r/MassageTherapists

I’m about half way done with my apprenticeship, and I’m really struggling. It’s part of the program to give and receive massages from the other students, which was fine. But I’m extremely sensitive (20 years in healthcare has fried my nervous system, and I also have fibromyalgia). Receiving massages in the student clinic leaves me completely frazzled, anxious, and in pain. All my fellow students are so heavy handed. And as a SA survivor, the “requirement” part of the whole situation is triggering AF. The massages are objectively fine, it’s literally just me that is the problem. Is there a way to make the process maybe less vulnerable? I don’t know how to be more sturdy emotionally while I’m naked under a thin sheet around people I don’t really like. I’ve almost finished paying for this program, and I’m depending on a future as a massage therapist. Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

I’ve just finished my Swedish massage qualification and I want to upgrade my table linen set up before I start taking paying clients. But I’m confused as we don’t seem to have the same options here in Ireland/UK as those in the US do.

My set up will be, from bottom to top,

Fitted table cover
Mattress topper
Heated blanket
Top sheet - this is where I’m struggling.

The client will be laying on the top sheet but the only options I can find are regular single bed flat sheets, but they’re still way too long and wide.
Or a microfibre fleece type blanket which is the right size, but I’m not sure that will be pleasant for people to lay on? Maybe a bit sweaty?

Obviously this sheet will be changed between clients so it needs to be inexpensive. I’m just starting out and can’t afford anything too expensive.

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Everything on top of the client I have sorted.

Benefits, retirement, and still getting paid when clients don’t show up is great and all, but what’s the point if health insurance takes half my damn paycheck? What’s the point if they work you 5-6 one hour appointments IN A ROW? Mind you, we only get a 30 minutes break the whole work day.

I’m pretty sure I made way more as an IC with clinics than I ever did as an employee. I should’ve listened to an old boss of mine who said being an employee in this field wasn’t worth it, as you would make a lot less money.

How do you know when to jump ship and start your own small business while working as an IC with clinics? My job is full-time (yet I still don’t make shit), and they’re not looking for part-time right now.

Mind you, I have been an LMT for 2 years already, and not once have I ever seen anything past 4K something a month yet. It really feels like I should go out on my own, too…

I'm wondering from a hygiene pov. The only thing I found was that if they are line dried in an area with a lot of pollen then clients with allergies may be irritated. But I don't see this as a prob for me.

I prefer to just buy more linen so I can line dry it all and am able to wait the longer time for it.

Any probs with this you can think of?

Also there is no sick leave, annual leave, superannuation pay... This is in Australia. The MT is really just self employed and renting space which is a fair enough set up.

BUT - when the clinic set the prices, takes 50% of the cost (really more when they expect you to pack up and down for free) and dictate your hours with very little notice just whenever someone books in could be in an hour or in a Saturday, it seems like a very raw deal.

My question is the title. Turned in to a bit of a vent. How do things shake out for you all and which location are you in?

There doesn't seem to be much advantage to working in a clinic instead of working for yourself..

I see so many posts here of mt’s talking about clients complaining that their pressure wasn’t deep enough and the replies are overwhelming on the side of the therapist, claiming that the client doesn’t know what’s good for them, or that they are lying to get free treatment. I am a deep pressure specialist and get a ton of clients that talk about how they have never found another therapist that meets the pressure that they are looking for. They love their massage and return to me repeatedly.

I understand that not everyone can give this kind of pressure. I feel like you all need to stop gas lighting your clients and refer them to people who can. I am not a relaxation therapist and will gladly refer clients who are looking for light pressure. They call me often and I am HONEST with them about my abilities. If you can’t do deep pressure, you need to be honest with your client and with yourself and refer out. No, it’s not that they “actually need lighter pressure” to address their problems. It’s not that they are deceiving you to get a free massage. You just weren’t the right therapist.

I am a woman with massive forearms and developed biceps. I of course understand that body weight is the most important aspect of applying pressure, but if you want to be a deep pressure therapist, you need to strength train. I have never had feedback that has said that I didn’t give enough pressure. My only adverse feedback has said the opposite, that I gave too much. PLEASE be honest with yourself. There are clients for everyone. You are doing your clients and yourself a disservice by making excuses for your lack of pressure.

So, I graduated last summer, and I started out by working as a mobile massage therapist. I'd been working for a couple months, slowly finding my feet, and there were problems with, like a lot of inquiries from creeps, but I found a few good clients and I was at least doing the thing. I was actually pretty stoked.

Then I had something really scary happen.

There were no red flags during booking, he was completely respectful and normal over text and on the phone. He booked a 90 minute relaxation appointment, focus on shoulders and low back, whatever. So I go to this guy's place for his session.

