First Assessment

[Eornot]

Hi All
I am undertaking my first assessment on a client on Wednesday evening.... after a full day's work. Am a little nervous as my tutor has never quizzed me whilst massaging before. I am worried that I am going to go blank. I spoke to some other students from my college and said that I would be revising this weekend on the effects of the different movements. Some of them I am aware of, but some not.... they said that I should not be worried about it and I must think of what I am massaging and what is happening beneath. I don't feel I am expected to know all this information yet.... am wondering why they are such no it alls and do some people get nervous when being assessed?

Am totally fine about the massage movements but ....

I have just got a couple of questions - here goes...!

When explaining the full massage procedure to them (i.e. if nervous or a new client) - what do I say ?
my thoughts are that the massage lasts around 50 minutes, for them to remove their jewellery and place in bowl and to remove clothes except underwear, get under the towel and lie on back - face to ceiling.

Adapting the massage - can you advise on anything else that I have left out.
for old/thin clients - effleurage and leave out percussion/tapotement - pressure to be medium depth
for large clients - effleurage and percussion with deep pressure
for a relaxing massage - just effleurage and kneading, friction?
for a stimulating massage - all movements and percussion

Also they are asking about the mediums even though we have not done this yet - our only choice of medium is oil!
Why use oil - my thoughts are that it is good for dry skin
Why cream - am not sure, but is it because it sinks into the skin and moisturises
Why talc - am not sure on this one.

What would limit a massage - this would be a skin disorder or medical condition ie impetigo or cancer (because massage will spread the growth of the cancer)

Thats all I can think on for the moment - sorry for such a long thread.

Pemba

 

[rtesmuyyisoiibetm]

A few comments (trying to anticipate any supplementary questions which a tutor may ask):



While you are a student, you will have to comply with your tutor’s house rules on ‘nudity v underwear’. The subject has been discussed at some length in this forum: see for example the earlier thread [link=http://www.healthypages.net/forum/tm.asp?m=249036]http://www.healthypages.net/forum/tm.asp?m=249036[/link]

It is probably worth being aware that some institutions (eg the London College of Massage) require massage students to practise on naked clients (a test of your towel procedure !) and that if, after qualifying, you take a job in a hotel spa, you will certainly have to be prepared to treat naked clients (with appropriate draping).
It’s also worth pointing out that most women wear bras, that bras are within the normal definition of underwear, and that if you tell a female client to ‘remove clothes except underwear’, many clients will infer that you want them to keep their bra on. Most women wear bras that fasten at the back, and can thus be undone to enable you to effleurage the full length of the back: but some women wear bras that fasten at the front, and some wear bras that are pulled on over the head (as with most sports bras). If you tell your tutor that you instruct your clients to ‘remove clothes except underwear’, he or she may ask, as a supplementary question, how you would respond if you find that your client is wearing a bra that can’t be unfastened at the back.

With regard to whether to ask the client to lie on their back or front, personally I agree with starting with the client on their back. There was a discussion on this forum on whether to start prone or supine. However, the thread is now just over a year old so it appears that the link may not work and interested readers will have to search through the posts for January 2005 !

Personally I wouldn’t use friction in a ‘relaxing’ massage, unless the client has mentioned that he or she has a particular problem (eg tension in the shoulders) which would benefit from friction.

With regard to the various mediums, I think that oil is the easiest medium because it spreads easily, particularly on male clients with a lot of body hair, but you need to bear in mind that some clients may not like the aroma of certain oils (eg most men wouldn’t appreciate lavender !) and that some clients may have nut allergies which make it inappropriate to use oils derived from nuts (eg almond oil).
Massage cream is frequently used by therapists doing ‘mobile massage’ or working at an event such as a marathon or triathlon. But most creams don’t spread quite as well as most oils. There was a brief discussion on whether to use oil or cream on

[link=http://www.healthypages.net/forum/tm.asp?m=99974]http://www.healthypages.net/forum/tm.asp?m=99974[/link]

Personally I think that the reference to talc is the most interesting part of this question. There was some discussion of the use o

 

[plabeWede]

Hi Alan

Thanks for your reply.

On the issue of talc - we have to do an assignment on Massage Lubricants - being oil, cream and talc. This is wierd as we have only ever used oil and it would be interesting to use an alternate medium for experience sake.

I have looked in one of my textbooks and it states "Talc is useful for oily skin, hairy clients or on clients who dislike the residue of oils/cream. Talc prevents the hands from sliding over the surface of the body and allows deeper pressure"

Personally, I prefer oil, as my hands glide easier and I find that oil disperses very quickly into the skin.

Thanks again, for your help.

Pemba

 

[Claudinemothe]

talc is very messy to use in my opinionand I am not aware of anyone who now uses it. I prefer to use a cream from Bretherton products, visit [link=http://www.bremed.co.uk]www.bremed.co.uk[/link], I find it better than oil, less allergies possible, and even with hirsuit clients gives good coverage, comment from clients include things like" my skin felt soft and glowing for days afterwards", . Some massage creams tend to get quite abrasive on some skin types as skin starts to flake and cause irritating globes of flesh whichprevent smooth strokes.
best of luck with your assessment, just be positive and remember this advice.
If you think you can't, you won't
If you think you can , you will.

 

[judy.gideon]

I passed my first assessment. My client said that it was the best massage she had ever had and my tutor said that I am a total natural and came across as being very confident and answered all the questions correctly.

Yay!

 

[P4wn4g3]

I think that some clients just prefer talc than oil for whatever reason this maybe.