How physically demanding is giving massage?

[Kirali]

I am recovering from a decade of ME and still have to pace myself very carefully to avoid serious relapse. I'm at a stage where I can just about hold the balance and deal with the payback with acceptance if I overdo it.

I am very keen to start a massage course in September with a view to a career as a comp therapist, layering my skills as I go. I know this won't be easy with my illness, but I have nearly finished a PGCE twice during my illness (relapsing both times, but have learnt from my mistakes) and gained a first class degree after diagnosis, so I think I just about have the bloody-mindedness not to let the illness hold me back....

I have watched lots of massage videos (my eyes are always shut when receiving them) and note that the therapist uses her whole body... How much physicality is involved in delivering massage? How many do you manage a day?

I will ensure I pace myself, but I just wondered how much physical pain I have to look forward to....

Many thanks for your help.
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[Miss-Cheif]

Hi,

If you are taught the right tehniques, good body mechanics and how to use your body weight behind the strokes then doing massage is not so physicaly demanding. However saying this I can comfortably do 5 back to back massages but doing any more does make me tired. This is more of an energy thing than physcal.

When I first started doing more thatn 3 massage would wipe me out but I built up to doing more. Because of your condition you might get tired more easily but only you know your limits.

I wonder if you could also train in other therapies like Bowen Technique ,Reiki or craniosacral work which are not so physical.

If you are thinking of doing this as our main income then start working out the numbers to see how many people you'd need to treat to support the wage that you need.

I'm sure others witll chime in with more advice.

 

[Cierra Blake]

Thanks Essence99, that gives me a good idea of how much I might physically manage when I start out. Until recently I have operated at about 1/3rd of standard productivity and have managed to up it to around 60% with careful management and healthful adjustments. I foresee my improving further if I go carefully. This suggests I might manage 1-2 massages every couple of days to begin with, and maybe plateauing at 15 a week after a year or so.

As you say, if I add in some gentler therapies involving less physical energies, I could perhaps begin to see not only my own health improvement (something i find improves the more I help others) but perhaps financial improvement too. I want to do this more to benefit the health and wellbeing of others and myself than for any financial reasons, but of course, doing something that makes me happy and being able to pay the bills will be a bonus!!

Thanks so much for your help.
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[betteryawn]

You probably need to consider that generally 20hrs of treatments per week is considered pretty much full time for the average long term self employed massage therapist. That 20hrs of treatments involves another 10-15hrs of cleaning, washing, paperwork, continuing education etc per week. Often if you work somewhere where they take care of most of that stuff, they want you doing 7-8hr of treatments per day and very often that type of therapist burns out very quickly, so aiming towards 15hr of treatments a week isn't far off aiming at full time.
People think massage therapists get paid a lot of money, but they don't consider that 1 hr of handson work is really 2hrs of the therapists time once you add all the rest of the stuff to that 1hr treatment. If you are a self employed therapist, getting people in and out in 1hr is not easy, they turn up a little bit late, or they suddenly tell you about their neck 15 seconds before you end the session, so you spread the appointments out a bit more than you need to.


As Essence99 mentioned, there are much less demanding techniques. I'd recommend get a massage qualification do you are 'qualified' and can get insurance etc and do something like CranioSacral training as soon as possible. You can do a lot of the CranioSacral work sitting down and it's remarkably effective.

 

[Dexter]

Thanks Cola

I certainly do intend to get the massage qualification from which to layer on top other less physically demanding treatment skills so I am not doing massage full time which I know will be too demanding.

I am not someone who thinks CT's are paid lots of money, I am quite aware of these false presumptions . Having been ill for a decade I have had the time to explore the silver lining and I have no interest in a rat race or unrewarding work, but I do want to do something and I want to give back. CT is idea for this as i will be helping others, something which motivates me, and yes, earning money (instead of subsisting on benefits) feeling like a part of society and all the self esteem rewards that brings. This is not about a career path for money or any misapprehensions about money. I will happily work part time and rest the rest of the time, not minted but with the bills being easier to pay and my soul feeling accomplished!!

Having been a teacher, I know that one hour of work is not really one hour of work. I used to spend over 9 hours planning/preparing 2-3 hours of teaching (due to foggy brain)! I was so exhausted of course I relapsed. I am certain that I will be able to reduce the amount of background work required in therapies compared to the extreme efforts I was making for teaching. I am under no misapprehension about the background requirements for delivering a service.

I would need to pace my treatments anyway for rest and recovery as everything i do needs to be paced gently. I have lots of adrenalin and superficial energy and mask but I have to rest afterwards to regenerate that enthusiasm and pain mask. i don't mind though, I like to act at being normal and pain free! Then hide while I muster up more energy for more acting.

Going on your figures, maybe I should look more at plateauing at 8-10 massages a week (2 clients a day for massage, maybe 1 more for less physical treatments) while doing CPD for gentler techniques like Reiki and Craniosacral. That said, I do think i need the higher energy treatments to keep my energies up, if that makes sense. Too much sitting down and gentle manouvres and I may lose the momentum.

I guess I will look at what further skills appeal for me to layer and add to my repertoire as I go along, and will work out exactly what I can manage as I go. Very likely i will be self employed and at first still working part time in the health food shop I am currently working in part time as work-related therapy for my own illness. it's going to be a long and slow journey, but one which will rehabilitate my own health, i'm certain! I'm really excited about it and can't wait to get started. Who knows which way it'll go?!?!

