, and support staff at Massage Envy. Whether you care for their business model or not, the vast majority of Massage Envy employees are out there doing their jobs, caring for clients, and earning a living, and they deserve our support. The anger is for perpetrators who violated the faith placed in them by trusting clients; the franchise owners, managers, and employees who allowed it to happen; and the organization that provided neither sufficient guidance nor real consequences for the people they allow to work in their name.

But I also want you to know that I care about you. As a client and as an individual. Because you have a right to feel safe while getting a massage. And this goes whether you’re receiving a massage here or anywhere else.

So here are some promises to you:

My promise

I will give you access. I will publicly post information on how to check the license of any massage therapist in the state. If you need help finding information on out-of-state therapists as well, you can ask and we will direct you to the appropriate resources.

I will be proactive and regularly solicit feedback from clients about their experience. Big or small, positive or negative, I want to know your experience so that we can do our best and stop major issues before they start.

The power is yours

There is a natural power differential when a person decides to get a massage. When one person is trained, familiar with the environment, standing up, and fully dressed, and the other has none of those advantages, it can be easy to feel like someone receiving a massage has no power at all. But it’s important to know that, no matter how much of an expert a person may be in massage, you are the expert on your experience. And as the expert on you:

  • You have the right to tell your massage therapist to change or stop what they are doing for any reason.
  • You have the right to end your massage session at any time for any reason.
  • You have the right to stop seeing your massage therapist, or to choose a new massage therapist, for any reason.
  • You have the right to report any misconduct to your massage therapist’s supervisor, to their licensing agency, to law enforcement, or to all three.

Again, you have a right to feel safe while getting a massage.

And since we’re having an open conversation about safety, we also need to be clear about one more thing: massage therapists also have a right to feel safe while giving a massage.

Ensuring the safety of massage therapists from clients who would harass, assault, or otherwise harm them is another conversation that you might not always be privy to as a client, but is a major point of discourse in the massage therapy community. For whatever reason, there are still people out there who confuse (or choose to conflate) massage therapy with sex work, and feel free to act on that impulse regardless of the wishes of the therapist in question.

If this is obviously problematic to you, like it is to 99% of the people in the world, then you don’t really need the following reminder.

But if you’re in that 1% and believe you’re owed sexual favors by virtue of existing and rely on that sense of personal entitlement while preying on massage therapists, especially those who are inexperienced or economically disadvantaged, here’s a wake-up call for you:

Your massage therapist also has rights

  • Massage therapists have the right to refuse to provide any service they feel would be inappropriate, out of their scope of practice, uncomfortable, or unsafe.
  • Massage therapists have the right to end a session at any time if they feel unsafe with a client.
  • Massage therapists have the right to no longer see a client they feel unsafe with or unqualified to treat.
  • Massage therapists have the right to report a client’s inappropriate behavior to law enforcement.
  • Massage therapy business owners have the right to stop scheduling a client for inappropriate behavior, to ban them from the premises, and to warn other local therapists about them. (And massage therapists do talk to one another. It’s a small profession.)

In the end, everything is better off in the light.

It’s better to have a major exposé in the news than for abuse to go on unaccounted-for. It’s better to ask hard questions before choosing a new massage therapist than to go into a session anxious or afraid. And it’s definitely better for massage therapists to address the issue of safety head-on, rather than pretending the concern doesn’t exist.

We all have a right to feel safe.

Hopefully, if we continue to work together to shine light into the dark corners of the world, all of us will.

Do Massage Therapists have a dress code?

July 16, 2019 admin Leave a comment Opinion

Dressing Like a Massage Therapist

Some things to think about if you’re going to give a massage:

  • Wear short sleeves if you massage with your forearms
  • Wear sleeves that won’t expose your underarm in case of sweating
  • Stretchy pants or leggings
  • Leggings are best for including Thai and Ashiatsu work bc excess pant fabric won’t get in your way 
  • Watch your neckline when you lean over
  • Socks for keeping your feet clean if you’ll do Ashiatsu
  • No socks so you can have more grip on the floor
  • Some people like to hear gentle sounds as you move around, or dangly fabric that adds to the sensation of the massage

Apparently this is a hot topic in the massage community. I don’t care what other massage therapists wear, and if they have a problem with me being barefoot or wearing leggings, I’d say they need a hobby. I’ve been massaging since 2003 and know what I need to wear to do my work effectively. The guidelines above are how I decide what to wear, in regards to the work itself and not about presenting yourself as a business owner or other roles massage therapists play.