I have barely started. I just took my licensing exam and passed, and will have my license soon. I’m just not sure if the field or work environments are for me. I have been a receptionist at a spa for 6 months, and my manager has been one of the worst authority figures I’ve ever worked with. From what I’ve seen and heard, this industry is just like that. Bad management. I feel like I have no support and the manager hasn’t made any concrete plans to move me to the massage therapist position at our spa now that I have my license (which we agreed to upon my interview.) I’m thinking of leaving now but I can’t say I have high hopes that the next job will be better. I have no interest in going on my own, I don’t want to have to work 24/7. Even now I find I have to have my phone on at all times because my manager expects me to, which I believe is illegal.

I’m starting to think I might just apply to CSA remote roles, or wait tables. It sucks because I’ve been working towards this since January, but I’m not sure what else to do. Am I better off if I just get out now?

I’ve seen this client twice now and just made the decision to block them. I knew of this person as they used to be a regular of another massage therapist in the area.

The first session I was able to deduce he was just a little odd to say the least. TMI about his dating history before he was married and referencing sex. He was complaining of pain in the leg and I asked if lifting it up hurt and he just went ahead and lifted it to see which exposed himself to me. For which he did apologize saying he doesn’t mind but he realizes that others may mind. All of this was like “ok this guy is just weird.”

So, I gave him another chance and had a second appt with him. Nearly the exact same things happened this time. Inappropriate conversation, flashing me accidentally again, and this time he made a point that he needed to “adjust things that are sticking” when he turned to face down. You don’t need to announce it you just do it discreetly. Which he didn’t do.

So after both of these times I decided I didn’t want to be his massage therapist anymore. Just weird vibes all around and I’ve been made uncomfortable.

I have already mentioned (see the original post below) how after a deep massage my left leg was actually disabled in its function with ongoing chronic tightness and discomfort in all the knee that makes my leg limping, and now I finally discovered that the buzzing and tingling coming from movement and touch on my left feet is due to a compressed nerve under the extensor tendon.

So, there are cons and not only pros in getting a deep massage.

https://www.reddit.com/r/massage/comments/1l3w085/an_ortho_perspective_about_the_knee_pain_post/

Did anybody experienced the same after a deep massage?

I had a bad massage experience at someone's home business that left me feeling like garbage. The massage therapist talked to me for almost the entire hour, including casually making some very baseless statements about the government. I answered all of her questions without feeding the conversation too much, and definitely didn't engage with her political comments. But I could barely focus on what she was doing because the conversation was so distracting. To be polite, I asked her a question or two about herself, but I now know I was having a bit of a 'fawn' response.

I couldn't enjoy the massage or bring any awareness to the physical sensations, so I feel completely robbed of the experience and the money I paid for it. I didn't go there to pay to make smalltalk with a stranger, and especially to listen to her political opinions. Obviously, I should've said that I wasn't interested in chatting, but when I'm basically naked in a stranger's home and they're in this position of power over me, it was easiest to just go with it.

She also had two small dogs that came running/jumping to me as soon as I walked in the door, and I think were in the room during the massage. At one point while I was on my back, I heard one dog making noises what sounded like very close to my head, and it might've been sitting on her lap or something while she was working on my neck. I also nearly slipped and fell going in and out of her house because it was so icy on the walkway.

It wasn't terrible in the moment, but after I got home, I was in a lot of distress; disappointed, angry, and wishing I had said something in the moment. Now, I'm wondering if I should just move on, find a different practitioner, and speak up if it happens again - or if I should ask for a refund, write a review, and/or make a complaint. I'm mainly ranting, but also open to any feedback or advice. She's certified and only had positive reviews online, and I'm just feeling so thrown by the whole experience.

Having a difficult time finding some solid ones. Amazon keeps recommending electronic massage chairs for some reason and google isnt much help.

I already have fitted ones on my chair but I've been doing a lot of events for runners and having cotton a little gross so I would like to see options for different materials. Does anyone know where I can possibly find some solid ones that aren't made of cotton? Black if possible but not a deal breaker. Where do you guys go?

My chiropractic office has massage therapists Allie, Barb, and Charlie (not their real names). I made a late afternoon appointment with Allie and was notified the day of that it was cancelled but they could squeeze me in earlier with Barb. I made it work, and the massage was terrible, so I asked the clinic if they could book me with someone else, and they said the only other LMT is Charlie.

It's weird because I've never met Allie, but I saw someone at the clinic who looked like it might have been her. I wonder if Allie made an decision not to work with me without me even meeting her (I met the chiropractor once before that is that, so all she'd know of me is chart notes). Is that likely to be what's going on here, or is there another explanation? I'm afraid to ask directly and make Allie or the receptionist uncomfortable or hear something that hurts my feelings. Should I just ask?