Thank you, your input on timings and background work is informative and helpful, i will certainly keep it in mind and be sure to not bite off more than I can chew both in training and in building up clients.

Thanks so much again
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[Troy]

Hi there,

I'm so glad you're coming back into the world in such a positive and giving way. Many of us have come to therapies (or in my case returned to therapies) after a period of ill health or other personal difficulties. Life's tough times help us appreciate the better times; we really come to value the joy of simply feeling well and can get great satisfaction and fulfilment from sharing this with others. You sound as if you have a very measured approach to your new path, and I hope it brings you the rewards you are hoping for and deserve.

I too struggle with chronic low energy at times, and I now combine massage (IHM and Thai Foot & Hand) with Reiki, as I can't cope with the full body work I relished 20 years ago. I personally find the treatments that focus on smaller areas of the body, such as those I've mentioned, are less tiring and are an ideal option for me, even though the treatment duration isn't much different. Reiki is just perfect, and actually helps to balance my own energy levels as I work. Something you may like to consider perhaps?

I must agree with cola's excellent insights by the way - just a few hours' of actual treatment time actually means considerably more 'work time' in reality. The one hour treatment slot is a lovely fantasy, it is usually one hour of actual therapy time and another 20 + minutes for consultation/updates, undressing, dressing etc. This too takes energy (physically and otherwise), and is always worth bearing in mind with our scheduling.

Pace yourself, and you'll get to where you want to be and beyond. A soul-less therapist rattling through 50 clients a week will achieve less than you can do with just a handful.

Keep doing what you're doing, and good luck!

CC
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[Invisible Pink ~ RN]

Thank you Chakra Chick,
I can't wait to pass on the 'good news' of recovery to clients and be able to share my new found energies with them.
I feel as though I have finally chosen a path which makes sense to my soul as well as my brain! It took a long-haul journey through the darkness, but those are the most important journeys
Thank you again So inspiring to hear from other therapists who have also battled illness.
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[Cat Litter Man]

Hi there, it takes quite a while before your body mechanics are at the stage where you really are efficient. You sound very conciencous, and as such will want to give your all in each treatment, this too takes it out of you. If your energy field is impared, you might find that you get 'got' quite a bit. This is where your energy is sapped by your client. I know some therapists that get that a lot. Also if you attract a lot of clients that demand deep work rather than standard swedish, the energy stakes are higher. I do mainly myofascial release. That isn't as strenuous as sports/deep tissue massage. But, you have to be qualified in massage first to do it.

Might be worth you looking at alternatives to begin with. For example, Bowen tecnique. That is not at all strenuous. I work in a practice of about 12 practitioners, i think i'm the only one who is not bowen qualified. They have great sucess with musculoskeletal issues.

I am thinking of doing quantum touch. This is a very short course. It's all about chanelling energy into your client from the universe. So, all you are doing is putting relaxed hands on people. But, because you elevate the frequency of vibrations of your energy field as high as possible, you don't get 'got'. Google it, there is a book on amazon by richard gordon, there is a list of certified instuctors on his site (you'lll have to Google, not allowed to post links here). The theory is that the body knows how to heal itself, all it needs is the energy to do so, and the intent from the practitioner. The great thing about this type of work, by healing others, you by default heal yourself. There is also Reiki which is another healing therapy.

I'm finding more and more that physical pain is the physical manifestation of mental pain (identification with the pain body as Tolle puts it). I fancy doing Neuro Liguistic Programming, this can be used to help change people's perceptions and behaviours and promote confidence. There is also Emotional Freedom Technique. Don't know much about that, again, Google is your friend.

Hope that's given you some food for thought. I think it's great that people on here have been encouraging about you pursuing your goal of being a massage therapist, but you may be better considering this as a longer term goal.

What ever you decide, i hope it goes well for you.

Kevin.

p.s. most of us therapists have been 'broken' to some extent, this is how this work finds us.

 

[Waikia]

I didn't consider how physically demanding massage was before I started training in it and I wish I had. The course I did didn't cover body mechanics in much detail which was very unfortunate for me.

I started suffering with aches and pains in particular my back even before I finished my training! It then became a chronic problem which i had for the first 5 years of my massage business. I was seeing 5-20 clients per week (5 per week at the beginning up to 20 per week by year 4). The maximum amount of massages/treatments in general is 4. During those 5 years, I did offer other treatments to clients but unfortunately massage is the most popular so I only did a handful of the other less strenuous treatments a month.

It all got too much for my back despite me taking numerous advanced course to help improve body mechanics and new techniques - it was all too little too late so it is very important you choose your course carefully to ensure they teach you what you need to know but like Kevin says it does take a while for your body mechanics to be at a stage for it to be effective.

I decided last year to go back down to 5 clients per week and retrain in hypnotherapy where there would be no strain on my body! Now qualified in hypnotherapy and I'm down to 5 massage clients per month and I am concentrating on the hypnotherapy more so - a much better balance and my back is back to normal again!

Given the fact you already know that you have an illness which can be debilitating at times and make you tired I would really strongly consider other complementary therapies which are not as strenuous as massage.