Massage Therapist with joint pain

It depends on your age, technique and family history.

Where does your "power" come from?

Myarka.

Maisie,

Your pains sound very similar to that of a client of mine recently who is also a massage therapist. She was working her arms and hands too hard and eventually they just stiffened up so much she could barely move them with considerable pain too. I treated her with Bowen Technique and after three treatments she was almost as good as new. She still gets some slight discomfort is she does a full days work with some deep tissue massage clients but it's a fraction of what it was before.

Sx

Please take good care of your hands and reinforce finger pressure when possible to avoid straining your fingers/joints. I have known too many massage therapists having to take time out due to using too much pressure. In fact my joints are not a pretty sight and I get stiffness particularly in my right hand.

This is why therapists in the past have trained in No Hands massage, which seems a sensible way to use the strength of the body in an effortless way.

It is a good idea to exercise hands before use, little warm ups before launching into a massage routine.

Love Binah
x

When I've had some overuse joint or muscular pain in the past I've had success using over the counter homeopathic remedies such as:

Ruta Grav
Rhus Tox

Stating the obvious - massage is good for these symptoms too - so I suggest you get a massage targetting those areas.

Hope you feel better soon.

Sore finger

Many thanks for the kind replies to my question. I am trying to give my hands a bit of a rest over the week end. I only work a few days a week but those days are normally very full. Tuesday for example I had three full bodies, won't be repeating that again in a hurry. Have learnt the need to manage my time better and am trying to incorporate some hands free moves as well, hopefully it will get better.:)

Hi Sarah can you tell me what moves you performed from Bowen for painful hands and arms? thankyou

Hi Ann,

I used P2, P3 and elbow. I applied shoulder on 2nd and 3rd week and also used breast.

Sx

When I first increased my workload and I noticed my joints started to ache a bit in the fingers, wrists, elbows and shoulders. I have adapted my massage style so that I use both hands equally instead of just favouring my more dominant right side like I used to. I also move around the couch more instead of just staying on one side - this helps my back and shoulders. I use my fingers a lot less and incorporate more techniques using my knuckles, palms, forearm, and elbows and use more of my body weight. If I do use my fingers or thumbs, I tend to reinforce them with my hand or other fingers to take the strain off. I went on a couple advanced massage courses to learn new techniques which really helped and my joints and back have improved a lot. You could try doing a few hand warm-up exercises before massaging - I always forget to do this but it would really help.

All good advice. I found when I was starting to massage more that my hands often ached - but I'm sure it was a case of strengthening my hands as much as anything else. The muscles in your hand are the same as any muscles in your body. If you suddenly take up running, your leg muscles will ache. If you do a lot of lifting when moving house, your arms will ache the next day. Obviously, take good care of your hands - but I do believe the muscles in your hands get stronger, the more massage you do.

I can also recommend doing some form of weight training. Such as Body Pump classes. As already described above therapists need to think of themselves as "athletes". After all we use our bodies all day long. I've been doing Body Pump for around a year and it's made a huge difference to my upper body strength. Strong muscles and ligaments hold joints in a more stable position.

A good book to read is:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Save-Your-Hands-Prevention-Therapists/dp/1883195039/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1244472253&sr=1-1