Client Results- REMOVING PAIN
Clients come to see me for a reason, I help them unpack why they are sitting in front of me so we can both discover what’s happening to them.
Often it’s a 1 time visit after massage treatment, but sometimes the issue/s has been there for a little while and requires more treatment and a small amount problem solving to “drain the sink” of aches and pains. That’s the real work for me.
Without problem solving, providing massage is fluff. Fluff-ssage that drives the body deeper towards where the body doesn’t want to be, setting up more pain in the future.
Let’s get into it! Here are actual examples of client concerns that have been presented to me, followed by my line of general detective work to follow the trail.
Client: “My neck and shoulders. I want to improve them. They always feel tight and I need to loosen them”.
Me: When and how does it come on? How long or much does it affect you? What’s your relationship with the concern and what degree do you want to improve? What does your everyday look like (work, hobbies, everyday activities such as nursing a baby)?
I’ve seen these enough to get the client onto the table straight away, I start with my general neck and shoulder routine which covers the front and back, and with the information I uncover I can help the client uncover a long term solution to ease the need for massage.
This client I saw once before seeing them again 4 months later. They had a tight chest which no-one had ever massage before.
C: “When at the gym, I get bicep pain after I exercise”.
M: When does the pain come on? Mid exercise? After cooling down? The next day? What is your usual reaction when you feel it?
This indicates the structure that’s hurt (muscle, tendon, ligament, joint) and combining that with a postural and perhaps a movement assessment I can gather if it’s referral pain from a different area or if there is extra strain, from bad posture for example, causing it to be extra sensitive.
Long term solution might be rest, after treatment or a change of grip during exercise, or exercise modification to allow more full shoulder stability which eases the tension on the forearms as the elbow is more stable.
This client I saw three times in 2 months. They replaced preacher curles with other exercises.
C: “I’m dealing with ongoing hip aches and issues with it locking up. I usually stretch it and massage it with a ball and it goes away after 2-3 days but it’s now been a week”.
M: Are there different factors that contribute to it? Is it avoidable or is it the nature of your training or work? Have you seen other professionals for it and what haven’t they addressed to could be a solution? Why’s your goals and is this issue necessary?
Often it’s a combination of different factors which causes issues in our bodies. These types of injuries are a little more complex and require a behaviour change for a real solution. Behaviour changes sound harder than what it seems, it’s a matter of perspective, a look at priorities (family, money, fun) and a simple tool to nurture that change (such as a change of shoes).
This client I saw three times in 2 months. They saw a physio after me and figured out using partial reps to train depth in their squats provided the long-term solution.
