Massage therapy has become popular among many people who believe in an alternative, holistic approach to their well being and dealing with pain and other musculoskeletal conditions. Getting an effective and beneficial massage treatment always depends on your choice of a therapist. When we choose a therapist, we have to trust them to put our body into their hands and we need to build a trust with a therapist and believe that the training they have is sufficient enough that they will be able to help you with there proper and specific techniques. Finding a Massage therapist is a key that we want to find with someone who can give us great treatment and make our pain go away. Those are two different things. Dealing with pain is a primary issue for a therapist that has to work with, and hopefully the therapist can somewhat reduce the symptoms so we can feel better. Often a good therapist will be, depending on the length of the treatment, able to work on the specific cause of the visit and use part of the treatment to make the client relax and comfortable before the finish their treatment.
These days there are many institutes that offer full time school for massage therapy professions and more therapists are getting in the work force to offer therapeutic massages.
Every therapist learns the same techniques and same materials according to the standard of the province and college they belong to. They have to go through intensive learning of musculoskeletal anatomy, physiology, pathology and practical portion of the training. Students also gets exposure to work with some more complex cases and pathologies like neuron pathology, spinal injuries and acute and chronic disease under supervision of their instructor.
▶ What Do You Want from the Massage
There are various types of massage, and the techniques are different for all. First of all, you need to find out what you desire from a massage treatment. Are you looking for a relaxation massage or a deep-tissue massage, acupressure or a craniosacral massage? Get information about various types of massages and find out which one you need. Find out about all therapists who have proper training and experience in that particular therapy. Often in British Columbia people have learned most of these modalities and they later get even further training for their continuing educations.
▶ License and Certification
A registered Massage Therapist of British Columbia is registered under provincial government and they have to have standard knowledge and understanding of human physiology and anatomy to able to communicate and describe the condition of a patient and collaborate with other practitioners like doctors, physiotherapists, chiropractors and often with insurance companies for legal cases like work injuries or car accidents.
▶ Personal References
Licenses, certificates, and other details can no doubt make the therapist seem good enough, but it will be more helpful if you get a personal recommendation for a particular therapist from someone you know. A personal referral will make the therapist more trustworthy, and you will feel more relaxed and confident in getting a massage from him or her.
▶ Online Reviews
The Internet has become one of the best sources of information and communication. If the therapist is a thorough professional, they will most probably have their own website. You can go through the testimonials written on their website. You can even visit websites which are especially dedicated to massage therapists where you find detailed reviews of various therapy sessions. You can even get your queries answered through the forums provided in these websites.
▶ Experience
though very small, the chances of a massage therapy going wrong do exist. Though this is a rare case scenario, you have to take all possible precautions to avoid any such mishap. So, go for a therapist who has rich experience in their field.
That is not always the case with therapists though, yet it is important to look at the therapist’s experience but sometimes new therapists in the field can be as good as experienced ones. You just have to try them and give them a chance, after all we all have to start from somewhere and gain the trust of the client.
It is important if your massage therapist gives you home care and some heads up on proper exercises and stretching so it can prevent other problems. While we are at school one portion of our training is all about home care and educating the clients about the body and their common issues and how to improve them.
You can make a note of all the questions and queries you have about the massage and even the therapist. Make sure you tell the massage therapist about your present health conditions and preferences, if any, like room temperature, allergies to oils or lotions, massage pressure, etc. Find out the fees or cost of the session beforehand. Pregnant women and people with any serious health ailments should consult their doctor before opting for any massage.
It is very important for us as a therapist to get feed back from you and reviews so we can improve and become a better therapist and be able to perform to our best to help you with great and high quality of care.
Shem RMT