r/MassageTherapists

This has nothing to do with me directly but it was something I observed today. There's a massage group on FB that is run by a female LMT and it is for female therapists only. I could tell early on the admin was a major shit starter, spending more time dragging on about Jeffrey Epstein than actual bodywork. I usually pay no mind to this group until.. someone commented anonymously on there about another therapist. Without naming the business, an anonymous poster described the another business' services , and I believe took a screen shot from their menu which sounded kind of mystical in nature. The anonymous poster then stated the services were not worth it. Anyway, the business owner knew it was her business and commented on the thread. All well and good, I'd 100% have defended myself the same way. THEN, the group admin..wait for it: literally DOXXED the anonymous poster. I just thought what we did was above this kind of adolescent behavior is all. It definitely reflects poorly on massage therapy when people do things like this. Anyway, I will leave the group. One thing is for sure, my initial feeling to never post or express myself there was 100% correct because when the admin sees a chance to stir up drama, she has demonstrated she clearly will. It accomplishes nothing of value, uplifts no one, and reduces massage to an emotionally immature, high-conflict cat fight.

Do all clients typically tip for their sessions at spas? I just got my license and a new job offer at a Massage Envy location and the pay is lower than I had expected and I am wondering if I can make up the difference by relying on tips? The pay is less than I currently make and I am just barely scrapping by as is..

Do I say nothing and just work her legs as best I can (this is my current action)

Do I politely ask her to adjust her legs? If so HOW do I say this without it sound creepy?!

Manually move her legs? This freaks me out.

I have always struggled with this, and even asked some female clients that I've been treating for a long time, "What's the best way to phase it?" and even they couldn't come up with anything!

I can't help thinking she's probably

A: unaware she is doing it and would understand.

B: She's not comfortable, so suggesting moving could make things worse.

Any suggestions?

Hi everyone,

I'm a female chiropractor working as an associate in Toronto, and I'm considering doing an accelerated RMT program. One of the main reasons is to increase patient volume.

That said, I know I would only want to treat female patients. I have no interest in providing massage therapy to male patients.

My questions are:

1. Is it legally acceptable in Ontario for an RMT to have a female only patients policy, or could I get into trouble for refusing to treat male patients?
2. During RMT school, do you have to practice on classmates of both sexes in open labs? Has anyone been able to request female only practice partners for religious or personal reasons? Were schools accommodating?
3. For anyone who has done an accelerated program, how much of the classes and labs are you able to miss and still pass?

I’d really appreciate any insight. Thanks!

For some context, I work at a chain place, and we really can’t pick and choose who is on our schedule unless something extreme happens. I have a client (she’s been seeing me about 3 or 4 years) she treats me like a servant and kind of in a degrading way.
If one little thing goes wrong she takes it out on me and does not tip. And it will be over the SMALLEST thing or even something she’s made up in her head.
She’s very particular and compliments me OR degrades me depending on how she’s feeling.
I can’t really talk to my boss about it because I know what she will say (I’ve worked with her for years).
Do I just tell the client I’m sick of her bullshit? And tell her to get face I don’t want to see her anymore? I thought about calling out when she’s on my schedule, I just don’t care anymore.

I may be moving from SK to Nanaimo area and I really don't want to go back to school or take another exam.

Is there a high enough demand for therapists that I could be busy with clients even though they couldn't claim my services? I have 10+ years of experience and am also training in hot stone massage and cupping.

Newer LMT here, US based. I have a new client coming in today who has stated she has a bulging disc at L1 on her intake form.

I’ve done some research for myself but would love to hear from other/more experience MTs, any advice on good methods for treating this client? TIA.

Hi guys, I had an interesting experience with a client the other day and I'm hoping to get some insight into what happened.

Yesterday I had this older, male client I'd say probably in his late 50s and he came in requesting a full body relaxation treatment and was really insistent on me also doing abdominal work. I don't normally include abdominal work in a 1 hr full body relaxation simply for the sake of time, as well as the fact that not many clients actually want their abdominals worked.

Anyways, he behaved respectfully and normally so I didn't think anything was weird until I began draping his leg in supine and I noticed a significant sized wet patch on the sheets right over the genital area, it was probably 2 inches long. There was no weird smell in the room so he definitely didn't pee himself and I kept my room at a comfortable 67-69⁰ so it wasn't hot. The rest of his body was not sweaty or clammy at all so it's very unlikely that he was just profusely sweating in that one area.

At the end of the session, when I went to flip my room I found that the bottom sheet also had a significant wet spot on it in the same area where the genital area would have been. Is this normal??? I've had many many male clients go commando before and this has never happened to me. How likely is it that he was aroused during his session and that this was a creepy, sexual response???? I've only been in this industry for about a year so I haven't had much experience with creepy clients yet, thankfully.