It's a beautiful (I looked it up later,) 3 million dollar beach house, right on the water, stunning ocean view, I greet him and his two little dogs, hes a normal looking surferish dude in his late 30s, I do my setup, intake, he signs the health history form and consent form, I leave the room, "get undressed to your comfort level and under the sheet, start face down, let me know when you're ready," he calls me back in, and I go to get started.

When I undrape his back, my head explodes.

This man has, extending from the *base of his neck to the bottom of his ribs* a giant fucking N*zi tattoo.

He's got the Iron Cross, with the eagle, with a gorramn fucking swastika in it's claws. It's staring at me like a living thing, this huge hate symbol, and I'm like, my mind is just *reeling!*

"Shit, shit, shit, omgwhatdoIdo?! Do I refuse service? Do I say something? What do I DO? Okay, breathe. You're here to help, not to judge. You're not supposed to comment on people's bodies. You don't know this person. *yeahbutthegiantfuckinghatesymboltho??* You don't know his story. Give the benefit of the doubt, that might not represent who he is now... Maybe he got it a long time ago, maybe he HAD to get it or something. Just, don't say anything, do your job, you need the money,"

Okay.

I should have left. I didn't.

So I just try to ignore the damn thing and I get on with the bodywork. But I CAN'T focus with that... thing... shouting at me. Honestly I was doing pretty crap work, just could not find my flow state, I was rattled af, and also feeling self conscious that I was letting it get to me and giving a bad massage, but I got through it and then it was time for him to turn over, and at least I won't have to LOOK AT THAT THING or touch it, at least this day can't get worse, so, re-drape, go ahead and turn over when you're ready.

It got worse.

He had a giant boner when he turned over. He asked me for sex work. I refused. At this point I've just made peace with the fact that I'm going to die there, but I'm not touching N*zi dick, not even to save my life. I ended the session, I don't even remember packing up, but thank god he'd paid in advance, and I ran out of there so fast I left my favorite flip flops behind.

I get home, and I started thinking about how fucked up everything is. That's when I looked up his 3 million dollar beach house. That's when I realized that, someone who can afford a *3 million dollar beach house* could easily get a tattoo removed or covered up if it didn't represent who he was anymore. That's when I got pissed off that someone so blatantly evil was living his best life on the beach with millions, while some of the best people I know have struggled their whole lives.

I saw one more client after that. And honestly they were perfectly lovely, but I just felt so uncomfortable and unsafe the whole time. I can't even do friends and family now. Like, I just cannot get past what happened. Which was... Not much, honestly. He didn't hurt me, he didn't assault me. I got out of there with my table and everything, I even got paid. I should have just left when I saw the tattoo. I should have been able to give him my best work once I'd decided to stay.

I really love massage, and I'd like to get over this and get back out there. I feel like maybe I'm not good enough because I handled things all wrong. I dunno. It's been months. I should be past this by now.

Anyone here have an awful story? How did you move on and did you ever find your joy and your confidence again? How do I do that?

I’ve only been working here for about 3 months, and this is my first job. Today I look at my schedule and saw the same client who didn’t tip me last time which he’s booked with me this weekend, even though he tipped all the other LMTs. I asked my manager to have him rebook with someone else instead. He walked out about 30 seconds after I left the room, and I couldn’t believe he rebooked with me online again (he always booked everyone online).

With that said, I’m planning to give my notice letter tomorrow, and I’m wondering how the pay process usually works. I only make less than $3k a month for 55-58 hours, I got most tips for clients who sees me weekly.

I have a feeling they may let me go the same day since I’m a highly requested therapist. How should I prepare for that? Do I even need to give a notice letter, or can I just resign? What about just quit without saying anything.

Hi all, I’m a newer LMT who currently works at a Massage Envy(I know I know I’m looking for another job). A couple weeks ago I had a male client come in for a 60min deep tissue with a focus on his upper body but “still wants focus on legs”. I begin the session and he immediately asked for more pressure, like within a minute of moving the sheets down his back. I informed him I’m warming the tissue up and I will add more pressure shortly but I’ll listen to what his body is telling me. Anytime I added extra pressure he was guarding pretty hard and I was taught to not push past it. Maybe I should’ve idk. He was quiet afterwards, never voiced any dissatisfaction so I went on with the massage, adding pressure with the table as low as I can have it and only using my elbow/forearms/fists.

