Why do I ask so many questions the first time you have a massage therapy appointment with me?
- Are you on any medication?
- If so, what is it for?
- Have you had any injuries or accidents?
- Do you have any chronic diseases?
- Have you recently been sick?
- What kind of physical activity do you do all day?
- Do you exercise or play sports?
- Are there any specific places where you hold muscle tension?
- How do you feel today?
Lots of questions, huh? Your answers are my clues that lead me to what is really stressing your body. If you sit in an office all day at a computer, I know that your neck, shoulders and the middle of your back are probably tense. You may have a stabbing pain right between your shoulder blades.
If you're an athlete, all I need to know is what kind of sports you play. If you're a runner, I KNOW what it feels like to have tight, quads & hams and an IT band that you could bounce a quarter on. If you're a weight lifter and you can't turn your neck, chances are that you strained one of the muscles when you were lowering the weight. If you're a soccer player, you don't have to explain very much about your muscle tension - I feel your pain.
If you're a full-time mom, I understand what it feels like to spend most of your day standing with one hip jutted out of alignment to create a stable shelf on which to sit a toddler. If you have a newborn, you spend a lot of time with your thoracic spine leaning backward and a newborn baby on your chest.
See why I ask all those questions at our first session? Don't worry, you don't have to answer every question every time. During the following sessions, I usually just ask:
How's your body today?