I told my boss about it and she was really weirded out by it and told me she'd make sure he couldn't book with me again. I just wanted to get some other insight.

I know it can take several months for your body to acclimate but massage is kicking my ass. I am out of shape and over weight too, I also have old injuries from high school sports. I don’t know what to do for exercise because anything cardio usually hurts my legs (in the not good pain way). What can I do for exercise to help my body with massage but also just in general?

Someone suggested strength training but I wouldn’t even know where to begin with. Over the last year-ish I have adjusted and fixed my diet and that’s helped but now I just need to do something physically. I appreciate the help and feedback.

Long story ahead, with a request for thoughts/advice at the end! I appreciate anyone that takes the time to read :)

I'm a new RMT, and have been working just over a year as an independent contractor, building up to full-time. I work at two different establishments, and I have several regulars at both. I feel fairly confident in my work most days, though I am definitely still learning. I was trained in general swedish massage, with electives in myofascial and prenatal. Just for context.

Now for the part I'm looking for perspectives/advice on. I had a confusing experience with a new member of the managerial staff at the upscale spa I work at. She blocked off an hour in the middle of my schedule one day (without telling me) to chat about my treatments.

During this meeting, she told me that my clients "don't have any negative feedback, and often have positive feedback, but are not raving" about my massages. She said that when receptionists ask how the clients treatment was, they say "good" but they don't say "amazing" or "best massage of my life", and that that should be the goal for the practitioners here.

I was initially confused, because just in the last week the receptionists have forwarded me feedback from two different clients saying I'd given them the best massage of their life. I've had clients tell me that to my face, and I've had other clients otherwise rave about the massage I had given them. I have also had clients say their treatment was "good" or not say anything at all about their treatment other than that they feel relaxed, or that x body part feels better/less sore. I've also definitely had clients who don't really say anything after their treatment other than discuss their homecare with me and thank me. I felt it was strange that she specifically said none of my clients rave about me, but wondered if perhaps to management, the "raving" feedback is being overshadowed by the "just okay" feedback ...?

She then said it would be helpful if I demonstrated a massage on her so that she could give me tips/pointers and maybe figure out where I could improve. I said sure. She wanted me to perform a "basic routine" and wanted to be prone the whole time. After the massage she said "honestly, your massage is beautiful, and you're very strong. But where I think you could improve is during your transitions. When you're doing compressions over the blanket, push really hard. When you're rocking them, rock really hard. When you're tractioning, traction hard. Be confident. Give them a firm handshake when you greet them and let them know you're in control. Tell them that they need to make a follow up appointment and explain how to do that. That goes a long way with client retention." I said okay, I get that, I can do that. She then went on to describe several techniques that a new RMT they'd just hired used on her during her practical, and how it felt good/imparted confidence. I didn't know they'd hired a new RMT. I thanked her for her feedback and she finished by saying basically like you're really good, just be confident, you know your stuff, you go girl.

I left this interaction feeling weirdly shaken and ironically less confident. I always felt like getting "good" but not "amazing" feedback from some clients was pretty normal/expected, and that I can't expect to wow every single person on my table. But, I've been reflecting on this a lot the last few days and now I'm worried that I'm not as good a therapist as I think I am, and that if you're really good, you should be getting incredible feedback nearly every single time. I'm curious to hear other massage therapists' thoughts on this.

Do you get rave reviews from (*nearly*) every single client?

Do most of your clients tell you that it was the best massage they've ever had?

And, if you are an independent contractor working at a clinic/spa, are you occasionally expected to provide uncompensated massages during your workday to managerial staff if they are not happy with your performance?

I have a client I’ve been seeing for a year. He has terminal cancer. He has always been able to come to my office but his condition has worsened and he can’t easily travel by car. I have a spare table and could go to his home ) and leave the table there so I wouldn’t have to lug it every time) my question is to those of you that do mobile massage: what do you charge for travel time? His home is about 15 minutes away.. but there would also be time to set up and break down the table. What do you add to a regular 60 minute massage price wise?

Mine are James Waslaski, John Upledger, John Gibbons, Anita Shannon, and Lawrence Jones

I (27F) am all for nudity around other women ( in certain contexts ). It's how we came into the world right? However I find it very annoying when female clients think them being comfortable with their own body means others want to see them. I had a client yesterday who I asked, "are you ready?" And she said, "you can come in" and as I enter, she's standing there topless. I hate when clients do this. At that point do I step out? Do I say, "you're not ready yet so I'll just step out again, wait for you to get on the table and cover yourself as I asked then let me know when you're ready"? It's only a few seconds to get on the table at that point so what's the point? Why do they do this? When I explicitly tell them to dress down to their undies, LAY on the bed face down, COVER themselves with the towel. Throughout the massage she started coughing and got up and drank water, again topless. She had breast implants so I maybe got an air of, "I paid money so I want to show them off". Regardless, it's not my business or my problem. I'm there to do a massage. I don't care if we're both women and that means you feel comfortable with me seeing your body. I don't feel comfortable. Not to mention when I was massaging her thighs there was a very strong odour coming from her genitals which could've been BV, not sure but in that case how do you advise someone they smell and that they may need to see a medical health professional in that regard? I think women need to stop being so laissez faire with other women to the point where they think boundaries don't matter. No, you're in a professional setting, just follow the instructions I gave you dammit!

