Share your experiences with symptoms and injury at school

[Stephen Jess]

Hello,

My name is Lauriann Greene, and I'm the author of the book Save Your Hands! Injury Prevention for Massage Therapists. I am currently writing the 2nd edition of the book, and I'd like to include some quotes from students of massage therapy and bodywork who have experienced symptoms and/or injury while still a student. I'm also interested in hearing what you do to protect yourself from injury and how successful those methods have been and any successful methods you've found to treat symptoms and/or injury. Please also tell us what your school does to teach you and advise you about preventing injury.

I'm very interested to hear about your experiences - I will not print anything you say here in my book without first asking your permission in writing, so feel free to share your experiences here - I'm sure that everyone in the Forum will appreciate hearing about them. Thank you very much, I look forward to hearing from you!

 

[I Hate Pia Mellody]

Is there a way to make the poll accept multiple answers? I checked the first three, as my school was good about each of these areas individually, but only the third shows up in the poll.

 

[boffin1979]

Is there a way to make the poll accept multiple answers? I checked the first three, as my school was good about each of these areas individually, but only the third shows up in the poll.

Agreed. Maybe add a category for something like "extensive info on injury prevention, physiology and care"

I am with ROS- we had it all over the place from almost every instructor- everything from body mechanics and injury prevention to ways to work around an injury to self-care, etc.

 

[Kate D.]

I will tell you what I am frustrated about in my experience as a student. I fortunately have a mentor who has drilled into me the fact that I need to be very careful with my thumbs. My teachers at school have acknowledged this as well, but it seems like 2/3 of the techniques that they teach us use thumbs - even heavy pressure on thumbs. I always ask about alternative techniques, and only then do they show us other ways of doing things.

Sometimes I wonder if they are trying to weed us out of the profession before we even get started . Or maybe they just have unusually strong and resiliant thumbs.

I like the way my mentor was trained. For the first year he did massage, he acted as if he didn't *have* thumbs! And he gives the best massage of anyone I know. .

Emily

 

[XArmed For BattleX^3]

my school talked alot about self-care, as in taking time for yourself, etc. some about body mechanics, but very little stretching, self-massage, specific techniques to receive for the overworked MT areas... they always just said to get a massage once a week - well, if you get a fluff & buff massage every week that isn't really going to do much for your poor overworked arms/hands/thumbs! I remember countless times students asking if their hands ever hurt, and the answer was always NooOoooOOoO! Well, looking back now, I think those that can't DO - TEACH. (because they're hands hurt too much) Unfortunately, my school I think is all about $$$ and they don't really care if they are preparing you well for making it in the real world or lasting for more than a few years because of injury. They hide behind this facade of being all loving, all healing, blah blah blah... which is what makes them this much more dangerous in my opinion.
many schools are churning out therapists like an assembly line, how many of them are actually making it? Or lasting past the projected 4 -6 years before finally burning out due to injury??
I was also lucky enough to work under a few mentors after school and this is where I've learned valuable info that I think has enabled me to make it this long.

 

[Breck]

Injury Prevention poll

I can't change the poll until it has run its course - I think I asked for it to be online for 14 days. But it's good that you mentioned that your school provided lots of good information/training on injury prevention. I'm glad to hear that.

 

[visualthailand]

Schools "churning out students"

many schools are churning out therapists like an assembly line, how many of them are actually making it? Or lasting past the projected 4 -6 years before finally burning out due to injury??

Is there anyone else who feels this way about their school? Or do you feel that your school is preparing you to be able to have a long career in massage?

 

[smoney77]

Learning thumb techniques in school

it seems like 2/3 of the techniques that they teach us use thumbs - even heavy pressure on thumbs. I always ask about alternative techniques, and only then do they show us other ways of doing things.

Sometimes I wonder if they are trying to weed us out of the profession before we even get started . Or maybe they just have unusually strong and resiliant thumbs.

Has anyone else had a similar experience in school - too much emphasis on using the thumbs in performing massage techniques? or does your school tell you to be careful about using your thumbs, and teach you alternative techniques?

 

[~Poon Strangler~]

I wish my school would have endorsed tools more. They really pushed thumb work.

I have developed many techniques on my own as well as picked up some from various books such as the "no hands" serious from Gary Pyves from the UK.

 

[imin34]

Learning thumb techniques in school

it seems like 2/3 of the techniques that they teach us use thumbs - even heavy pressure on thumbs. I always ask about alternative techniques, and only then do they show us other ways of doing things.

Sometimes I wonder if they are trying to weed us out of the profession before we even get started . Or maybe they just have unusually strong and resiliant thumbs.

Has anyone else had a similar experience in school - too much emphasis on using the thumbs in performing massage techniques? or does your school tell you to be careful about using your thumbs, and teach you alternative techniques?

We were taught alternate techniques, and taught self-massage techniques. Stretches were part of warm up before our clinics, and we were taught how to add pressure to the massage via good body mechanics rather than by pushing harder with hands/thumbs. Like lifting with the legs, we were taught how to increase pressure from our legs rather than from our arms and hands.

The only tools we worked with in school was stones. I prefer not to work with tools still, but maybe if my hands were hurting I would want to use tools.

 

[Kendra S]

Want to hear from more of you!

Hi again - I'm sure there are more of you out there who have something to say about injury and injury prevention at school. Remember, there is no shame in having symptoms while you're a student - it's very common.

We've heard people say that they were taught to use their thumbs too much in school. Did any of you have an experience, yourself or someone in your class, who was having symptoms or was injured while they were at school? If so, how did the school/teachers react? Did you see anyone wearing a wrist splint or wrap?

