Mistakes to Avoid

[PIOLET211]

One thing I really love is hot stone massage. I've done hot stone for my clients since 2002 and I know what good hot stone is. I hate getting BAD hot stone massage. I've had stone massages where the stones weren't hot enough - calling them lukewarm would be kind; I've had them where the MT only used stones on my back and nowhere else and charged more $ than I charge for a fullbody hot stoning; but the absolute worst one was the MT who didn't have enough stones, so she had to clean them off after she used each one so she could put it back in the roaster to reheat and reuse during the session. Every time she went to her roaster to get more stones, she'd be gone for what seemed to be 5 minutes. So my 90 minute hot stone was actually about 60 minutes of massage. UGH!

I totally agree! I love doing hot stone massage but since I'm the only one at our clinic that does it, I have to go elsewhere to recieve. I've also received "lukewarm" stone massage and it feels yucky! I've also had the one where they simply use a few stones on the back and call it a hot stone massage. I too feel cheated when they do that.

I have a question though about the one that took too long to get stones. You said that she had to clean them off before putting them back in the roaster. I'm confused by this? I was trained to reuse stones during a treatment session, but I simply put the stone back into the heater and reuse it once it's reheated. Since I completely clean the stones and heater in between clients why would I need to clean the stone between uses on the same client?? This makes no sense to me?

I've worked really hard to make sure that my time getting stones out of the heater is as short as possible. I have my stones arranged in the heater so I know exactly where to go to get the ones that I want. I have my heater placed in the most convenient location in the room.

Gosh....if anyone knows of any really good places in the Tampa/St Pete area to go for a hot stone massage, I'd love to know where. I'd really love to treat myself to one more often.

Angie

 

[hanizee]

I was thinking that it's kinda funny really that some things that others hate, I love and visa versa. For instance:

Coughing and snuffly nose sounds when there are 2 hands in contact with me (and only one therapist)

In school we were taught that you must never, ever cough into your hands while doing a massage. We were taught to that if we must cough, to bend our heads so that we were coughing into our shirts, like around the collar bone. If we forgot and coughed into our hands then we had to stop the massage and go wash and sanitize again.

i also really hate it when the top sheet is lifted way off of me as i turn over. makes me feel super exposed. oh and another, when the LMT actually lifts my leg up to drape the sheet underneath it. i can't help but wondering if my leg is too heavy and if they'll hurt their back.

I don't like it when they keep the drape "pinned" down and not give me enough room to turn. Especially if I've been face-down for a long time, I need wiggle-room to get my back going and my body turned over. I actually had a massage the other day where for the 1st time a therapist lifted my legs to tuck the sheet under. I thought it was kinda nice?

And unless your room is very warm (85 or more degrees) a towel just won't cut it.

Personally, I hate being draped with a sheet. I prefer the weight and heaviness of a towel. Now, I don't mean one of those thin 27x30 inch $2.00 specials. All of my towels are thick and at least 30x54. The ones I use for hot stone massage are 40x70 and I love them!

oh, adding to the whale music, bubbling brook music

I kinda like music with nature sounds added in. I wouldn't want to listen to JUST whales or brooks the whole time but when it's added to music and is more in the background, I think it's nice.

The thing that I couldn't agree more with is smoking!! I don't care how good of a massage you give, if you smell like smoke (and you will no matter how you try to mask it) then I won't see you again. I went to a therapist once and he was smoking outside as I pulled up. All during the massage all I could think about was the now my entire body was going to reek of his cigarettes. YUCK!

My other personal deal breaker is someone who ignores what I've asked. If I go to you asking you to concentrate on my NECK and you spend 90% of the time on my rhomboids (Yes, I know that all of us have tight rhomboids but that's not what's hurting me today) and then 5 minutes on my neck at the end of the massage, I'll never go back to you. LISTEN to me when I tell you what I'm looking for.

On the same page, don't say you can do a certain modality if you've never been trained in it. If I call and ask if you do myofascial and you say "yes" because you need to fill a spot in your appt. book, then when I come in for a treatment you simply fake it, I'll know.

Something else that I find annoying is when someone is doing NMT and everytime they hold a point they want to know the pain level on a scale of 1-10 and then ask me every few seconds "what is it now?" OMG I just want to scream! I'm trying to relax so you can do the work that needs to be done. How can I relax when you're asking me to concentrate on my pain and pick a number every minute or so??? A good, experienced therapist can tell by what the tissue is doing and the reactions of the client.

I also don't want to be asked every few minutes how the pressure is. When I start my massage, I give the client permission to let me know at anytime during the massage if the pressure needs to be adjusted and then I'll ask them once towards the beginning if it's ok. That's enough.

I also like a quiet massage. I may chit-chat for the 1st few minutes, but please don't keep talking after I've stopped answering.

Goodness....here I thought I was pretty easy to please and I've come up with all these pet peeves.


Angie

 

[Ontario Loyalist]

Gosh this is making me kinda self-concious! t087

My stereo plays in the left ear of my clients! I have a fountain; do all of my clients have to pee? Do my linens smell? Is my table cushy enough? I have a blanket on my table; are all my male clients miserable??? Ack! :shock:

 

[murry43]

I do same as Pete, and I've always felt it's better to have far more stones than not enough and have to play the reheating game. I also empty & clean the heater and every individual stone and then replace and refill with fresh water between clients. Just not comfortable with the "turn up the heater really high for awhile" method I've seen some use.

Regarding lifting of legs...well, I'm one of these. If the legs are lying parallel, I dig my hands down into the padding (yet another example where extra padding pays off) to slide my hands up under to gently lift less than a half inch so I can slide them out to where I can actually reach them. What was really unnerving is the technique employed by one therapist--he raised my legs about a foot up to reposition them, then just suddenly let go so they plopped back down. :shock: :!: Of course, while working the legs we do fully pick them up for stretches and specific releases, but I never dreamed any of us would ever lower them in them in any way other than slowly and smoothly.

Isis, don't freak about your fountain. Why not just casually ask, "how do you like it?" to a few clients and see what they say. I'm not a fan of the 'bubbling brook' thing for the same reason, but ocean waves and rainstorms are wonderful--we're all different. A lot of people do love it and it may be for your clients the fountain is perfectly relaxing! Same thing with the men. If you're asking if they are comfortable and the tempurature's good and they say yes, don't worry about it.

 

[Msean]

Things NOT to do during MY massage:

Blow your nose then tuck the tissue into your pants pocket only partially, where it can touch me---UUUUUUGGGGGGHHHHH!!!!! and then add insult to injury by NOT cleaning off your hands with disinfectant before you touch me again........

Ask me to tell you what techniques you should be using to treat my spasming calf muscles or rigid rhomboids. If I'm on the table, that means you are the therapist - act like one!

Lean on me with your free hand --- I'm not a countertop, or a pillar, DO NOT REST YOUR LAZY SELF ON MY BODY!!!!!

Cough on me and I will scream at you, literally. Don't need the germs or the spittle!

Forget to work on areas that I have specifically named that need attention desperately.

Tell me I MUST have a pillow under my feet when prone --- if I tell you it makes the lordotic curvature in my back HURT WORSE, I mean just that.....

Don't get so busy talking about your life and your psychodrama that you forget to do massage on an entire limb or side of my body [true story - during one massage the gal FORGOT my L arm, L leg, both supine and prone]

Don't you dare answer the phone while you work on me. It's rude, unprofessional, and just plain not nice.


Unfortunately, all of the above have happened to me personally, at least once........ but LOL I survived and remember not to do any of them to my clients.