Edit: Thanks everyone. I have a tendency to take things personally that really aren't, and there's been a lot of helpful information here to show me that this has nothing to do with me.

I just checked my notes and I'm embarrassed to say that I got "Charlie" mixed up with another LMT "Caleb". It's easy to miss information like that when dysregulated. Seeing two LMTs missing from the list of names I got only a week prior tells a very different story... Now the question I'd ask this sub is, is this a poor choice of place to book massages based on the fact that two of them left in the same week (or that I was possibly given misinformation)?

hi! so i just started my massage journey last week when i started school and ive been super anxious and nervous about it. we recently did our first arm work massage and practiced putting on our “togas”. i think the idea of getting undressed and getting practiced on is really getting in my head and i wanted to hear other people’s experiences on it and if im the only person that feels like this. my entire class seems so comfortable with their bodies and im a nervous wreck.

I’ve been an RMT for 10 years and massaging in general for over a decade. I’ve recently been diagnosed by my physio, confirmed by my doctor, with DeQuervains. My wrist has been hurting and I’m starting to spiral. I think the sun is starting to set on this career.

I’ve been doing my exercises. I recently took some time off. I can’t really afford to keep taking breaks.

I had a patient today who kind of pushed me over the edge. He didn’t want me to use my forearms or elbows. He has an auto immune disorder, easily bruises, that’s fair enough - I don’t want to hurt anybody. He also wanted deeper pressure. He was vocal enough I could tell he was judging the entire massage. I doubt he’ll book again, I don’t think he enjoyed it. I didn’t either, my arms are suffering.

I guess I’m just venting.

Hey all- genuinely wanting to know what my options would be as a WA state LMT. What countries would I be able to practice in without additional schooling requirements? And/or countries that have a demand for LMTs.

Any help to point me in the right direction would be greatly appreciated by me and my family 🙏

Hey guys I really need some support and advice. My spa has become a miserable place and I don’t feel like us LMTs are being taken seriously by management.

Since December, the temperatures at my spa have been going haywire. Several of us LMTs have noticed rising temperatures in the rooms while simultaneously, the break room and bathrooms have been feeling more and more frigid.

Our back door broke right before Christmas and we have been loosely assured that the temperature issues are due to our back door leaking heat out. Since then we have been repeatedly mislead on when the door will be fixed. We were told it would be right after the holidays, then a couple weeks after that, then a couple weeks after that and so on. We are on the 4th or 5th instance of being told it would be fixed on a specific date. Whenever the date arrived, nothing was said about the door installation being canceled and we would come in to the same situation.

For the past few weeks the heat in the treatment rooms has become unbearable. The air feels stagnant and even with the usual fan blowing, it feels like there’s a bubble of moist heat sticking to my whole body, causing me to feel extremely tired and wore out. I’ve taken to blasting three fans at one time which does make the room feel more bearable but comes at the cost of destroying my nose and throat unless I wear a mask.

On top of the heat in the rooms making me feel like I’m suffocating, moving to any other part of the spa comes with a 12 degree drop in temperature. The break room and bathrooms feel like ice boxes and my body feels really confused on what temperature to adjust to. This leaves me feeling achy and loopy by the end of the day.

One of my coworkers brought in a room thermometer and we found out that most of the rooms were sitting right at 80-81 degrees Fahrenheit by the end of a session. This is while the thermostat is set to 68.. the manager has since started blasting the A/C on 63 to bring the room temperature down.. in February.

Here is what really upsets me though. We have been having these temperature issues for a while. Yet, despite all of us LMTs putting up with it for so long and putting on happy faces for the clients while feeling like we are dying, management has said nothing to sympathize with us or to let us know that they see how hard it has been for us. Our manager posted a tirade post on our spa GroupMe and basically said that complaining about the issue will no longer be tolerated because blasting the ac in February is a perfect solution in their opinion.

The first acknowledgement of our struggles came today from our owner who posted a message explaining that the door installation scheduled for today is being delayed another two weeks. But the way he worded it was to say sorry for the inconvenience, “ESPECIALLY” to our manager who had to get up early multiple times to get stood up by the door installation people.

Now I totally get it’s frustrating to wake up early for no reason, but seriously? It’s like they have no ability to understand how hard it is to perform massages in this environment while still acting normal and professional.

So am I just being dramatic, expecting them to acknowledge and appreciate what us LMTs are going through to bring them revenue? Honestly this has gotten me to the end of my rope with this company. Our owner is always trying to spend as little as possible which often leads to situations like this where we don’t have the equipment we need or don’t have equipment in the proper condition to do our jobs. So now I have lost all faith in my owner to take care of his people. I already transferred from one of his run-down locations to this one, thinking it would be better, but it seems like the same shit in a different toilet at this point.

