hi there
not leaving the room when you are getting dressed and undressed, and having the window open because they are having menopausal hot flushes whilst you are shivering on the couch!!:eek: Love Melanie x

I've had lots of massages over the years, most of which I've been happy with and felt relaxed afterwards.

I had one girl who stank of cigarette smoke and that wasn't nice. I also had another massage therapist who talked rather too much (but then I did know her very well and maybe she thought it was OK).

Oh, and one girl had such a light-touch that it just felt like an insect crawling over you and not what I'd expect from a massage.

When they keep talking to you throughout the treatment!

Masha

Losing contact with me by constantly walking away to get more oil.

Not grounding me at the end of the treatment and just leaving the room without any instruction - eg the session is finished so please dress and I'll have water for you or I'll get water for you and then you can get dressed. (I may have had my eyes closed but I wasn't sleeping.)

Using dampish, cold towels to drape me when a dry warm towel can be such a pleasure (just put it on the radiator for a few minutes before the massage begins).

Male pulling my knickers all the way down to "massage my lower back". :S

Therapists who talk all the way through a massage.

When they don't listen to your needs - or they listen but they then continue with their set routine anyway and don't pay attention to the places mentioned as being areas of pain/tension/stiffness.

Therapists with false nails or long nails - I have no idea how people massage with nails like that.

Using way too much oil.

When they give a treatment you didn't ask for - I went for an aromatherapy massage once and half way through i got a couple of hot stones shoved on my back. If I had wanted hot stone massage I would have gone for one!

Male pulling my knickers all the way down to "massage my lower back". :S

Why was he wearing your knickers!?:rolleyes::D

Why was he wearing your knickers!?:rolleyes::D

Did I say it wrong? :confused: Or are you just making fun? English's not my first language!

Hi Claire
I think coolhandluke was teasing you,anyway did you say anything to the male therapist? did he do your glutes as well as your lower back?

I thought he was... Yes he did my glutes after I told him I didn't want my glutes done. I was quite tense after that! :S

I'm not surprised you were tense,i guess you never went back to him,however i hope it hasn't put you off going to male therapist.I have had similar issues yet it hasn't put me off trying somebody else remenber not evryone is the same.

I thought he was... Yes he did my glutes after I told him I didn't want my glutes done. I was quite tense after that! :S

Did he do anything else that you didn't want him to do

Worst Offences

Worst Offences?

(1) Wearing fake tan on their hands and then massaging my face and nose. Gaggtastic. Not much better with cigarettes.

(2) Ignoring what I say and just carrying on with their set routine- eg when I want the back of my head or my glutes done (or not done)! Sackable offence if they just dont listen or care.

(3) Dirty, damp or manky towels.

(4) Talking about their wants and psychological needs before I get to know them.

(5) BO and bad breath, particularly after fish or garlic.

(6) Refusing to massage my stomach if I ask them to.

(7) Using too much oil and/or cheap oil that makes me smell like a chip pan.

(8) "Stroking" rather than massaging, unless I want lomi lomi.

(9) Talking rubbish about physiology or medical matters.

(10) Making me wear underwear during a massage despite covering me with towels, having the lights dimmed and the heating full on.

Sadly I have had a lot of duff massages, where the above have materialised. Ooops- and just realised I sound like a "grumpy old woman" ....!:eek:

I'm not surprised you were tense,i guess you never went back to him,however i hope it hasn't put you off going to male therapist.I have had similar issues yet it hasn't put me off trying somebody else remenber not evryone is the same.

No, I am not put off! I also used to see a Chinese masseur but my problem with him is that he was too "violent" and really hurting me and didn't speak English (that was in the uk) so I couldn't tell him. He used to massage my tummy by pressing his fingers into my stomach as hard as he could (or so it seemed). It made me feel quite sick! I know it's probably just the Chinese method but that's just not what I want from a massage... He was also pressing with his thumbs inside my upper arms, but not in the fleshy bits, it was almost like he was pressing the nerves and tendons onto the bones. Ouch. Very uncomfortable.

Did he do anything else that you didn't want him to do

Not really but that was bad enough for me... As a woman, I guess I feel more easily uncomfortable with these kinds of things...

I thought of another one - uncovering my back by sliding the towel down, it feels kinda sleazy and I wish the therapist would just pick it up and fold it back.

Cold and clammy hands feel yucky. I also once had a massage from a guy whose hands felt very rough.

1. Not using enough lotion or having lotion that really causes friction...doesn't glide.
2. Having a massage near a gym or some place that is not relaxing and quite.
3. Not being thorough...therapists that refuse to include glutes or abs I wouldn't go to.
4. Therapist has to seem confident in their own abilities - you can tell when someone seems too unconfident. Laid back but confident personalities are the best, not someone who is uptight.
5. Cold hands is always bad.
6. Constantly losing contact with the body, walking around the table, adjusting the music...the more the therapist can do in less time the better.
7. When therapist has a set routine and will not modify it for your personal problems
8. When the room is extremely messy or too light...light shining right in your eyes
9. When the therapist is either too deep or way too light.
10. When therapist proceeds to tell you for most of the massage about their own problems.

3. Not being thorough...therapists that refuse to include glutes or abs I wouldn't go to.

Is it acceptable to do the glutes through the towels? That's what I do. If someone asked me to do the glutes without the towel, I would, but I think a lot of people would freak out if I started massaging their glutes without the towel. Most people keep their knickers/boxers on without me having to ask for anything. For me, it's a sign that they don't particularly fancy showing me their bum...

Edit: just noticed you're in America! Maybe things are different there? Apparently in France they often massage the boobs too! I wouldn't like it... And I'm French (never had a massage there though)!

