I hear this every time I go for a massage, usually multiple times. And apparently I have a lot of knots. Are these throw away phrases MT’s tell most people or am I really that tight with lots of knots? I’ve heard it at probably every massage I’ve gotten so I’m wondering if this is a me thing, a throw away, a sales strategy? I have no doubt that I’m tight to some degree and I don’t get massages often enough. Just wondering. Thanks!

For two shifts in a row I've done several couples massages with a coworker that emits a powerful odour. The smell is so strong that it fills the room completely after a few minutes and severely grosses me out/kills my vibe/gives me a headache.

I feel that I shouldn't have to (and won't) tolerate being subjected to this person's foul and overpowering odour. I feel that it's common decency to at least smell neutral, if not pleasant, when you are working in close quarters with other humans.

I'm unsure if I should approach them directly, or if I should go to management and simply request that we not be booked together. If I thought that they (coworker) would be receptive to my input, I would have brought it up already in a respectful and professional way. However, they present as a sterotypicaly "granola" individual, and it seems to me that it is a lifestyle choice they are making to smell this way. There are inter-personal politics at play amongst the other RMTs as well to consider.

Any input/advice/solidarity would be appreciated

I just need to talk to someone, anyone who understands the frustration of working at a place whose tagline is "we'll care for you" when they legit only care about sales, guest numbers, conversion rates, etc. When I actually try to get the therapists their long term, regularly schedule patients on the schedule but can't due to schedule blocks, guest counts and constant overhauls at the workplace; it just seems like they're asking for the place to burn. I try to help the therapists with new clients by getting them scheduled and then the management f*cks them over by filling their schedule with crap restrictions.

I'm not here to be a sales person. I'm here for people and getting them on the path to healing -- whether as a caring front desk associate or a future massage therapist. BUT GOD THIS PLACE IS TORTURE!

I am a LMT and recently received a massage. I have heard, but never personally experienced a "lotion applicator" or "lotion applier" If you don't know what that means, it's what you call a massage therapist who does not have adequate pressure or techniques. I needed a massage to fix knot I could not work out. It was a terrible massage. There wasn't any pressure what so ever except when she decided to dig into my TMJ. I left in more pain than when I came in. I understand she has only been an MT for less than two years and is still learning but there are some things she should already know how to do. My four main tips for her, would be: Lower her table (we are similar heights and her table came above my hip) Stop bending her wrists and lifting her fingers Don't press into endangerment sites Don't offer more physically demanding services (deep tissue, etc etc...) if you want to focus on energy base work

I want her business to prosper. Would it be wrong to give her tips or would she think I am being a "Karen"?

She knows I have been a massage therapist for almost 20 years.

Currently I do do prenatal in my regular practice where I am employed. I am starting in my private practice soon and in debate if I want to offer prenatal there or not. My main concern would be liability. What are your thoughts?

I had a very strange massage today and would like some input. The person giving me my massage was very...twitchy. I started off facing down and there were several instances where they just placed their hand on my back with light to moderate pressure and I could feel movement. At first I thought maybe they were using their other hand to reach for something or dig around in their pouch for something...but it just kept happening. Being face down, I couldn't figure out what was going on. Pressure was all over the place, too. At sometimes it was borderline painful, and other times there was almost no pressure. When I turned over, they had their hand on my arm and I felt the weird movement again. I opened my eyes just a little and they were standing facing my feet and their head jerked several times. This continued to happen and everything was just so inconsistent. Some areas were skipped, sometimes one side was done and the other wasn't. It was just strange. My husband said I should reach out to the manager, but I'm also thinking maybe they have some kind of medical condition? Thanks for your insights.

Can anyone share their experiences working at a hotel/resort spa. Thinking about working at one and want to hear other peoples experiences.

Don't know where I can search a massage business selling? Online or offline is good to advise. Living in Toronto. Any suggestions are appreciated deeply.

As the title states, do you have your massage license number on your business cards? Are you for it or against it? Do you feel it adds more credibility to you, why or why not? TIA.

Objectively it's actually going really well - i've aced all the academic classes (anatomy, etc.), I'm getting great feedback from our student clinic clients and from the instructors that I've worked on (even from those who like a lot of pressure!), and surprisingly i actually feel good after giving 3 90-minute massages in a row. Tired, but not in pain or anything. i'm also really enjoying picking up techniques from other MTs online and experimenting / integrating them into my practice massages in the clinic. and the school had an "intro to Ashiatsu" mini-course and it was amazing and now i'm even more excited to learn Ashiatsu after I graduate.

