Body Mechanics
Good Posture for Massage Therapists
Proper body mechanics will help extend the life of your massage career. Using good posture while giving a massage will help you avoid injury. Let's look at what you need to do to use your body correctly while giving a massage.
The improper use of your body during a massage can result in career ending injuries. Despite this many massage schools don't offer body mechanics and self-care as a part of their required curriculum. Therapists who don't use their bodies properly can only expect to have a career that lasts 3 to 5 years.
If you aren't paying attention to body alignment and weight distribution now chances are you're already injuring yourself while you're giving a massage. You may not feel it now, but it's happening. It'll just take you some time to notice. It's best to correct bad habits now than wait until you experience pain.
If you're already experiencing pain from massging, you'll need to take a break from work to recover. That may not seem doable to you, but the alternative is continuing to work and making the injury worse. Continuing along that path will make it so that, eventually, you won't be able to give massages at all and you may end up permanently damaged physically.
Let's start with your hands. If you're using your hands they should always be loose and relaxed. Whether your doing an open palm stroke or loose fist, your hands need to be supple. Don't do a lot of petrissage. It wears out your hands and you can accomplish the same thing with compression. Avoid using your hands whenever possible. Experiment with other tools like forearms and feet. You can try practicing forms of massage like lomi lomi or ashiatsu that make a lot of use of these other tools.
Keeping a straight back and neutral neck will also help you avoid injury. Many therapists bend over a lot during their massages and use their strenght to apply pressure to their clients. If you're using good body mechanics, your pressure doesn't come from your strenght. Instead, the pressure should come from your body weight. Instead of the force coming from your back, it should come from your feet up through your body. Your arms should be straight. If your bending at the elbows, your strenght is coming from the wrong place.
Changing old habits can be difficult. Try practicing your body mechanics in front of a mirror so you can check your posture. You can put a mirror in your treatment room so to check yourself while you work.
As you improve your body mechanics, you'll notice that you'll feel less fatigue while you work. Using good posture will help you have a long massage career ahead of you.
