r/massage

I used to see a wonderful therapist who very selfishly stopped doing massage to focus on being a doula and moved. /s

I don't have her contact info and I'm desperate to find someone who can perform what she did, but I don't know what it is. She called it 'deep tissue' but it wasn't this.

I'm hoping I can describe the service and y'all can help me name it so I might find someone who does this work.

No oil or lotion. Mostly working with fingertips. I saw her for shoulder/neck stiffness. She almost never touched those areas. She'd dig VERY deep in my armpits, under boobs, under ribs. She would manipulate my arms while doing so. It was often unbearably painful. She'd also use her fingertips under the base of my skull.

For my husband's low back she would work on his stomach and inner thighs. Deep, sharp, targeted, lasting pressure. Sometimes his glutes. Also manipulating his legs while doing so.

I'd leave bruised and sore for a few days and then get the longest lasting relief I've ever ever had from any PT or yoga or even medication.

I've had no luck from other therapists I've seen who do lovely work, but have no idea what I'm really looking for. I saw someone for myofascial release but he said that kind of pressure wasn't in his practice.

Does anyone know what this might be?

I am continuously being told that my massage style and flow is very similar to Lomi Lomi, both from clients and other LMTs that have experienced the practice. I would love to explore this as a continued education and to experience more of the rhythmic wave-like movements that naturally come through my sessions, but honed in with the traditional practices and history. Any recommendations on where or who teaches Lomi Lomi?  I know search engines are a great tool but I am very much in the mindset of hearing based on others experiences or connections that they can refer to.
Happy to travel to Hawaii for the integration and honoring of this traditional and sacred practice!

Well, this weekend I went to a spa for an $80.00 service. No complaints there. The LMT walks me out into the lobby & states “ you should come back in like a month & let me work on you again.” The manager hears this as I go to the front desk to pay. Then she shows me their membership package. Which I really can’t afford to do but I signed up as I need the service. THEN she says ok so for today it’s the membership fee, your 80.00 massage charge and here is the tablet that shows the tip prices for your therapist. We did the work for you & hands me the tablet. Maybe I’m wrong, but I tip on the price of the service. They had 20% as 33.00. I figured it out and it was the minutes +charge + membership fee total at 20%!!! UH NO!! I put cash in an envelope & sealed it shut. I felt trapped and didn’t have the guts to back out of the whole deal. Then while I’m doing that, she gives me a little goodie bag with some product samples & other stuff in it. So they were really good at keeping you busy until after you calculating the tip. Do you think I did ok by giving them the cash tip in the amount I chose to as there was no “ no tip” on the tablet.. so it was 20, 25,30% figured out. Just a spreadsheet.. what would you have done in that situation? Thanks!!

i am living in berlin and i am interested to work in some berlin spas as a wellness masseur. i have experience working in a yoga studio that also offered massage as well as years massaging from home.

i am looking at massage courses in berlin that will give me formal training and a certificate. they have a 6 day intensive massage and wellness course that they offer that will teach a number of different styles. i am surprised that all of these programs are so short.

there is a 5 day intensive massage therapist course that differs from wellness therapist that they also recommend i take.

they also offer a deep tissue course that is a weekend long.

there is also a school that offers lomo lomi in 3 modules. each module is 3 days long. so in 3 modules i would learn beginning to advanced. essentially 9 days in total. is this legit?

are these appropriate amount of times it takes for one to learn these styles in order to be prepared to work in welness and spa settings as a masseur?

the lomi lomi courses are (in euros) 680 each. the 6 day wellness therapist course is 1050. the 5 day massage therapist course is 950 and the deep tissue weekend is like 380.

I'm used to in the states they have longer massage school programs but here it seems to be a bit different especially since i want to go more in the wellness branch and not medical. i don't want to waste time or money. i also don't want to take these courses expecting i will be prepared and qualified to find work and be good at it but maybe these will be just what i need?

i need advice from others. please be kind! thank you very much.