He was silent the rest of the session, I worked full body and tried my best to hit every focus point he wanted but it is *hard* to do a real deep tissue in 50min. He comes out of the treatment room and asked if I even gave him deep tissue. I explained that I did, and also used different techniques to try and relax his body. Suppose he interpreted that as I didn’t listen to him at all and just did a Swedish massage (??) so he went up front to complain. My manager still charged him and told him next time he is able to end the session early if it is not up to his standards, he left upset and we thought it was over.

Nope. He left a lengthy review and name dropped me on google, lied and stated that I never used any pressure and only did soft relaxing strokes. I know I shouldn’t care about this especially when the majority of my clients leave happy but I can’t shake this feeling of guilt and shame about my massage and technique. Suppose I just wanted to rant and hear others opinions.

I'm a LMT in AZ. I have this idea that I've wanted to do for a long time:

I want to give cheap massages to people who may not be otherwise able to afford one. I grew up in a pretty poor household, and looking back I feel like it would've done a lot of good for my parent to get a massage. Of course, with low-income and kids to support, they would've never been able to afford one.

I am in a much better place financially, but I have not forgotten my roots. So, I want to give low-priced massages to people who can verify that they are low-income.

Any tips/ideas on how to do this? I am thinking either by showing me a valid food stamp card, pell grant receipients, etc. I don't want to pry too much in their finances, so I want the verification to be as painless as possible, but I *do* want to verify that they are low Income.

Edit: OOPS, I forgot to mention, I am thinking about charging $30/hr for these sessions. I think that's extremely reasonable.

I have a pretty sensitive GI system, not much can make me puke or have.. you know. So I basically eat a lot of the same stuff as I know they’re safe. Recently I changed protein powders to save money, I started it over the weekend in case my stomach didn’t agree with it I was at least home. So for 4 days, I was safe no issues. Well today, I had to end a session in the middle of it because my stomach couldn’t handle, what I’m assuming is my new protein powder. It sucks because I have had to reschedule this same client once before due to a respiratory infection. This sucks and is incredibly embarrassing. I told her that I was having severe stomach pain and I couldn’t finish. She seemed so sweet but it doesn’t feel good. I’ve been massaging for 7 years and just celebrated my first year going independent. This has never happened to me before has this happened to you?

I’ve been doing this about 2.5 years and I work mostly full time, 4 days a week, 10a-6p. Recently I started having an achy burning pain accompanied by swelling and weakness from my right elbow clear into thumb and index finger. I have a good brace and compression sleeve I’ve been using where I can and of course I’ve been doing stretching and massage work on myself, both my coworkers have even done some techniques. I’ve done hot stones, some cupping, and I’ve been icing it daily. It just doesn’t seem to really be letting up, I know I should probably try to cut back and everything but that’s not an option at the moment. Anyone here have any advice or suggestions, maybe some specific stretches you recommend or techniques? Anything is greatly appreciated!

Been doing this for a few years I barely get people like that , I don’t know will I be ok if I washed my hands well or will it transfer to my hands now ?

I found out that I was hypermobile partway through massage school - like at a point where it would've been stupid not to finish. I got my license and I've been practicing for a year.

Since I started working, my health has crashed and burned. I spent January and February having episodes of pain after shifts so extreme that I couldn't move and couldn't sleep. My joints gave out from under me on multiple occasions. My doctor started me on a tricyclic antidepressant to treat the pain and it's working fairly well, but it's not treating the stress and exhaustion.

I have a lot of stress in my personal life, which has compounded all of this. I'm in a state of HPA axis collapse and have only just recovered from a severe dysautonomia flareup by taking two weeks off of work. I am very, very sick and it has everything to do with physical and emotional stress.

I work at a gym. I love my job - my boss is incredible, my coworkers are supportive, I love my clients. And I'm a really, really talented massage therapist - like, weirdly so, it came more naturally to me than I would ever have imagined, and I had loyal clients even in my student clinic where they weren't technically supposed to be able to request specific students (exceptions were made with my permission). But because I work at a gym, I have a lot of "give me everything you've got" clients. 90% of my clients request deep pressure. I am completely aware of the fact that I cannot sacrifice my health to improve someone else's anymore, especially not for a $40 commission. But we are BROKE broke right now - we have a mountain of debt, my husband had to take a pay cut last year, and things have gotten desperate enough that he's donating plasma. (I would if I could but it seems like a terrible idea.)

So: Should I stop asking for pressure preference? Should I give everyone light-to-medium pressure and only give more if they ask for more? I will admit that I've gotten the advice to back WAY off of pressure but haven't taken it because I feel obligated to do what the client asks for (I'm autistic if that helps for context - I am hyperliteral and have trouble knowing what to do in complex social interactions, like saying "you probably don't need that" when I know they're asking for deep pressure because they *want* it, not because they *need* it).