Did you learn about injury physiology (inflammation, scar tissue formation) at school? Did you learn anything about how to schedule clients, or were you told to gradually increase the number of massages you did per day or per week?

 

[kaciedeb]

Learning thumb techniques in school

Has anyone else had a similar experience in school - too much emphasis on using the thumbs in performing massage techniques? or does your school tell you to be careful about using your thumbs, and teach you alternative techniques?

My teachers were always on our backs (haha) about good biomechanics, and when using our thumbs (and hands in general) keeping them "in line" with our arm, not letting our wrists or any joints bend while putting our weight into strokes. It's something I struggled with then and, every now and then, still have to remind myself to do.

I would have checked the self-care option in addition to biomechanics in the poll.

 

[Natalie L]

At my school, the massage instructor led the class through a series of shoulder, arm & hand stretches before we did any sort of hands-on massage practice. She encouraged us to make stretching a routine beginning to our workdays, after we graduated from massage school.

There's a new school in North Carolina called the Asheville School of Massage & Yoga. Self-care is an integral part of their curriculum. One of the most impressive aspects of the program is the Self-Care Intensives. Those are weekend retreats where the students explore & learn all aspects of self-care: Body-Mind-Soul.

On a separate note, Stonegirl mentioned that massage therapists often burn out within a few years due to injury. I don't think injury is the only reason (or even the main reason) MT's burn out. Some simply find they don't enjoy doing the work full-time. Either it becomes boring to them, or there are too many "difficult" clients. Other times, it's the financial aspect that's the deciding factor -- they can't make a good enough living. There are lots of reasons for burnout.

 

[Old Hippie]

Burn out

I don't think injury is the only reason (or even the main reason) MT's burn out. Some simply find they don't enjoy doing the work full-time. Either it becomes boring to them, or there are too many "difficult" clients. Other times, it's the financial aspect that's the deciding factor -- they can't make a good enough living. There are lots of reasons for burnout.

I think you make a good point here, Bliss. Burn out comes from many factors, not just injury. Injury can certainly contribute to burn out, but being a massage therapist can be challenging in many ways, including financially and emotionally. These stresses also contribute to injury, by the way.

 

[i-luv-vampires]

Last week, my youngest classmate shared with us that she had gone to the doctor because of wrist pain. He diagnosed her with tendonitis. She's 19 years old. I think it was a wake-up call for some in the class, especially those of us with more years behind us. Lots of folks were experimenting with forearm techniques that day.

 

[Dawn]

Kemilyna,

How did your instructors respond to your classmate's diagnosis? Did they use it as an opportunity to teach the class about self-care? (Guided stretching/strengthening exercises; contrast therapy instruction; therapy recommendations; alternate techniques - you said you began experimenting with forearm techniques. Did your instructor teach you some?) I'm just curious how it was handled.

 

[David L]

Last week, my youngest classmate shared with us that she had gone to the doctor because of wrist pain. He diagnosed her with tendonitis. She's 19 years old. I think it was a wake-up call for some in the class, especially those of us with more years behind us. Lots of folks were experimenting with forearm techniques that day.

That's very interesting. Do you mean they were experimenting with forearm techniques in response to her experience with pain (hoping that the forearm techniques might give their wrists a break), or was it the forearm techniques that were causing the pain? Did she have any idea what had caused the tendonitis?

Yes, age does increase injury risk, but as you see, younger people certainly aren't immune to injury, unfortunately.

 

[ratana]

Nothing much was said in response to my classmate's diagnosis. Our instructor may have said something about making sure we stretch before and after giving massage, but mostly he just told her to take it easy.

We were all experimenting with forearms to give our wrists a bit of a break. I for one love using my forearms, and I love the way they feel on me too.

 

[trohmaniacs]

I got hurt in school

Hello all,

I graduated from MT school about a month ago. We were given a demonstration on using proper body mechanics and so forth, but we did not get much in terms of specific technique instruction or individual help unless we requested it. Not long after I was put on the floor for clinic, the school went to a sports event where we gave non-stop 10 to 20 minute table massages post-event. My wrist was already hurting at that point from doing massages at school, but I went to this event to get the credits. I shouldn't have--I ended up with a swollen and hurting right wrist.

I was pulled off the floor immediately, but I have to say that mostly people thought it was my fault for doing things incorrectly. And while people at school were sympathetic, no one wanted to talk about my injury. I did feel at times that they either thought I was faking the extent of the problem...or else it was just something they didn't want to talk about.

I loved my classmates, and I don't mean to whine. I did not do massages for about a week at clinic, and then I started back. Other therapists I knew told me that everyone's hands hurt, and that I should just get used to it.

I finally went to the doctor and had an x-ray about 6 weeks later. The radiologist read a healed or almost healed fracture of my ulna. I went to an orthopedic guy who looked at the x-ray and said it was a normal arm and there had been no break....so the injury had been soft tissue.

I think people were relieved when I just stopped complaining. I wore a wrist brace when not massaging, used arnica, did cold and heat therapy, and just gritted my way through it. I finally healed. I think the school was fairly concerned about a lawsuit, but I had and have no intentions towards anything like that.

I don't think we were adequately prepared for massage, and while I feel the science training was excellent at school, the massage part was kind of on your own. I personally sought out videos for using forearms, etc., to help me get through the time.

Sorry this is long. Just trying to answer your question. Short version: having an injury is a kind of massage leprosy.

Judy

 

[Pompal 09.]

By the way, Lauriann, your book was one of the first ones I bought and studied when I got hurt...thanks for such a great book!
Judy