I get massages fairly regularly and I've recently been seeing someone who uses pretty intense pressure and loves to work out muscle knots. In some points this pressure is almost a sharp feeling, and it makes me feel uneasy almost similar to being tickled? And a slight bit of nausea, and then it goes away after about 5-10 seconds after she leaves the spot. Is this just too much pressure? The pressure is good elsewhere, just in some spots it happens, like I noticed it around the back side of my arm around my arm pit area. I also have fibromyalgia if that makes a difference.

Apologies in advance for my ignorance. I have no prior knowledge except for one massage experience.

I have severe tightness in my shoulders (from excessive strength training in my teens) and lower back pain when standing for long periods of time. No conditions as of now (29y/o) but I want to prevent future injury/soreness. I workout 4x a week mixture of cardio and strength training.

Are there different types of preventative massage that would be good for me or just regular massage focusing on these areas?

Got a massage just to relax and accidentally unlocked emotions, better sleep, and a posture reset

I like to massage my mom every now and then and my hands get tired after about 10 mins of massaging. I can’t imagine massaging multiple clients a day for 30 mins to an hour each session. I just wanted to say that you guys are the real MVPs.

So I’m at a crossroads career wise and I genuinely don’t know what the smartest move is anymore. I have my master’s in Exercise Science and Wellness: Fitness and Performance along with my ACSM-EP certification. The problem is I don’t really have much experience besides internships from undergrad, and I’m not finding much luck getting into the exercise physiologist field. Most of the EP jobs I do see would probably require me to move states, and honestly I refuse to do that at this point in my life unfortunately.

Originally during undergrad my plan was PT or OT school. But realistically I just couldn’t make it work financially. I’ve always been super independent and had to work full-time plus part-time just to pay bills. During my bachelor’s degree it worked because it was during Covid and I only had like one in-person class a semester. PT or OT school obviously wouldn’t be like that and I don’t think I could survive not working much for multiple years.

And yes, before anyone says it, I know I probably should’ve researched job options better before going for my master’s. I know. I didn’t. And honestly I regret it.

Now I’m considering massage therapist school. The program would only be 4.5 months long from October to February, and the schedule is Monday-Thursday 8:30-5 which would still let me work nights or weekends part-time. Honestly it seems way more realistic financially and lifestyle wise.

Part of me feels bad because I already have a master’s degree, but another part of me feels like I need to be practical. If I ever did go fully back to school it would probably be nursing, not PT/OT. I honestly think doctorate-level schooling would be too much for me and sometimes I don’t think I’m smart enough for it lol.

What do you think ?

Did anyone teach you to massage your baby, or is that not really a thing in your family?

In some cultures, it's part of the newborn routine. My mom did it, my grandma did it. But I didn't really think about it until recently.

We were at the airport a few weeks ago, and my daughter was melting down in the carrier. She was overtired and overstimulated. I grabbed a ring from her stacking toy and just started rubbing her back with it. She calmed down and fell asleep within a few minutes.

It got me thinking about how much we don't talk about baby massage in Western parenting. I'd love to hear if this resonates with anyone. What do you use? What did you learn, and from whom?

I’m feeling nervous about moving into massage therapy from software engineering. I couldn’t handle coding in isolation once COVID sent all the desk workers remote, and I’ve been told by several people that I had a talent for massage (potentially though it’s just that I have good grip strength from being a rock climber). So, I’ve decided to start massage school in the fall.

I’m nervous about a lot of things - needing to run my own business, marketing myself, deal with inappropriate clients, making enough money for it to be worth it, I’m 41 so although I’ve been an athlete (rock climbing, swimming, skating, ex-triathlete) my entire life I’m concerned especially with my climbing background that my hands and elbows can handle the load… although for now my joints seem to be holding up and besides a right side inguinal hernia I had repaired last year my myofascial system seems okay…

I know I won’t make what I was making as a software architect/team lead, I don’t really need to make as much now though as I’ve put a significant amount away and feel I have close to enough to retire, but I am concerned about at least breaking even after education, supplies, and renting my own studio, and then the statistics I heard that only 20% of people who graduate massage school stay in the trade longer than 2 years (is this stat even accurate?).