But still have a lot of anxiety; i keep worrying that once i'm out working on real clients i won't be good enough, or that i won't be able to make enough money to live comfortably, or that i'll be in pain or end up with joint damage/arthritis after practicing for a few years. (i'm 5' and 95-ish lbs with hypermobile thumbs, and neurodivergent, so it took me years to actually sign up for massage school because i had convinced myself i wouldn't be able to cut it.)

reading about demanding/rude clients, injured MTs who have had to stop practicing, people who insist on insane pressure beyond what anyone can reasonably provide, creeps, greedy employers that don't care about their MTs well-being, and topics about how MTs are struggling to make ends meet and having to have second unrelated jobs has got me feeling some kind of way. especially because this is the only thing i've found so far that i'm good at AND that pays well (hopefully!) AND that doesn't make me feel completely drained.

if you're successful and happy and have been working as an MT for years and are still feeling good physically, would you mind sharing your experience? i would love to hear from some MTs who have success stories, to counteract all of the anxiety-producing things i've been reading about working as an MT.

Anyone gone through no fault claims with progressive? How much were you paid? I’m in NY State.

Is this just a me thing? Every. Single. Time.

I'm in my final semester and we're getting prepped for the exam in September. My friend mentioned yesterday that we don't get our results until January. I'm just reaching out to anyone that has taken the NYS exam and remembers how long it took to get their results? I know it's not immediate like the MBLEX but I didn't think it was 4 months of anxiety and checking the NYC license website. Any advice is appreciated, I haven't stopped thinking about it since hearing it and figured what better place to ask than Reddit.

I about to book a massage and am wondering what is the best type to book.

Any help would be greatly appreciated!

For context, I am quite active and run/weightlift 6x days a week. I also have have a sports hernia (basically muscle imbalance in my hips pelvic area) which causes alot of tightness on my hip (glute medius area), quads, and hamstrings.

I assume a sports massage would be a good option, but am open to other ideas as well! My main goal is to lessen my hip tightness

I went to college and got a diploma in A&P, holistic massage, then went on to do courses for Indian head, deep tissue and baby massage.

I’m in the midst of starting my own business. I did consider taking up employment as a MT first for the experience, but I just can’t with my life. I have 3 kids under 5, they all have seperate needs where it be hospital appointments, physiotherapy, sickness (seem to be constant 🙈). They are in childcare facility so I can start working but I need to stay close by so I can still look after them properly and I’d lose a job if I kept letting employers down.

Anyway, I am incredibly nervous. I just want to please people and I’m scared I won’t be worth any money at all. I’ve massaged family and friends and I’ve never had a bad complaint, but when it’s payer customers it’s different. I’m struggling to give myself that final push because of this

Looking for a CEU for tailoring treatment for clients with HSD/EDS. I do pain management mostly, and attract a lot of hypermobile clients (I’m hypermobile, myself). Would love education from an expert. Thanks!

Hey folks! I am soon to be RMT in Toronto, Ontario. While I am waiting for my exam results + registration, I want to take a course so I can offer an additional modality as I start out. I am choosing between cupping and FST.

FST is way more expensive (just over 2K) but I talked to a few therapists and they said that they got money back within the first month + they were raving about the course. They said the quality was great and they now use FST either in the treatment or as a separate modality altogether. A lot of people in Toronto are apparently asking for that service now.

Cupping is literally 5 times less expensive (around 500 dollars) and can be a great addition to my practice, I think. A lot of people are more familiar with it too!

Any advice from people who taken these courses/ use these modalities in their practice? Thanks!

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I am branching out with my own business after working in a spa for a couple years and am realizing I’ve never needed to communicate with the medical community and don’t know the proper way to do so. For example if I have a client with a suspected DVT or has any other condition that I want to make sure is OK to treat. Do you call their office and leave a message and ask to speak to Dr? Do you have client do the footwork and get a letter from the Dr? Would a doctor email you the patients clearance? Thank you for your help! (I’m in USA)

I scheduled a first time appointment for later today but recent circumstances may require that I stay later at work. From what I understand, ME still tries to charge you if your cancellation is within 24 hours, as per their policy. The card i added on file when booking on the website let's me toggle it on or off (debit card) and transactions can't get through if I don't want them to. It's a back-up card, not my primary payment method and I only use it for subscription services mostly.

Assuming I'm just gonna be charged anyway, can I just cancel the appointment and leave the card off? Will they continue to try and ding me?

I've just been diagnosed with sub clinical hypothyroidism but do have a fair few symptoms. I had a facial lymphatic drainage massage the other day and it felt amazing but woke up the next morning and vomited for about an hour. Is that my body getting rid of crap? It's 48 hours later and I'm still feeling a bit off, not to mention súper hungry. I've had a lot of massages in my life but never reacted so badly to one. Could that be a link to hypothyroidism?

Was it inappropriate that the message therapist took off my thong? I’ve been to multiple massage therapists before and have never had any of them take off my thong and always took it as a sign to massage my glutes under a towel.

I felt super uncomfortable that she did that and lowkey feel slightly traumatized from it? I dont think it was appropriate or necessary to have taken off my thong to massage my glutes. She also didn’t even asked if it was ok and just did it?

Btw this was the worst massage I have ever had. I wanted a deep tissue massage on my neck/back/shoulders. This lady had so much callous on her hands and felt like she has petting me.

I started seeing a new massage therapist and have had 3 visits with her. She has been a therapist for 25 years for background info.

