Questions To Help You Find A Good Clinical Massage Therapist
While seeking a practitioner that will properly address low back pain, ask these questions to help you find a good clinical massage therapist.
1.) Can we spend the hour massage on just my low back, hips and thighs?
Why: A clinical massage therapist will have no problem spending an hour addressing your low back, hips and thighs. Furthermore, the reason I mention these three areas is that they all attach to your pelvis. Altogether by focusing on this area you will begin decompression.
2.) Do you use Myofascial Techniques?
Why: Myofascial Techniques are preformed without oil at a very slow pace. Fascia encases all of the muscles of your body. Fascia also has thixotropic properties that will greatly aid in allowing muscles to relax.
3.) I was reading about “Postural Imbalance” and didn’t quite understand completely. Can you tell me a little more?
Why: A Clinical Massage Therapist will have a complete understanding of Postural Imbalance and be able to explain how it could be contributing to your low back pain.
4.) I read that muscles in my hips could be contributing to my low back pain, if that is true can you tell me how?
Why: Clinical Therapists understand how muscles relate to each other. A common misconception among those suffering from low back pain is that there is no relation between your low back, hips, stomach muscles and thighs. However, what is called “Referral Pain” quite possibly could be one of the compound factors causing you low back pain.
5.) Do use a lot of oil during your massages?
Why: Using massage oil will prevent the therapist from getting good engagement. That means most of the force applied is lost when attempting deep work. The truth is, if your goal is to stop low back pain, oil should only be used at the very end of your massage session. Massage techniques with oil during a Myofascial massage session will only be used to “smooth out” the specific work applied to your body.
~I already tried massage and it didn’t work.
Commonly people looking to stop low back pain will say “I already tried massage and it didn’t work”. When I hear this statement I know that they did not find the correct therapist. Using the questions above will help you find a therapist that specializes in pain reduction not relaxation. By the way, relaxation massage will not stop low back pain. Ever.