Save Your Hands!® Injury Prevention & Ergonomics for Manual Therapists

I spent this past weekend exhibiting at the Florida State Massage Therapy Association conference. I spent each day on my feet, greeting massage students and professionals and chatting about their self-care and injury prevention efforts and concerns. I rarely got a chance to sit down, and when I wasn’t standing in place, I was taking small steps in and around the booth. At the end of each day I was very tired. After two and half days, I felt stiff all over, my back hurt, my legs hurt, and I was physically exhausted.

You might be wondering why someone who is relatively young and in good shape would find just standing around so tiring. It’s actually quite fatiguing to stand in one place or take only small steps for long periods. My muscles were being asked to maintain a fairly constant level of contraction to hold me up and in place, and that was keeping them in a state of static loading with not enough oxygen getting into my tissues. The result was stiffness and pain when I finally did start moving again, and an overall level of fatigue. With my muscles so stiff and fatigued, I could easily have injured myself if I attempted to do more strenuous work, like lifting boxes of books and carrying them to my car.

Now think about doing massage work. Many therapists stand for most if not all of their massage. They may take very short breaks, if any, between massages, and may not sit at all for hours on end. While they’re massaging, they may plant their feet in one place for a good portion of the massage. They may spend a good portion of the massage with their back bent over the client. The result? Fatigued, stiff, contracted muscles that could tear if an additional demand were placed on them, for example, reaching out farther than usual or lifting the client’s limb.

To avoid fatigue, be sure to sit down for at least a portion of your massage. A good rule of thumb would spending 15 minutes of every hour seated. Be sure to move around as you work – don’t let yourself stand in one place for too long. Every few minutes, try to move to a different position at the table. In the 17 years that I’ve observed massage therapists working, I’ve found that the massage therapists who have the fewest issues with symptoms or injury are those that are in nearly constant, fluid movement as they work. Try to incorporate movement into your massages, and be sure to take enough of a break between massages to sit down, relax, breath and prepare for the next client. Your feet, legs and back will thank you!

Trackback URI | Comments RSS