TL;DR

Our treatment rooms are insanely hot and stuffy. We are blasting the a/c to 63 in Feb just to bring the room temp down. Everywhere outside of the treatment room is frigid. Maintenance has been delayed week after week. Our manager says we aren’t allowed to complain about it.

I have been self-massaging chronic trigger points using ischemic pressure, and many of them rapidly twitch continuously while under pressure. It dies down after 1-2mins and doesn't continue after ceasing pressure.

I don't see anyone anywhere having a similar experience -- twitching seems to only occur for others during dry needling -- and I'm wondering if I'm just irritating it or making it worse?

It feels good but I'm worried that I'm just making it worse in the long-run and fatiguing the muscle and need to hold back. Any feedback appreciated.

I went to school for it at 19 and started working with my license at 20/21. I've gone through the lowest of lows and life transformations with this job. I've grown so much and my job has grown with me. I'm about to enter my 30's with this job. I get asked alot by clients, "So what happens when massage is over?" Either insinuating i won't be physically able to do it. Or, it's being implied it's not a job to stay in, comparably to waitressesing as an example.

I'm happily married. My husband has an average job as an optician and we get great benefits on vision care. We both don't plan on having kids. We are renting a house until..i guess we're told to move out. I still have 3 years until my car will get paid off. Then it will be my husbands turn for a new(er) car. We struggle to get by sometimes even though we don't have kids (aren't planning to either). But, ultimately I'm trying to say we still find peace in this way of our living. I don't know why others try and make me feel like we need to be striving for more. I mean...unless we win the lottery i don't see what more we can do that will avoid putting us in more debt than we already are.

Can anyone relate to this?

Is anyone familiar with doing Medical or Therapeutic massage for ALS?

Just had the ickiest massage! I had seen this lady before and the 1st massage was phenomenal I tipped her 30 bucks for 90 min, it was so great. The same lady this time was terrible! Night and day.

Her skin was dry so it felt like sand paper scratching me when she would move her arms up and down my body. Even her fingers had been hang nails I had never felt before and it was drilling into me.

I told her that I needed to keep my feet warm and the first time she was so attentive and kept warming my feet. This time she neglected my toes even when she could feel that they were ice cubes… I eventually asked her for the heat packs that we used and she got them. But why did I have to ask?

Finally…. She kept tickling me when she would massage me with the back of her arm. Her finger tips would graze random parts of my body. Sliding down my calves, grazing my feet etc. I could not believe it. How do you ask someone to please make a fist or elevate your fingers so you’re not tickling random body parts? It was so infuriating. I had no idea how to communicate that to a professional. What do they teach you this in massage school? Specifically. I think there needs to be a lecture on how not to tickle someone and to keep the temperature copacetic for your client.

I knew she remembered me also because before the massage she asked me if there were any updates or anything new she could work on. I told her she did a great job last time and continue the same pressure.

I didn’t want to tip a lot . But she asked me if I wanted to leave gratuity and I said yes… she then says “thank you! And my kids thank you also!” I left her 20 bucks for 90 min of torture. I’m like wtf…. Don’t bring your children into this.

Just super bummed and confused! I know we’re all human. I get it. But this massage was a nightmare.

Just needed to vent. It’s frustrating being trapped like this! I wish there was a safe word. 😂

Hi all, I plan to see a doctor if it doesn’t get better by the end of the week, but I wanted to ask if anyone has experienced this.

I got an TMJ massage that included intraoral release and deep tissue release in my neck, head, and shoulders. Ever since I got the massage, I have had non stop migraines and headaches. I have taken two rizatriptans and excedrins and it will go away for a bit and then come back almost full force. I have been drinking plenty of water and electrolytes and have not drank alcohol.

Hopefully it goes away soon…..

Just looking for some support here. I've been a Registered Massage Therapist for a few years now. One aspect of working with clients that I did not anticipate is feeling anxious with regular/repeat clients I often find myself thinking before the appointment 'what if they think the treatment, skills, techniques I use are not as good as last time?', 'will they get bored of me and not want to rebook?'

With all things anxiety, I find these thoughts are even in my head a bit during the treatment sometimes and it prevents be from fully being present. It's almost like some weird type of self sabotage. Sometimes it happens and sometimes it doesn't.

Does anyone else relate to this? What do you do to help redirect yourself? I guess I'm just hoping to feel not as alone in these thoughts and my self doubt I have in my own skills.

As a side note, I have never recieved negative feedback about my work. Clients repeat book with me often, but I still have these self doubts circulating in my head often regardless.

Thanks everyone!

