Thank God for Elbows

“Do your hands get sore at the end of the day”?

A common question I hear from clients. Massage Therapy is a fascinating profession to many people. How can one person manage to work with their hands all day long, stand, bend, lunge, and squat, while (gasp) touching people for a living? As mentioned in an earlier post, one of my instructors referred to Massage Therapy as “educated manual labour.” Seven years into the profession, I can see how accurate his reference was. However, I am not close to the exertion that is involved in construction or roofing, Massage Therapy, as a profession, will still take a dramatic toll on your body.

Yes, my hands could be sore at the end of the day, along with my lower back and shoulders. It depends on the type of massages I am doing and the density of tissues I am working on. The benefit to being a trained Massage Therapist is that we have learned numerous techniques that save our hands. Many of us will opt to use forearms and elbows, which arguably work better than our hands for pressure, and reducing tension in the muscles. The best part is that many of my clients can never tell the difference when I use my forearms, elbows, or hands. Yes, I’m that good J

Remember how the burnout rate of a Massage Therapist is 2-5 years? Relying solely on your hands is a sure way you will fall into this statistic. Massage Therapists do have a high rate of early onset arthritis, carpal tunnel, and nerve impingement syndromes. Many Massage Therapists may have had a scare that forces them to take a step back and get back to the basics of our techniques. Some problems however will not go away until you leave the profession. One Massage Therapist I know is now a radiologist after tingling and numbness in her hands would not go away. Some Massage Therapists may not have a plan B, and wearing a pain patch to work becomes their only option. Yes, I know one Massage Therapist doing this. An early lesson in Massage school was that we cannot sacrifice our own body in order to help others. So why don’t we listen?