Regarding glutes work, I have few clients that just come for glutes/hip release work. Work through a towel feels great and is good for broad introductory or relaxing strokes but not for precise work.

But I agree with Claire that having the underwear pulled down all the way doesn't feel comfortable at all (at least for some of us). The way I deal with this in the prone position is by just uncovering one glute at a time (provided the underwear is flexible enough- and they are not wearing tight cutting thongs). This doesn't feel intrusive at all (at least to the people I have worked with and myself) and it offers the opportunity to do great deep tissue work.

Also for me glute work is most effective on the sidelying position and that is easily manageable without feeling intrusive.

The glutes (and all the deep lateral rotators) play such a massive role on lower back pain and sciatica. It is such a pity that so many practititioners ignore the area!
Happy glutes!
M

Thanks for the input massagespace! My ITEC teacher didn't even teach us the glutes. I picked up some stuff during my pregnancy massage course!

If you use the ‘search’ function, you will find that there have been several previous threads discussing gluteal massage. Personally I agree with a comment with Paul Crick made on one of the earlier threads:

““teaching people to massage through towels is a very bad teaching practise as it severely restricts the sensitivity of the therapist to what soft tissue need working etc.”

It is useful to be able to massage over a drape if a therapist is likely to work in a semi-public environment (such as doing sports massage at a triathlon or marathon). But personally, as a client, I would be unlikely to book again with a therapist who seemed uncomfortable about massaging the glutes. I’d recommend the Sean Riehl DVD ‘Deep Tissue and Neuromuscular Therapy’ which shows how to drape a client in American style (ie folding the towel diagonally to cover the gluteal cleft).

I am slightly surprised by Claire’s comment

Most people keep their knickers/boxers on without me having to ask for anything. For me, it's a sign that they don't particularly fancy showing me their bum

My impression is that the reason most clients keep their underwear on (and why some therapists ask clients is to keep underwear on) is in order to keep the genital region covered. My impression, both from several years reading this forum and from attending CPD courses as a therapist is that there are many therapists who are comfortable with seeing their clients’ buttocks but don’t want to expose their clients’ genitals.

I will try to ‘bounce’’ a couple of the older threads for the benefit of our newer members !

Alan

I probably made this point in a previous thread, but when I was studying aromatherapy, my tutor (who was younger than me) told us that when she trained, also with ITEC, the glutes were part of the syllabus and they learnt appropriate towel technique. By the time we did the course, they were completely off-limits.

I'm happy to work on the glutes if requested, and occasionally I might suggest it if a client has a specific problem and I think they won't take it the wrong way (after all, think what big powerful muscles the glutes are and the work they have to do!), but otherwise I avoid them, which I think is a bit of a shame.

Sorry Alan D, but why is working the gluts though the towel bad training? There is more to massage than Swedish/Classical! Are you suggesting that Shiatsu, Thai, and Tui-Na practitioners are less sensitive because they work though clothing? In many respects a covered body can tell you as much or even more where the underlying tension is! How is this possible? By the adaption of technique.

As therapists we need to be a bit more open minded when it comes to technique, not just following one type of massage. Massage training in the UK should include clothed techniques as well as oily ones. We are so backward compared to USA & Asia.

Back to the topic, pulling clients underwear down without permission is bad practice. But as been said, working the gluts is an important in many musculo-sketetal (sp) disorders.

One thing I don't like from a therapist is wrapping their fingers around my throat when working the trapezium, yuk!

RP

I think that students should be taught to massage their clients on the skin before they are taught how to work through drapes or clothing. The main reason for this is to help students to improve their palpation skills. I would agree that an experienced therapist can palpate effectively through a thin drape such as a sheet: but (as we’ve discussed on earlier threads) most UK therapists seem to use thick towels rather than thin sheets for draping, and personally I like a massage to include some long effleurage strokes, which can’t really be applied over clothing.
This is (as I have made clear on an earlier thread where we discussed gluteal massage in more detail) the way in which sports massage was taught at the London School of Sports Massage (where I trained under Mel Cash in 1999). Initially we were taught to massage on bare skin (gluteal massage was included in the second week of the course). Later, when students' palpation skills are more developed, they are taught how to apply massage over clothing, for use at sports events.
I would agree that “pulling clients underwear down without permission is bad practice”. In my view, any therapist offering full body massage should conduct a client consultation before beginning the massage, so that they can ascertain if there any areas the client does not want massaged (some clients don’t want their abdomen or glutes massaged, and many men don’t want their face touched).

Alan

Back to the topic, pulling clients underwear down without permission is bad practice.
RP

Just to jump in here for anyone who does pull down clients underwear, not only is it bad practice, it is potentially illegal, as was found in a recent court case.

Hi Alan

Glad you had good training, unfortunately a lot don't.

Cheers

RP

As Alan has said, surely as long as clients are made aware in advance exactly which areas of the body will be massaged then they should not be shocked or surprised when it comes to accessing the glutes?

I always let my clients know where I massage beforehand, but I also state that this can be adapted to suit their preferences.

We were not taught gluteal massage on my course which I think is a great pity. Everything I've learned about it has been from DVDs, books and the internet. My clients all love the fact that a full body massage from me ACTUALLY means full body (except the genitals, obviously).

In terms of receiving a massage - I've yet to find a therapist (and I've tried several in recent years) who includes the glutes (and I feel too embarrassed to ask in case they think I'm weird!). I for one would be quite happy if they yanked my underwear out the way to get stuck in!! LOL!

Just my tuppence worth!

Kitten
x

Hi Kitty ;-):cat:

Good for you for expanding your techniques and continued study!:)

You are an example for us all!

RP