It’s no secret that massage is a go-to treatment for many people seeking to feel better overall and experience less discomfort. Between July 2015 and July 2016, 25% of all American adults, or 57.6 million people, received at least one massage, according to the American Massage Therapy Association. Massage is increasingly being seen as a viable alternative to medications and invasive treatments for relieving back pain among the general public.
It might not be easy to locate a qualified massage therapist, but doing so is essential if you hope to get the benefits of massage therapy. These are the most important considerations to get you started on the right foot when looking for a massage therapist.
Define your goals and needs precisely
Determine whether you need help with physical or emotional stress, aches and pains, recovery from injury or improved athletic performance. To determine where your body care is required, you must consider what caused the damage. Different therapists may specialise in different ones of these approaches. Check the therapists’ bios to see if they have relevant experience.
Compatibility
To unwind during your massage, you should pick someone with whom you get along well—not knowing where or what the therapist is doing might put you on edge and distract you from your thoughts, which are detrimental to the therapeutic process. If you feel safe confiding in this person, even if you don’t do, you may have found your soul mate.
Mutual Comprehension
Most RMTs will adopt a new persona and vocabulary while working with a new patient. Your RMT may take one of several approaches; they may spend most of their time explaining the science behind massage therapy, or they may take a more conversational approach in which they encourage you to share more about your life outside of your massage. When searching for the ideal RMT, clearly understanding the limits you desire to place on your relationship is crucial.
Make it clear to your RMT how you’d like to be addressed, as we may only sometimes guess right. Your RMT is a good fit if they can work with your level of expertise, are willing to teach you what you need to know, or are content to let you lie there in silence if that is your preference.
Flexibility
An RMT treatment plan for you should involve repeated sessions to fix whatever problem brought you in. Your RMT should be adaptable enough to modify your treatment plan to address any new concerns or difficulties while still providing you with the highest standard of care and advice.
Accessibility & Professonalism
From the moment you schedule your massage appointment, the therapist will devote the full time allotted for your session to you. You should easily find the information you need by calling or visiting their website. Massage appointments lose their therapeutic value, and regular maintenance visits are less likely to be maintained if the booking process, parking, entering and exiting the building, and paying the bill are all stressful, inconvenient, or too difficult. This is counterproductive since it reduces your desire to seek treatment.
Efficacy and tidiness
When you enter the clinic, do you get a good vibe from the staff? Is there plenty of space and cleanliness in the waiting and treatment areas? What payment options, such as direct invoicing, does your massage therapist provide? These inquiries will get you closer to selecting the therapist facilitating the most productive sessions.
Respect and Achievement
Therapists are not allowed to make such claims about the success of their treatments. However, you need to demonstrate that you are either bettering or at least holding steady (as in some pathologies). If your RMT hasn’t made any progress after three to six treatments, they should either try something else, do more research, or recommend you to someone else. Some evidence of genuine concern and effort on the part of your RMT to help you heal, rather than repeating the same ineffective procedures over and over again, is ideal.
Conclusion
If you have an ongoing, complex pain problem, a single massage won’t solve it. Remember that a 10-year struggle with back pain won’t be resolved in a single hour of massage. However, with time and effort, massage may help you lessen discomfort and improve your quality of life. Relax and rejuvenate at Vancouver’s Oceana Massage, where professional massage therapists perform therapeutic bodywork in a soothing setting.
Find the best RMT for you by booking a massage with Oceana Massage today.