The first appointment she was 15 minutes late - I was waiting in the clinic and she came into the clinic complaining about some problem at her house. It took her another few minutes to set up her room until I was able to have my massage. She continually burped loudly throughout the massage, but I felt she gave me a good massage so I booked another appointment.

The next appointment she was five minutes late and but the massage went well. She did continue to burp throughout the appointment and at the end of the appointment, while I had the sheet around me as I was waiting for her to leave so I could get dressed, she opened the treatment room door and stood there for a few minutes, talking to me while people were passing through the hallway and clearly see me wrapped in a sheet.

I decided to book one more to see if I was being paranoid or picky. This appointment she was 10 minutes late and then, when she came into the waiting room, she stood there, cleaning her phone and rummaging around the front desk and talking to the receptionist. When we got into the room , she started talking about her personal life telling me about various accidents she had throughout her life in great detail. She then proceeded to ask me if I was certain I had multiple sclerosis. For context, I do have multiple sclerosis and wrote it on my intake forms, as well as we discussed it during my first appointment. I said yes, I do. Se proceeded to tell me that maybe I don’t since I was diagnosed later in life (??) and she said it seems unusual. I was diagnosed when I was 39 via multiple MRI’s, a team of neurologists and have had increases in my lesions throughout the years. I wasn’t sure what to say as I was feeling insulted. The rest of the appointment she talked nonstop about her life. I had told her that I preferred to be quiet during my massage so I could relax but it fell on deaf ears. She also continued to burp loudly throughout the massage.

I could barely wait to get out of there and the last massage was not good. My neck is sore because she decided to do cranial sacral work on me and had my head tilted in an odd position.

I don’t think I will be going back to her, but I wanted peoples opinion. Is this just something to expect and I am just being too finicky?

So I had to take a personal leave due to my mental health. I got diagnosed with Complex PTSD and I'm manic-depressive, and I wasn't able to work for the past 6 months. My meds are semi balanced, and my savings are completely depleted so I'm heading back to work next week!

I've been an LMT for 7 years, so I've been around the block. But not practicing much in the past 6 months has given me soo much anxiety about coming back. And a lot of it is internal and a direct response of my low self-esteem (what if I'm completely awful, I forgot everything, everyone secretly hates me and my massages). I love being a massage therapist, but I'm finding it so hard to fall back in love with my practice. I'll be starting with a new therapist that takes my insurance in the next two weeks, so with that aside:

How do you go about practicing through anxiety?

I'm self employed, so I don't really have a support group of LMTs, and even fewer that have similar mental disabilities to mine.

I know there's a tiered pay structure which I don't like, but how bad is it really and is the pay worth it? How much upselling are you required to do? How's the work environment? Coworkers? Just curious about the job in general, thanks :)

I'm looking into massage therapy programs in Michigan. I've been price comparing all the local massage schools and I'm just so unsure if I am being scammed by some of these programs or not. Some report programs being 17,000 and some are like 7,000. What did you pay for your schooling/certification program? How did you decide what was best for you? Also, looking back on choosing a school what might you do differently?

Hello! I hope this is an OK place to ask, but I recently had the first massage I've had in a long time, about a decade, which was the second I've ever had. I asked for a full body massage which was mostly awesome but when she worked on my head, she really kinda pulled my hair. She took it in fist fulls and pulled it back and it kinda hurt a bit but not enough that I stopped it. I don't really know much about massage at all so I wanted to know if this was normal for head massaging, particularly with no warning. I thought to myself it could be some technique so I didn't mention it but I don't think I want to go back to her. The one other time I had one I don't remember my hair being pulled. Thanks all!

My partner and I are looking to relocate and Chicago is our number one choice right now. Just wondering what your experience is like doing massage therapy there.

For some more specific questions-

1. Is there a lot of job availability?
2. How is the pay?
3. How are taxes?
4. What type of modalities are popular?
5. Are there good places to rent from for a private practice?

Thanks so much! :-)

I've been exploring self massage of the face and head and realized I had enormous trigger points on the base of my skull and down my neck and shoulders. Hoping to possibly alleviate some pain, I've been applying pressure to the trigger points by laying on a fascia ball - hoping for some release while doing stretches and trying to improve my posture. Then the next day I realized my scalp is quite literally numb. It still is after 4 days.

It doesn’t hurt but it’s a weird feeling when untouched my head and it’s just numb. Could it be a nerve that got hurt? I really just want my body to be healthy and without tension points.. but now I feel like I am making things worse 😭

This subreddit pops up on my feed every now and again and I find the posts fascinating. I’m a massage therapist outside of the USA and from a comparative approach we are very different when it comes to boundaries. My clients don’t use drapes or anything like that and I regularly work areas many that are close to intimate. This is pretty normal in my country and no one thinks anything of it.

I have my first practical interview on Monday since finishing school in January, taking the MBlex in February and going thru that process which took longer then I thought. Any advice? I know have the skills and intent to give a great and meaningful massage but my confidence isn’t the best and I get flustered during interviews easily, how can I calm my nerves during the practical? Any advice?