Protect Your Clients and Yourself during Bodywork Sessions
A major league baseball star’s ribs were injured during an at-home massage. Carlos Correa is the starting shortstop for the Houston Astros. He gets regular massages at his home, especially on the days that he has to play, in order to prepare his body for the rigors of fielding and hitting.
One day, however, his massage went all wrong. As he was lying on the massage table, he heard a crack coming from the right side of his torso. Then he started to feel the pain. He yelled out. The massage therapist gasped. She said that has not happened in 20 years of working as a massage therapist. Correa said, “That’s not comforting.”
Later, an MRI indicated that Correa had a fractured rib. The Astros doctors expected that the injury would keep him out of the lineup for 4 to 6 weeks. After six weeks, he’s still not back on the field. “I’m extremely disappointed about not being on the field with my teammates,” said Correa. “To sustain an injury in such an unusual way makes it even more frustrating.”
Recently, Correa admitted that his side had been hurting him for awhile. “My rib was bothering me quite a bit during games, and I was getting a massage at home one day and she pressed on that area, and there was a loud crack,” he said. Did he tell the therapist about the soreness in his rib area beforehand? Did she follow appropriate protocol in the case of a client with sore ribs? It’s hard to know.
The important takeaway is that we as therapists need to inform our clients of the importance of telling us EVERYTHING we need to know to give them the best session we can. Sometimes, we have to remind them of that repeatedly.
It also helps to have excellent techniques that allow you to do good bodywork without hurting your clients. And without hurting yourself, too! That’s what Direct-Indirect Technique (DIT) is all about. You can work as deep or as gentle as you need to and get good results with your clients every time.
I sometimes call DIT “stealth rolfing”, because it allows you to get as deep as necessary without the client even knowing that you got that deep! And without you killing yourself in the process! What a concept.
It’s all about how you tune into the myofascial tissue with DIT, following releases 3-dimensionally, waiting for the tissue to hydrate sufficiently, and letting the tissue “tell you” how much pressure is best and when to go further or to back off. That’s what you learn in the DIT classes.
Check the CE Class Schedule in the menu above to see which Direct-Indirect Technique classes are coming up. Hundreds of therapists use the DIT techniques successfully every day, including me. The goal is to help your clients feel and do better in all areas of their lives, while taking good care of YOU, too.
I hope to see you in class soon.
Stay well,
John
John Joseph Ray
Ray of Light Training
Member of the Fascia Research Society
John J. Ray is a Board Approved Continuing Education Provider through the NCBTMB.