I have to stay at this job for now; my ultimate goal is to pivot to MLD, CST, jaw and migraine treatment, and Esalen/Lomilomi style relaxation massage. I'd like to start my own practice ASAP but now is just not the time. I've been working with Vocational Rehabilitation to get help paying for nail tech school so that I have another option for income and will start a week from now, but licensure for that is 2-4 months out and during that time I really can't quit the job I have.

What guidelines do I need to give myself to keep this job from killing me? Do you have any advice about getting into a mindset of better boundaries around my own body when clients want me to hydraulic-press the stress out of them?

I’ve only been working here for about 3 months, and this is my first job. Today I look at my schedule and saw the same client who didn’t tip me last time which he’s booked with me this weekend, even though he tipped all the other LMTs. I asked my manager to have him rebook with someone else instead. He walked out about 30 seconds after I left the room, and I couldn’t believe he rebooked with me online again (he always booked everyone online).

With that said, I’m planning to give my notice letter tomorrow, and I’m wondering how the pay process usually works. I only make less than $3k a month for 48-55 hours, I got most tips for clients who sees me weekly.

I have a feeling they may let me go the same day since I’m a highly requested therapist. How should I prepare for that? Do I even need to give a notice letter, or can I just resign? What if I just don’t show up, will I still get pay? I will picking up my stuff in the locker tomorrow after finishing my sessions.

https://www.leaflifetech.com/product/the-worlds-first-hands-free-ai-massage-robot-rocozyer/

It’s not super expensive. It does direct skin contact. It has differing attachments. It actually does seem useful. And like it will offer cheaper access to massage. I hate that I don’t hate it. And I also worry that it will take over and replace a lot of services. I’m borderline debating it as an investment. I know that that’s bad for us as a profession.

Hi everyone. I have a regular client who told me last month that she's pregnant so I've signed up to do a pregnancy massage course so I can treat her during her pregnancy.

I'm about to send out a newsletter to clients with recent news and can't decide whether to mention this training or not for other clients who may be interested. I only want to offer this service to existing clients so it's not going to be on my public menu. I don't want to upset any clients who may have fertility issues. I was thinking I could have two versions of the email and just send the one with the pregnancy paragraph to the couple who are expecting. Any thoughts?

So i had this new client which was a referral.

Person said it was a great massage, even said they were surprised when they got flipped over and their back did not lock up or hurt. Mentioned sending their spouse to me. Said they would definitely see me in the future.

I got a notice i got a review, 4 stars!
I mean what the f? Makes me doubt myself.
I did text them and ask what i could have done for 5 stars.

Makes me not want to work on this person next time.

Thoughts?

So on Monday I took and passed the MBLEx. Now I’m just needing to finish applying for my license.

I am disabled from a bad brain injury from being hit my a car 3 years ago, and I’m eventually wanting to get into medical massage because after my month long coma, massage was super helpful for regaining my function and mobility.

I do still use a walker to get around, although I’m at the point where I can walk a good 1/4 mile completely unassisted. Although I probably will be using a cane going forward, maybe a walking stick.

I’m thinking I will start looking into getting employed at a local spa just to get some experience under my belt.

I just thought I would make a post with the news and to ask, has anyone here worked with a LMT with a physical disability? Or themselves are one?

I do have really strong hand strength as I used to be rock climber and I still train my grip regularly.

I’m just a bit worried as to getting hired with mobility issues.

Thanks!

I share a space with 4 other massage therapists, all women, all seasoned therapists on the same page. We all agree, we have worked too hard to get to self employment to entertain creeps and weirdos. We moved in together with separate businesses and have jived just fine, all professional, legit and by the book. We have all advertised individually and it's worked so well over the years.

One of the ladies slowed down for a while, especially while going through some life changes. She is embracing a new life, which I applaud. And she's feeling herself and her new look. However, she began hitting marketing using an AI program fast and hard with multiple posts a day, and each photo is a little more confusing than the last.

The written content isn't bad or wrong but the photos included are AI photos of herself that has completely changed her face and age. In very gorgeous dresses, but showing more cleavage with every post.

No photos of her performing massage, or her room, amenities, tools of use, you know... Massage therapy relevant photos. Just sexy AI selfies that make her look 20 years younger with breasts on display.

If this was on her personal pages, I wouldn't care one bit, do you!! But we share a space and I'm afraid this may invite a different kind of visitor and change the perception of what kind of business operates from that building, especially in the minds of our small community we work in. I just really don't want "parlor" vibes.

Am I wrong to worry or be alarmed?

What do I do?