Injury Prevention For Massage Therapists

1
Injury Prevention For Massage Therapists

• Dr. Michael P. Gillespie

2
The Bad News

• Massage is very hard on your hands and upper
  extremities.
• Most massage therapists experience some kind of
  injury or pain syndrome at some point in their
  career as the result of giving massages.
• The body is not designed for the intense,
  repetitive work of massage for extended periods
  of time.

3
The Good News

• There are many things you can do to protect
  yourself from injury related to your massage
  work.
• You can change your posture.
• You can adjust your massage technique.

4
Three Concepts to Remember

• 1. Think of yourself as an athlete.
• You are doing intense, physical work that
  requires skill, strength, and endurance.
• You need to train, stay in good physical
  condition, and remove yourself from the game when
  you are injured.
• 2. Increase body awareness.
• Increase your consciousness of your bodys
  strengths, weaknesses, advantages, and
  limitations.
• Generate a heightened awareness of the signals
  your body sends.
• 3. Develop adequate knowledge of the physiology
  of injury.
• Recognize the symptoms of injury.
• Know what to do to treat those injuries.

5
What Causes Injury

• Repetitive strain causes injury.
• There is a limit to how many times we can repeat
  the same repetitive motion before tissue damage
  and injury occurs.
• Adding pressure to repetitive motion increases
  the demands on your tissues.
• Lack of alignment.
• Maintaining proper alignment will greatly reduce
  your risk of injury.
• Whenever possible, keep you fingers in line with
  your hands, your hands in line with your wrists,
  your wrists in line with your forearm, your
  forearm in line with your upper arm.

6
Lifestyle Factors

• Lifestyle and other general health factors
  determine how prone you are to injury.
• Age
• Previous injuries
• Diet
• Alcohol, cigarette, or other drug use
• Strength
• Aerobic fitness

7
Logistical Factors

• Suddenly increasing the number of massages you
  perform every day without training to attain that
  level puts you at risk.
• Suddenly decreasing the rest time between
  massages puts you at risk.
• You need time to stretch, breathe, and relax.
• Massaging in a cramped room.
• Working with a table at an improper height will
  cause poor body biomechanics.

8
Attitude

• Do NOT accept pain.
• Pain is not normal. It is a signal from your
  body that something is wrong.
• Do not accept pain as part of your work.
• Some massage therapists believe that there is a
  right and wrong way to do their work. Do not
  continue to use a technique that is hurting you
  because it is the right way to work.
• If it hurts, dont do it!

9
Attitude

• Give yourself permission to say no to anything
  that may cause you to be injured.
• There is no such thing as a good massage and a
  bad massage.
• Massage is both an art and a science.
• There is no one right or good way of doing it.
• Give yourself the freedom to work with your
  bodys strengths and limitations.

10
Principles of Injury Prevention

• Get in shape.
• Develop proper body mechanics.
• Avoid other hand-intensive activities.
• Take care of your hands every day.
• Work with your body characteristics, not against
  them.
• Vary your massage technique.

11
Principles of Injury Prevention

• Dont use massage techniques that cause you pain.
• Monitor your work habits.
• Take time between massages.
• Use other modalities between massages.
• Develop a realistic attitude towards your work.
  (Respect your limits and your body)
• Treat injuries immediately and effectively.

12
Improving Body Mechanics

• Reassess the foundation of your approach to
  massage.
• Focus on basic ergonomics and body awareness.
• As you relearn technique, open yourself up to
  change, even minor changes.
• Fine-tune your technique by studying your body
  movement in front of a mirror.
• Practice on a friend or a family member with a
  mirror across from the massage table until you
  feel comfortable with the new technique.
• Watching your technique in the mirror promotes
  self-awareness and constructs a more object
  framework for assessment.

13
Ergonomics

• Adjust the height of your massage table to your
  own height, your clients needs, and your
  modality.
• If you use a pneumatic rolling stool, adjust the
  height for proper body alignment.
• A mix of sitting on a massage stool and standing
  is healthy. It prevents you from working in the
  same position all day and balances out the
  stresses on the body.

14
Diversify

• Use two or three different modalities to minimize
  the stresses on your body.
• Diversify you practice to include some less
  physically demanding modalities such as hot
  stones, energy work, shiatsu, etc.