I’m looking for perspective from people working as LMTs, I feel like maybe even though I’ve been kind of dreaming of doing massage for the past 5 years or so that this may be a foolish response to losing the willingness to deal with the particular kind of BS I encountered in software, although it’s not close to purely that, I have lots of genuine interest in massage…

I need a massage sooo bad, but because my back breaks out, I am so self conscious. Is this a normal thing? Does it matter? I don’t want to be embarrassed.

Wanted to get back to my lifting routine today (leg day is always the first session of the week for me) since having a deep tissue full body massage on Sunday. I am still feeling so tired. Is this normal? I go to my therapist once a month and they said that I was especially tight in my upper back region, and near my SI joint. With that being said, I felt since I’m still tired today it’s a safe bet to stay away from the gym and I’ll just do leg day tomorrow. Anyone ever feel extremely groggy and tired two days after intense deep tissue work? SI joint is better today, and upper back is definitely relaxing back to normal. I should also add that I was not all that diligent about rehydrating on Sunday and Monday. I think I’ll focus on rehydrating tonight and get back in the gym tomorrow but any helpful advice is appreciated. Thanks! Lately I’ve been super tense and stressed and it seems to take me a couple days post-massage to resume working out.

I’m a licensed massage therapist with autism, and I’m very heavily struggling with my body mechanics because of a few things, with my autism being the biggest factor. I have always been awkward with my body. Since I was a little kid, I’ve never felt comfortable just existing in my body. I sit in weird positions, I walk weird, I stand weird, I even hold my pencil weird. I’ve experienced some bodily pain throughout my life because of it, but since becoming an LMT I have never struggled quite so much… It feels like it’s extra hard for me to use my body correctly at work because I’ve never used it correctly my whole life. I don’t have a solid foundation to build off. 

The thing that bothers me the most is that I know what I should be doing. I’m just unable to do it. Or, I feel unable to do it. I used to think that I just had no idea what I was doing, but I’m coming to realize that I know all of the rules and proper body mechanics for this job and I’m just not able to properly implement it. I will say that when I was in school my instructor (who has since been fired) did not teach us about body mechanics at all and that is definitely a factor as well. But at this point I have done so much work to understand proper body mechanics that I can confidently say that it isn’t a matter of me not understanding it, but a matter of physically struggling to connect my body movements with the knowledge that I have. 

I love my job. I love the environment, I love everything about it other than the fact that I’m constantly in pain… and my biggest fear is that one day I’m going to realize that I’m simply not cut out for it. I’m good at massaging, from a client’s POV. I know what I’m doing with the client’s body, just not with my own. It is so extremely disheartening to be in a massage and literally counting down the minutes until I’m finished because I’m hurting so much. It’s no good for anyone. I have such a passion for this and I want nothing more than to be able to safely and comfortably perform during every massage. 

Even if you aren’t an autistic massage therapist, if you feel that you’ve been in a similar situation and you have some advice, I’m all ears. I also don’t want to make this post too insanely long but if anyone wants specifics about what movements I’m struggling with and what areas I experience pains, feel free to send me a message and we can chat. I’m open to pretty much any advice at this point, just please be kind. Thank you. 

Hi, just today I had my first appointment with a myofascial release massage therapist. My mom booked the appointment for me, and I was more than willing to go in hopes that it could help some of my pain. I have a chronic illness, and the pain is debilitating, so I’m willing to try anything.
The appointment went great, I really liked the lady working with me. She made me feel safe and seen/heard. We talked about my struggles with my chronic illness and how I want to live my life again. I felt safe being vulnerable around her, which is rare for me.
She was adamant the entire time that if something was too painful, to tell her. I only had to tell her about twice, and she eased up on me. However I kept wincing because I was in pain. She asked if I was okay or if I was in pain while she was working on my stomach (my chronic illness is GI and in a flare up, so it was extra tender) and I told her that while I was in pain, it wasn’t completely unbearable. I told her that if I told her to stop every time I experienced pain, we’d get nothing done, and that I’d tell her if I couldn’t handle it. She understood and all was well.

