How does these types of clients range from individuals involved in physical rehabilitation requiring exercise programs, including cardiovascular and cardiorespiratory rehabilitation, and physical therapy for orthopedic injury; persons incorporating exercise as part of a comprehensive fitness and wellness program, including weight management; and recreational and competitive athletes, both amateur and professional. For those of you that work with them, how do you use therapeutic massage to serve this population?
The sports, fitness, and rehabilitation community is using massage at an increased rate, however, there are many misconceptions, inaccurate information, and even dangerous methods being taught and practiced as sports massage. More commonly are complaints from those who have received ineffective massage that was not worth the time and money. This is unacceptable. There is a professional responsibility to provide safe and effective massage care for all populations.
What can you do as a massage therapist and maybe even client to provide and receive effective massage?
BE INFORMED!!!!
Research and be informed as best you can. Learning is lifelong as a therapist and an as a consumer, and not just a client of massage. Whether it be the car you drive (the insurance you buy), your home, your or your childrens school, the food you eat, the personal products you use, etc, etc.
Research has exposed many myths about massage and components of sports training. As a massage therapist, especially when working with any client who has excessive demand on their bodies, it is absolutely essential that lifelong learning is a priority as is remaining current with the research evidence.
I have learned through getting massaged myself that when a sore muscled is being touched it thinks that what hurt it is happening again. So I lead my client, (as I'd learned to do for myself), through a dialog (inner dialog) with the muscle, such as: "Feel that pain? OK now take in a normal breath and as you exhale tell that muscle that it is not being hurt now as before, and that I am just stretching it. Say this inside yourself with the out breath for each tender spot I am touching, because the muscle has a memory, and remembers the past, breath brings it to the present, and retrains the path it takes to the brain." I also use Leon Chaitow's method of finding the pain in a muscle, then moving the limb to where the pain is worse, when the client tells me the pain is at its' worse, I keep my finger on the pain while moving the limb to where they feel the least pain, I hold for 90 seconds and then very slowly move the limb in the same way back to the table. I find that the pain is gone! This takes time, of course, but its' best for the client and releases tight muscles This works wonders for the tight muscles that run next to the spine. Jaya, of Jaya's Healing bodywork
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