GETTING THE MOST OUT OF YOUR MASSAGE

Communication is vital to get the most out of your massage. No two people are alike and what is enjoyed by one person may not be enjoyed by another. What one person considers "light" pressure may be considered "hard" by another. You may love the time I spend on your feet and want me to spend more time, or you may not get anything from it and prefer I spend that time on your hands. If you are uncomfortable having your face touched, ask me to skip the face massage part. There are things one therapist will do in a routine massage that other therapists don't routinely do; please let me know if there is anything you want me to do that I am not doing.

Drink plenty of fluids. When you hurt or stress muscle fibers it will tighten up to protect itself and recruit other muscle fibers to help it. This causes a reduction in blood flow and a buildup of waste in the muscle. When I perform a massage it will relax the muscle (at least to a certain extent; if you've spent months making it hurt, I'm probably not going to fix it in one session). When the muscle relaxes, the blood flow will increase and waste is released. If you are not well hydrated you may feel flu-like symptoms after the massage. Drink plenty of non-caffeinated fluids to flush the waste.

If you are well hydrated the massage will hurt less because if your body is short on its water supply, it will take water from the muscles for more vital organs and processes, leaving the muscle tough.

Pain Scale: For Therapeutic Massage, some clients have the philosophy that the more it hurts the more it is helping them (which is true up to a point), while others understand that because they have problems a massage will hurt, but prefer a lighter massage. When doing Therapeutic Massage I work on a pain scale of 1-10. Therapeutically, anywhere from 6-8 is acceptable because the muscle is not fighting us, and 9 or 10 are too much. I usually suggest that you shoot for a 6 unless your pain interferes in your life (you can't turn your head to check your blind spots when you drive or you can't concentrate at work.) I can feel the knots and the tension, but I can't feel your pain. Everyone is different and what I feel isn't always the same as what you feel. If I am going at a 6 and hit a spot that's an 8, tell me. That's an indication of a spot that needs work. I'll back off and work it at a tolerable level.

1.....You can barely feel me
5.....You can feel good pressure, but it doesn't hurt.
6.....You aren't sure it hurts. Kind of a "hurts so good" feeling
7.....Now you know it hurts, but you aren't clenching against it
8.....You may be clenching your teeth, fingers, or toes, but you are directing it away and not clenching the body part I am working on.
9.....You are flinching or wanting to move away from me.
10...You are telling me GET OFF! GET OFF! GET OFF!