When the appointment was over with, my mother (who was also my ride) came in to check on me. I was told prior to the massage that I could experience emotional release like crying/laughing, but I hadn’t the entire time. Only when I stood up after it was over did I suddenly feel super emotional and like I could sob. I got dressed and my mother asked me how it went, and only then did some tears escape, and I responded “It really hurt.”
The massage therapist looked at me like I had held the truth from her, and said “You never told me when you were with me. You said you would.” To which I said “Well like I said, I’m always in pain. It didn’t really get to be too much, I’ll always tell you if it does.” And she nodded like she understood. But not even five seconds later she interrupted my mom, held her hands up in between us like she was reading the energy in the room and said “I’m getting a sense that there’s a lot of manipulation here, and that that’s a common thing.”
I was super confused, cause it came so out of nowhere and my gut instinct was that she meant manipulating fascia or something. So I was like “What?”
My mom immediately nodded and smiled like she was proven right about something, and said “Absolutely. It’s constant, she’s always like this.” And the massage therapist nodded sagely like she knew exactly what was going on. It took me asking multiple times what that meant and them ignoring me and agreeing with one another for me to finally put two and two together.

Okay, so some extra context: I struggle a lot with my relationship with my mother. I’m disabled and living with my parents still at 23, and can’t leave the house much because I’m so sick. My mother can be amazing one day, and extremely emotionally abusive to me the next. She will hurt me, and then blame me for it and claim I’m everything that she knows I value being the opposite of. Her mother was an abusive narcissist and she loves using all the narcissists’ favorite tools against me. So as soon as my brain caught up and I realized that she was talking about ME and saying that she sensed I was being manipulative, I started crying more. I had all this emotion welling out of me already, and I was in a space I was made to feel safe in, and it felt like I was being lied about and ganged up on out of nowhere.

Immediately with a shaky voice I was like “What? No! I don’t do that, that’s not who I am. What do you mean???” And my mom immediately went “No, don’t try to say anything. You know this. I’ve always told you this. You’ve always been manipulative with me. Even your dad agrees.” (Which I’ve never heard him say a word of before btw)
And the therapist went “Yeah, I was getting that.”
And at that point I just feel like I’m being persecuted the second I let my guard down, and I start crying and desperately trying to defend myself saying “No, I wasn’t manipulating anyone! All I said was it hurt, and I’m crying because- I don’t even know why I’m crying, you said I’d cry on the table but it never happened, but the second I stood up I just felt like sobbing-“ and she interrupted and put her hands on my shoulders and said “And you know what? That is completely normal.” And she handed me a baggie with pamphlets on the emotional release from this type of massage. And I was just left aghast and heartbroken.
Not to mention, but with my mom and I’s tumultuous relationship, I also immediately knew that she’d cling to those words and use them against me to hurt me if I ever do something she doesn’t like. She smiled the second she heard them like she got new ammo. That hurt my heart too.

Anyway, regardless of my relationship with my mother, I think this was inappropriate and weird. Not the worst thing that could happen, and it’s probably small, but it did affect me. This was the first time she met both of us, as well as the first and only time she’s seen me and my mother interact with one another. Even if she was a close family friend and knew us for years, that’s the kind of thing you talk about to each individual if you believe you see that and you get their perspectives. This was a STRANGER. A stranger who was being paid to help my chronic pain and illness via massage. She’s not a therapist. She’s was an occupational therapist before this, but she has no mental health training aside from experiencing patients whose trauma manifests in their bodies physically. Not only did she say this wild statement to two complete strangers whose dynamic she knows nothing about, but she said it first thing with both of us present, calling me manipulative for crying when she herself claims that’s NORMAL. Even if she was a therapist, therapists don’t do that.

