One of the most important things that a client should know about their treatment; they are always in control. No matter what, the end decision about everything for their treatment, is up to the client. There are certain things that the client can’t be accommodated for, and those only include things that would be out of the therapists’ scope of practice.
So what do I mean by you have control over everything? Well here are a few examples;
Pressure and techniques: If at any point in time you find that pressure is too light (you feel like the person is almost tickling you or not pressing as deep as you would like) or if they are pressing too hard (on a pain scale of 1-10, the therapist should never go past a 7. If you aren’t sure what a pain scale of 7 would feel like, you should never feel like you can’t breathe during your session, or as though the muscles that the therapist is working on are going to spasm. More is not always better when it comes to massage.), then ask them to change it to the pressure that you would like. Another thing to remember, is that even when the same pressure is being used in an area that you need to be worked on, some techniques that they use can be more uncomfortable than others. Make sure that you tell your therapist that you don’t like that type of technique, and to try something else. They should have no problem with doing this. If they are doing a specific type of treatment, where that technique is really important to do, as example frictions for tendinitis, the therapist should stop using the technique and explain to you why they are using it. If you still say no, then they do need to stop using that technique and try something else, even if it means that it will take longer for you to be able to heal from this condition.
Clothing: This is completely your preference. Massage therapy can be done completely over the clothes if that is what makes you feel most comfortable. Obviously, with this choice, oil, and certain techniques won’t be able to be used, but treatment can still be just as effective. The opposite is also true if you don’t want to wear any clothes at all, that’s fine as well. You will be covered by a sheet at all times, so you don’t have to worry about being exposed, other than in the area that is being worked on by the therapist. The only pieces of clothing/accessories that are generally asked to be removed during a massage are shoes, necklaces, if it is a tight chain and the neck is going to be worked on, belts, if you are going to be lying on your stomach, watches/bracelets or rings, if you want full arms and hands worked on, and if you are wearing any type of brace, and you want that area to be worked on, Ex.: knee brace.
Special Consent: This is generally a form that you fill out before your session. It is for permission to allow your therapist to work on one or more of the following areas: Glutes (buttocks), chest/pects, underarms, groin, inside your mouth, and sometimes even your abdomen can be considered a sensitive area, especially if you are pregnant. Generally, a lot of these areas, tend to be the root cause for other issues that you are experiencing, such as low back pain could be caused by your glutes, or upper back pain could be caused by your pect muscles from being too tight. Either way, you have to sign a form allowing your therapist to work in these areas if you don’t sign, or at the very least give verbal consent, they aren’t allowed to touch these areas. With that being said, even if you do sign the form, and you get partway through your massage, or they start to work on that sensitive area, and you no longer feel comfortable with it being massaged, you can verbally revoke your consent. This would mean that the therapist must stop massaging that area if they already started, or not start the treatment that they would have for that area.
Length of treatment: This one applies for people who have been in a car accident, or are going in through WSIB, as their sessions are usually a set amount of time, and can not be lengthened, compared to private sessions where they do have multiple different options. Even with that being said, there are times when you can feel more sensitive some days over others, and you may not be able to handle having your regular length of time for your session. You have every right to be able to request for your session to be shortened for that day. Don’t force yourself to have a full session if you can’t handle it, as it will most likely not be to your benefit.
As for private clients, if you want to shorten your session, there may be no issue with it, however, you have to make sure, with the clinic that you are going to, if they will still charge you for the entire time or not. If you want your session to be longer in duration, it may be a bit more difficult depending on how the clinic books their clients. If the therapist doesn’t have someone right after your session, there may be the chance that they can extend your session without any issues, but it is better to call in beforehand, rather then to wait during your session to ask.
Temperature: If you notice that the room is too cold, you can request to have an added blanket or even a heating pad, especially if there is only a small area of your body that is cold, like your feet. If the opposite is true, and you are too warm, you can request to have some areas be uncovered while having the massage, like your feet, or legs. In some clinics, they can adjust the temperature of the individual rooms, but this can take a while to be able to get the room to the temperature that you want.
Lighting: If you are someone who relaxes better when it is darker, then let your therapist know that. There is usually a light dimmer in the room, so this can be changed very easily. However, if you don’t care for the dark, or have a fear of dark places, you can let the therapist know as well, and they can lighten the room up more. Sometimes it might not even be about either one of these examples as to why you might want the brightness of the light to be changed, and in the end, it’s about what makes you feel most comfortable during your massage. And if it can be a simple fix such as turn up or down the lights your therapist should have no issues with this.
Massage oils: This one can be a bit more tricky, however, for the most part, it is still up to you. What is used during massages can be either oil, gel, or lotions. Not all clinics will have multiple different types readily available, however, if you have lotion or oil that you like to use, you can ask the therapist to use it instead. There are some things that the therapist has to consider though before using a type of oil or lotion that you bring. One thing is, is that the lotion can’t have any type of medication in it, as it would absorb into their hands as well and can affect their health. Another is if you bring nut oils or ones that contain St. Johns Wart. The nut oil can just be due to having an allergy, but what most people don’t know, is that St. Johns Wart can interfere with things like the birth control pill. It occurs when St. Johns Wart is consumed, but so far there haven’t been any studies that prove or disprove that if it is absorbed through the skin it can have the same effect, so it’s better not to use it on either a female client or therapist, just in case they are using the birth control pill. Lastly, if there are any strong scents in the oil or lotion, the therapist may refuse to use it as there could be other clients, staff, or even themselves, in the clinic that could be sensitive to scents.
Music: If there is a certain type of music that you find relaxing, or enjoy listening to, you can always ask your therapist to use it instead. The best way to bring your music is to have it on your cell phone, as not all rooms have a CD player or iPod docks to be able to play your music. However you can also bring anything that you have music on, that has speakers. Therapists usually prefer that you don’t wear headphones to listen to your music, in case they need to ask you something like they need you to flip over or they want to check in on you to make sure that you are alright with the pressure or if you are still comfortable.
Therapist: This one may seem obvious, but there are times that we forget. This is for clinics that have multiple therapists in most cases. If you were referred by someone to see a particular therapist, make sure that you say their name when you are booking, to make sure that they are working on the day and time that you are looking for. The people who are booking can’t read minds, so if you are asking for a particular day and time, they will book you with whoever is available at that time and it may not be the person that you want to see. The other circumstance is if you prefer either a male or a female therapist. This one can happen at clinics that only have one therapist as well, but more common for the ones that have multiple therapists. It is much like the previous example, that if you don’t ask for it, the secretary can’t know and will book you with whoever is available. Sometimes they will ask when they are booking your appointment, but sometimes clinics get busy and they may not remember to. The last thing that you want is to come to your appointment and you were expecting to have someone else. Of course, you are not forced to keep your appointment, and if the other person is available they may be able to switch you over but sometimes they can’t and the clinic may charge you a fee as they would consider it to be a last-minute cancellation. I know that there is nothing more frustrating for a client to come in expecting to get a treatment to find out that they weren’t booked the way that they were wanting to. And it can be frustrating for the therapist too as many are paid by commission, meaning if you don’t have your appointment, they aren’t getting paid, so they would very much prefer you requesting who you want when you book rather then try to shuffle things around.
So just remember, no matter what, if something needs to be changed so you can relax a bit better during your massage, or if you are being hurt rather then treated, speak up. You are in charge and you have every right to say no to something that doesn’t feel right to you. And that can change even between treatments. No client, no therapist, and no treatment is ever the same.