I just find it intresting I work neck face down and up and I warm up the back, also I notice they only work arms face down is all this normal?

UPDATE - Draping standards are state regulated and clearly states that a clients chest should be properly draped regardless of gender unless directly working on that area. I can't believe how many non-massage therapists feel the need to comment on this post!! I feel completely justified not seeing this client again. Being alone in a room with a naked man presents certain risks that need to be mediated. Keeping clients properly draped helps keep a hard boundary, and by the way, it's the law! And any client who continually tests boundaries is a problem. period.

I had a male client who repeatedly kept exposing his nipples even after I re-draped him and said that it made me uncomfortable. (This was in response to him saying that he thought the draping rule was stupid and that most therapists don't care, and asking if his nipples was somehow offensive).

He was also not an ideal client for other reasons as well (talked so loud during the ENTIRE massage that other people in the building could hear him) and repeatedly lifted his head so that he could get his point across.

Am I wrong for not wanting to see this client again? 🤔

Edit- Thank you everyone for your comments and opinions! I feel I should give a little more context - I work for someone else who I believe thinks that I am overly sensitive and I don't feel like I have total autonomy. I am worried that if I "fire" too many clients, that I might lose my job, and there aren't really any other job opportunities where I live. I think the question I should be asking is how do I deal with firing clients and not losing my job? (I am technically an I.C. but I can still be asked not to work there). I did ask when I was hired how to put clients on a "do not book" list and never got a straight answer other than it was case by case and rarely happened.

It seems like most posts regarding the gender of their clients, most MT's hate men. I hope that isn't true for all of us. Every post I see about a creep is 100% guaranteed to be about a man. Women can't do anything wrong, ever. No matter what. Is that really true?

Looking for a good digital intake App/service that helps me manage client’s info but also makes it easy for me to send intake forms to my clients but also take detailed notes. Any suggestions?

A client I have had for nearly 20 years lost her son last night in a boating accident. I found out 90minutes before my first appointment of the day. She isn’t on my books for another two weeks, but today I saw two of her friends that she had referred to me. I had to massage these two people today and not say a word. They are both talkers. 60 and 90 min of chit chat and silly stories about travel and grandkids.

It wasn’t my story to share, and I’m not in the business of spreading pain. They both said “See you in a month!” And I just smiled and said “yep!” knowing I’ll see them sooner at a funeral. My last client forgot and I rescheduled them for next week. And sat in my room and wept.

Flair is just so I can post. I don’t have anywhere else I can talk about this.

Hi guys. I am based in the UK and looking to complete a course in sports massage therapy. I am in full-time employment if that makes any difference for the advice you will be giving. I have done some research, spoken to people in the industry and contacted different providers. I am currently deciding between two different providers, one is around 1.2k and the other 1.6k. However, I believe only one is regulated and the other...not?

1. Core elements: Level 3 Diploma in Sports Massage Therapy: £1,257.00
2. Cotswold Academy:  ITEC Level 3 Diploma in Sports Massage Course: £1675.00

 

From what I have researched, both qualifications appear to be regulated and both allow progression to Level 4, insurance and professional membership. The main differences seem to be that Cotswold Academy has a strong reputation and offers an ITEC qualification, while Core Elements is around £400 cheaper.

I would really appreciate hearing from therapists who are already working in the industry:

• Does the awarding body (ITEC vs Focus Awards) actually matter once you're qualified?
• Have employers or clients ever cared where you trained?
• Which course would you choose and why?

Thank you!

Good day to you all,

My name is Mike. I’m a disabled Army Veteran dealing with ongoing service-related injuries, especially in my neck and shoulders, that have significantly limited my mobility and flexibility.

I’m reaching out humbly because I’m in a difficult position right now. The VA is still processing my care, and I currently don’t have the means to pay out of pocket. At the same time, I’m doing everything I can to continue working and staying functional—but without relief, it’s becoming harder each day.

Massage therapy has been one of the only things that truly helps me manage the pain and keep moving. It’s not a luxury for me—it’s something that directly impacts my ability to function and provide for myself.

If there’s any chance you’d be willing to help—whether that’s a complimentary session, or even being pointed in the right direction would mean a lot to me.

Thank you for taking a moment to read this. I truly appreciate your time and consideration.

Very Respectfully,

Michael