Am I wrong for thinking this is off? I genuinely didn’t get a bad feeling about her at all. I felt like I could trust her in the brief time we had. I felt gross about it, but I scheduled another appointment solely because I don’t want this getting in the way of potentially helping me physically, but holy shit I don’t know what to do next time I see her. I just feel like a kicked puppy now. And I feel like if I bring it up to her and say that it hurt me and that I have a harsh relationship with my mom that’s the opposite of what she perceived, that she’ll take my moms side, tell her I said that, and/or just assume I’m bad mouthing my mom to not look like the “manipulator” she seems to see me as.
Am I overreacting cause I’m just emotional right now??? Please help. I know reddit posts are inherently biased, but based on my side alone can y’all please give your thoughts?

TL;DR: Massage therapist said she “Sensed manipulation.” And sensed that it was “common” From me in my relationship with my mother when I was crying a bit post-massage after I told my mom that it hurt to be massaged. She never knew or met us prior to this.

Does anyone else have weird off days where you can feel you are not giving a good massage or able to connect with the client or be present? I can't figure out what causes it, sometimes lack of sleep, sometimes personal issues at home, but sometimes there's just no rhyme or reason and no matter what I do I can shake it. I either have to just push through the feeling and give mediocre massages or call out "sick" so I don't lose any clients. I even apologized to my last client last night, who I've seen before, because my first two massages felt awful and I could tell I wasn't giving them the same great massage I did the first time. Now I feel like I may have lost that client for saying I was having an off emotional day, even though they seem like a really good person who understood and was even telling me what we should work on next time. Does anyone have any advice for getting through these days? We also do couples massages at my work, which I hate (especially when they request no talking other than checking in on pressure) because I feel like I can't connect with the client at all. I'm not much of a talker during my sessions anyways unless they are talking/asking questions the whole time, but it would be nice to feel like I can ask them questions throughout the massage to help them let go better. Sometimes these mental days are so bad I feel like I'm a horrible massage therapist and I should just give up, even though I love my work and have been told many times how great my massages are. I'm also very introverted and when I get these off days I just shut down and literally want to climb into a hole and hide from everyone. Also sometimes I lose all my confidence with certain clients, which makes things worse because then I'm stuck in my head the whole massage. I'm sure therapy would help figure out what's causing this but any advice would be lovely.

Hey y’all!

I just noticed I have two warts on the palmar side of my forearm - so annoying.

Anyway, how do you suggest I cover them up? One is pretty high up closer to my palm but one is in the middle of my forearm. But they’re both too far from my hand to use gloves.

Should I use gauze? Or is there something I could wrap it in?

Any and all advice is so appreciated 🙏 also if you have any remedies please let me know !! I think I’ll just have to go get them frozen off or something by a dermatologist?

My lower back has been really tight due to stress. My wife suggested I try a massage. I have only ever had a few in my life. When I arrived for the app, I told the massage therapist I was there for lower back pain related to stress. The massage itself was okay and relaxing, but he spent only 4 minutes (out of the 45 minute session) on my lower back. The rest of the time was spent on my shoulders and upper back. As a person who struggles with conflict, I didn't mention anything during the massage. When he asked at the end how it was I didn't say good or bad or address my concerns. I just walked out disappointed and annoyed that I wasn't listened to. I wondered if maybe I had it wrong and he actually did listen to me... Did the therapist spend time on these spots because they are related to lower back pain? Would you reach out after the fact and explain concerns? Given the vulnerability with massages, I don't ever expect to go back to him or that clinic...

My boyfriend has quite a lot of body pain and a bit of chronic pain. This is something he's had since he was about a teenager and the only thing that helps is getting massages but he doesn't have the time or money to afford getting them often at all. He has it mostly all over but the pain is mainly in his back and neck.

I've tried giving him 'massages' before but he's a bit bigger and while I'm also a guy I'm unfortunately not that strong at all so he doesn't feel much when I do it. Are there any types of techniques that I could learn that would help him? Things I could use, any good videos out there or what type of massages that focus more on chronic pain? Anything would be so helpful.