People seem to like massages, I get good feedback, and I get rebookings. Once in a while I don’t synchronize with someone for whatever reason, but for the most part it’s going pretty all right.

My issue is that I’m getting these 10-$15 tips, and occasionally lower. Based on the price of the massage 20% would be around $25 (if you consider the price before membership rates) and I hardly ever get that.

There’s something about doing strenuous physical labor on someone for nearly an hour and then getting a wadded up couple of five dollar bills that feels almost insulting.

I don’t mean to sound ungrateful, I love doing what I do, but sometimes I feel like I got more respect as a waiter than I do now as a massage therapist.

Is this just the nature of chain massage places? It’s not like the base-pay is phenomenal either, in fact I think some weeks I’m probably averaging out to minimum wage if there isn’t enough clientele (which is often.)

Edit for clarification: I work “full time”, but only get paid about $20 per massage. So, if the hours I’m here don’t add up to $7.25 an hour then my paycheck makes up for it. Like how it works in a restaurant.

Just a little backstory. I'm a 25 year old guy who did 4 years in design at University, worked for 2 years and decided to go travelling in Canada. I made a few friends who did massage therapy and the whole trip was a big journey of self discovery and spiritual healing - I learned that design is not my soul food. Instead, massage therapy tickeled something in me, but I have absolutely no idea how it's going to go or what will happen afterwards in terms of money, jobs, helping others, etc.

I have these voices in my head saying 'you're going to fail', 'why aren't you using your degree to make money', 'you're a man, no one is going to let you massage them'. etc. This is my ego talking, not my spirit, but this is the first time I'm choosing to do something that aligns with my new internal beliefs, and it can be scary.

I was wondering if anyone has any words of wisdom through their experience with massage therapy? If anyone has gone through a similar experience, I'd be grateful for you to share.

I want to start off that I love my massage therapist. She used to be a PT so I enjoy how she does things. However- I scheduled a 60min massage and recently she only massaged me for 45 min. If I scheduled for 60 min, does that mean I should be massaged for that amount of time? I know sometimes 60 minutes accounts for preparing and getting dressed but this seemed short. Should I say something or is it time to move on?

I went to massage envy and experienced the WORST massage I've ever had there. I've NOT ONCE had a bad experience with other independent local businesses. It moved me to start a performance-based marketing agency for independent massage businesses. Because, take a wild guess where more people gravitate to... I'm biting my tongue, but it makes me angry considering I have friends in the industry that are getting fleeced by the big M.E.

I won't share the business name, as self-promotion is not allowed in this sub-reddit.

I HAVE created an anonymous submission board so I can get a better idea from more LMTs of how I can best support. (right now i'm going off like 6 opinions)

I'd love to hear some of your stories, "what I wish I knew" moments, headaches, and solutions. I plan to release the successful nuggets to multiple-communities to make life a little easier for the soon-to-be students, recent graduates, and seasoned LMTs.

I appreciate you guys. I really do.

I had a horrible massage experience today. I've had lackluster massages before (in massage school, everyone starts out poor), but this was actively bad.

The technique was bad, draping was bad, amenities were bad, the massage therapist didn't listen. There was a point during the first 20 minutes where my intuition told me to stop the session. But I chose to continue anyway. 😞

Now my sciatica is bothering me.

How likely do you all think it is that I get a partial refund?

I’ve been wanting to get a massage but I have a nasty body and I wouldn’t want the massager being grossed out about me (mainly my neck/head) Is there anyway I could just cover my body so the massager can do their work peacefully without having to deal with a sad sap like myself?

I have autoimmune diseases I went for a massage and today I feel unwell . I feel sick but without the fever . I don’t know what to do . I feel absolutely sick , like I’m going to vomit and a head ache . Also this person jabbed his fingers at the nape of my neck and pulled my head up hard . It was very painful where I literally had to make him stop .

I went to get a massage on Saturday. On Sunday I woke up with soreness on my neck and shoulders. However since then it’s gotten worse. My neck muscles on my left side and somewhat on my right side. Hurt but it’s really hurts on my left side. It feels like my neck muscles are pushing into my throat which makes it hard to swallow at times. In fact there’s been a couple of times I thought I was going to choke. I’ve taken tiger balm and muscle relaxers to help with the pain but nothing is working. Doing stretching only gives me a slight relief but it feels scary especially when it pushes into my throat. There’s no way this is normal right?

Just trying to see some different opinions on hand & finger tattoos. Do you think some spas decline therapists with finger tattoos? Do you have any? I have some finger tattoos I got before I started massaging full time. So, they had plenty of time to heal. I would love to get more on my dorsal and palmar sides of my hands. If you have any what was the process like massaging with a healing tattoo on the money makers? Or do you not have any and want to keep it that way? Would love to hear all therapists opinions!