Massage

How many of you are debating leaving massage?

Posted: 24 Apr 2020 03:58 PM PDT

I've talked with so many of my coworkers and I feel like this has been a very illuminating time for us. So many of us in this profession have had time to rest and relax which has caused a lot of questions to arise about our future in this career. While I love working with my clients, I feel that my body and wallet deserve better. I make around 35k-40k for doing massage 5 days a week. I juggle a small practice while working at two different wellness studios. I would push through the pain of my shoulders and back to help my clients after doing 5 treatments in a row. I don't want to go back to that and I'm unsure about how our career will look. I'm wondering how many of you feel the same and what you want to do in the future. With the a lot of new suggested precautions and ppe it sounds like we will have a reduced number of clients and more work. Sorry for being a bit of negative person about this but I'm nervous for my future and want more stability and financial rewards. Arg!

submitted by /u/drunkenbotantist
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Is anyone thinking abou it changing careers after this?

Posted: 24 Apr 2020 03:31 PM PDT

I just passed my first year of working as an LMT and I really do love it. It's hard work, it can hurt, but its rewarding, keeps me active, and pays decently well. However, after this whole situation my anxiety spikes whenever I think about going back to work. I'm on the east side of Washington, and our numbers are much lower than the west side, but frankly? I'm scared. I'm scared of getting sick at the job I love, I'm scared of inadvertently getting the clients that I love sick. On the flip side, I'm scared of not going back to work and losing out on building my career and learning skills and making connections.
So, is anyone considering changing careers? If so, to what? If not, are you just going to wait out the storm?

submitted by /u/ThosePeaches
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So what's your plan going forward?

Posted: 24 Apr 2020 06:10 AM PDT

I'm starting to put together a tentative game plan for moving forward...as it stands, I'm hoping to reopen on June 1, barring another spike in cases in my state.
My business partner and I are starting the process of figuring out the many, many things we need to do differently, and the new processes going forward. So far, we've come up with:

ALL linen changed between appointments, including blankets. Probably switching to lightweight throws that are less bulky to wash.
Waterproof cover between warmer pad and sheets, to be cleaned in between every client.
Paring down decor (we both tend to be sentimental and collect shiny pretty things) to a minimum, to enable deep cleaning between clients. Getting rid of pillows and rugs.
One full hour between appointments, deep clean of treatment room and restroom between clients.
PPE for therapists-- this is a complex issue. Are fabric masks sufficient for us to wear, with a new mask for each client? Is it necessary to fully change clothes between each appointment, or would a clean smock over clothing be sufficient? What about gloves, are they actually helpful?
PPE for clients -- disposable masks? How will that work, exactly? How will people breathe in the face cradle with a mask?
People can't sit around in the waiting room. They need to wait in their car, and to enforce this the doors will be locked until 5 minutes before session time.

That's just the first set of items from a 20 minute brainstorming session. What else are y'all thinking over in terms of how it's going to go in this brave new world?

submitted by /u/VioletBeauregard
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Front Hip Flexor Area Discomfort -- Can Professional Massage Help?

Posted: 24 Apr 2020 10:07 PM PDT

First, I am not a physical therapist, so the area of pain I'm referring to as "hip flexor" may be mischaracterizing the full scope of whats actually going on, though I'm not sure. My main issue is first a general discomfort, or tense-like soreness, in the area between the groin and the tfl muscle, and second a sharp pain in the same area when I run, such that I am now always forced to quite early. Suffice it to say this is extremely frustrating, especially since I am an extremely active person.
Im wondering whether: (1) This is a studied issue in massage therapy/ if massage therapists have dealt with clients with similar issues; and (2) If so, when I hire a massage therapist, which technique should I request (e.g. deep tissue/ trigger point/ etc.). Also how does the fact that this is a shall we say sensitive area affect the efficacy of treatment.
I would be thankful for any professional and nonprofessional advice and input, suggestions, personal experience, anecdotal evidence, you get the idea.

submitted by /u/JAMMAN55
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Chiro asking me to return to work

Posted: 24 Apr 2020 06:24 AM PDT

hey all. i work at a chiropractors office that is still operating with LMTs (medical massage = essential). i have been not working there since about march 12th and i didn't feel comfortable going in with the virus (and still don't); i think i was one of the first LMTs to do this at my workplace but since then i know others have as well. i think they've been operating with about half the LMTs and doing fine since demand is lower, but now they're asking us to come back and i don't know WTF to do.
the whole time they've been pretty understanding. telling us - no judgment, you have a job when this is all over, etc. but now they said they're officially calling us back to work, even just part time.
i applied for unemployment two weeks ago and haven't heard anything but will hopefully get checks soon ish. my employer has been allowing us to get unemployment and claiming a temporary lay off. but now i'm afraid they won't allow that anymore and that i'll lose any chance of getting unemployment.
does anyone have any advice on what i can do here? or what you've done in similar situations? i really don't want to give massage right now. i feel like i'll be freaking out the whole time. i'm not what people consider high risk but this virus is too unpredictable to go back out there just yet.

submitted by /u/grapetomatoes
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Additional Federal Funding for small businesses AMTA

Posted: 24 Apr 2020 03:30 PM PDT

https://amta-nfetwozero.informz.net/informzdataservice/onlineversion/ind/bWFpbGluZ2luc3RhbmNlaWQ9NzkwMzYxMyZzdWJzY3JpYmVyaWQ9OTM2NzEwNTYw

submitted by /u/ZimKat
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"Back to work" megathread request

Posted: 24 Apr 2020 02:35 PM PDT

Any chance we could get a megathread, or at least once central hub, for the "What are your plans now?" and "I'm being asked to return to work, what do I do?" posts? I think they're important conversations, but we're getting at least one a day of each and I think there's a risk of important information getting lost if each one gets a percentage of the comments.

submitted by /u/Kallistrate
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Releasing Knots in Arches of Feet

Posted: 24 Apr 2020 08:26 AM PDT

Hello,
I have had knots in the arches of my feet, very close to the heel, for at least 10 years. They do not bother me much at all, but I have issues with the balls of my feet and toes. I think loosening my arches could help my pain.
What are some techniques for releasing them? I roll my feet with a lacrosse ball, but that isn't enough.

submitted by /u/iowaboy22
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Are there any guided massage videos like there are guided meditation videos?

Posted: 24 Apr 2020 12:07 PM PDT

Been using the quarantine to give some massages and I've not been satisfied with the videos I've found.
First they assume a couple of things, like owning a massage table. I'm working with yoga mats on the ground and covered with a blanket while my wife rests her head on a small travel pillow band. My wife is a little leery of using stimulus money on a portable massage table and I don't blame her.
Second, they will skip over things. "Okay, and here is where you would do the other side!" I'm just squatting there with my hands full of lotion thinking, "hold on, I'm following you! don't jump ahead!".
I'm looking for a guided massage at any length that has the person on the ground and takes me step by step without skipping over things. I don't need long pauses to have it explained. I can see what the person is dong in the video and my wife will tell me what she doesn't or does like.
I would really appreciate a link to a video like that, if its your youtube channel I will "like, subscribe, comment, and favorite". I'm pretty sure that my circumstances are shared by a ton of people right now who would love something similar as well.
Here's hoping!

submitted by /u/GilgameshWulfenbach
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Should I wait to renew my insurance?

Posted: 24 Apr 2020 05:51 AM PDT

My AMTA insurance is up and I'm not sure if I should start paying for another year or wait until I know I'll be able to work again.
Anyone else going through this?

submitted by /u/MusicGoose
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