Ask A Licensed Massage Therapist

[ftfisher]

As a novelty, I thought I'd try posting some actual content on this journal. Considering the last thing I posted was, uh, four years ago, any content at all ought to qualify as pretty darn novel.

At any rate: to start off, let us have a rousing round of Ask A Licensed Massage Therapist! Got any burning questions about massage therapy, bodywork, or related fields? I will try to answer all comments here promptly, even if the answer is "Iunno, let me look that up and get back to you."

Comments

For the Amateur

[batrachian]

Not a professional, but still interested in being able to provide good massage as a tension relief and/or foreplay element. Are there any particular medical concerns I should be aware of, ways to truly mess up one's partner?

General advice on Good Things to Do wouldn't be amiss, either, but the Bad Stuff To Avoid is what I don't know.

Re: For the Amateur

[ftfisher]

My main suggestions are: avoid doing any assisted stretching, and if there's any evidence of swelling in a given area avoid it entirely (or, you can work on it energetically, but: hands off). Those are the two easiest/fastest ways to screw someone up very badly.

It's not that either of those things are inherently bad, but they're things to tread carefully around; even with training, if you're not judicious, you can do damage.

Good Things To Do is such a long list, heavens there's a zillion modalities and minimal training just about anywhere is 500 hours for a reason! But my biggest suggestion is: go slower. Most people start off with an instinct to move much, much too quickly. So breathe in time with the person you're working on, center, and slow down.