Continuing Ed Topics: Longevity for LMTs

I have to have a bunch of continuing education hours for massage therapy finished by the end of February, so I figured I’d pick a topic or two to dissect in the Swellness blog.

This week’s topic is licensed massage therapists themselves — “principles of longevity”. In other words, how to make your career last longer than the typical 5 years or less for therapists. (Now, having said that, I do know plenty of people who have practiced much longer, including myself!)

Let’s talk alarming statistics, and please note — these stats are at least 10 years old! 77% of massage therapists experience musculoskeletal issues due to the nature of their work. About 40% get diagnosed with an official issue, and 20% have to take time off because of said injury. I think this explains why therapists tend to turn to other types of work after the 5-year mark.

I have certainly injured myself due to the nature of the work. I’ve tweaked my back, my shoulders, my hips, my arm, and my thumb. And that’s just off of the top of my head! I’ve never turned down a massage because of the injuries, but I’ve also sighed some relief while injured when realizing some of my appointments are Reiki and not massage! 🤪

Tips for Massage Therapists to Lengthen Their Careers

1. Use less oil. Think about it: if you use too much oil, there’s easier glide on the body you’re working on. Less oil means more resistance, which means it’s easier to use your bodyweight as a tool in your practice. Otherwise you’re flopping around, finding zero stability.
2. Create a friction point while doing cross-fiber techniques. Drape an arm across another arm to create the fulcrum! Think smarter, not harder!
3. Saw the jaw with the palms of your hands rather than jabbing it with your thumbs. Aye! This is definitely something I plan on doing. I do jaw work on a client I see monthly. I bet the sawing method feels good, too. Anyone want to try it on me???
4. Rock your client’s hips into the fist of a hand you are using. Great idea!
5. Use a forearm to press a foot bottom into the fist of your other hand. I just tried this last night on my kid. He’s obsessed with foot massages.
6. “Save your wrist, use a fist!” Yes, yes, I think LMTs already know this one.
7. Use your patellar tendon as a massage tool, or knees in general to glide along quads, hamstrings, lower backs and hips. Apparently this isn’t as hard as it sounds, but I have yet to try it.
8. TOOLS. Get them. Use them. I definitely need a thumb saver tool, I honestly don’t know why I haven’t tried one yet.

Happy massaging!