Who Massages the Massage Therapist?

As you may already realize, Massage Therapy is a physically demanding profession. One of my instructors referred to Massage Therapy as “educated manual labour” and surprisingly, I was still excited about my future career!

So, do Massage Therapists get massages? Absolutely! We need to be a product of the product. I love, love, love getting a massage! How often? Not often enough, but I do try to aim for anywhere between three weeks and three months :) 

Who massages the Massage Therapist? For me, this all depends on timing. Sometimes I will see my favourite classmates that still live in Ottawa, Aline Kelly http://www.aline-rmt.com/ and Michelle Rodriguez www.physiotherapyonkent.com. Sometimes I exchange with a colleague at Align Massage Therapy www.alignyourbody.com. If I receive a 60 minute Massage Therapy Treatment, at some point I will owe that Therapist a 60 minute Massage Therapy Treatment. Exchange works in theory, but as a practitioner it is not practical or profitable for us. It is difficult to find the time in both of your schedules. It is also taking time away from potential clients that could book a paid Massage with the Therapist. Not many therapists would want to come in or stay late either. Most of the time, I book a Massage on my days off and pay for it as this just works out for everyone involved.

I also see a Chiropractor probably more regularly than I see a Massage Therapist. My Chiropractor, Dr. Melanie Stewart http://www.kentchiromed.com/, is phenomenal and I always feel great after an adjustment. One cannot expect to be on their feet everyday lunging, squatting, and bending over without needing their own treatment once and awhile.

We were taught early on to never sacrifice the health of our own bodies to benefit the client. This is also a great idea in theory, but somehow it doesn’t always work that way even though we are taught proper body mechanics from day one in Massage School. There are also fantastic courses for Continuing Education to ensure a Massage Therapist is working effectively and safely. At the end of the day, we are working a lot harder than a lot of people on the job, and we appreciate our massages as much as our client would appreciate theirs.

In fact, I would argue that I appreciate it a lot more. It is a great reminder on how beneficial massages are, and how our roles as Massage Therapists play a large part in the health of our client. I am so excited to get a massage that I count down the days and I realize this is how my client must feel when they come to see me. It helps when I am having an off day to remember that my client has been looking forward to this massage since they booked their appointment. Whenever I get a massage I am reminded of how good they feel and my body is conditioned after all of these years to literally melt into the massage table.

Getting a massage is also an excellent opportunity to brush up on your technique and experience new “moves” that you can use on your client. It is passive learning at its finest. I will be the first to admit, that if I love a technique that a Massage Therapist has done on me, I will be trying it on my client the next day.