Bruised spine and surrounding muscle...

[Smib]

Hi geeks,

I went for a back massage yesterday, and the therapist started doing this move where you get the elbow and run around the shoulder blade to get any knots out, when she started this it was so painful I asked her to not put as much pressure on. She moved over to the other side and went in full wack again, anyway this time she went onto my spine for a brief moment and it cracked and the pain was so intense, I nearly jumped off the couch. Last night I could hardly move and had to take painkillers for it, I have woken up this morning with bruising on that area of my spine and surrounding muscle.

I am a therapist myself so know that this should not happen, I am thinking of going to back to let them know but I don't want this girl to lose her job but just to let her know that she really has to be more careful when doing her back massages, do you think this would happen?

Thanks!

 

[MissCullen]

Ouch! I hope your pain is subsiding :-(
Personally I would go back. You asked her to lessen the pressure and she obviously didnt. I'm trained in this and if that were me doing the treatment and client askes for less I would do so and ask again how the pressure was, sounds like she didnt do this. She shouldnt of gone over your spine like that. By going back doesnt mean she will loose her job, perhaps she needs more training, her boss/and herself need to know this. She could be causing alot of damage to people. Wouldnt you yourself want to know if you hadnt done something right? I know I sure would.
Go back and voice your concerns and tell them what happened.
Keep us posted x

 

[Miss_B]

Definitely complain.
She should not being doing that at all and certainly not causing you any pain.
Yes, deep/sports massage can hurt but we are trained to constantly keep asking about the pain if there is any so we can adjust pressure, sort out trigger points etc.
She didnt obviously listen to you as you asked her to not use as much pressure, and has ended up hurting you.
What type of massage did you ask for/book if you dont mind me asking?

 

[Smib]

Thanks for the replies, it was just for a 'relaxing' back neck and shoulder massage at a spa. I had to leave work today due to not being able to do my treatments properly because of the pain and went to the GP's for a doc to look at and she just confirmed what I thought and said that unfortunately only time can heal it.

So I went to the spa afterwards and they have taken details of everything and said they are going to speak to the therapist tomorrow and will call me to let me know what happens. Thing is one of my colleges trained with her in college so knows that she isn't properly trained in any kind of deep tissue :S

I just hope that my pain doesn't last as I am now missing work because of it!

I will keep you updated xx

 

[hippy-chick]

if its a spa, they have probably trained the person up themselves to do this type of move.
they will probably do something about it, ie check her massage and keep an eye on her, but at the end of the day, she was probably doing albeit a little over enthusiastically, what she has been shown to do without the knowledge behind it.

I've seen their massage protocols in the past and it says things like "lomi lomi move" "deep tissue move" - this doesn't mean that they are trained up to do this type of massage, they've just learn't a single move shown by them by the head therapist.

 

[Susie H]

if its a spa, they have probably trained the person up themselves to do this type of move.
they will probably do something about it, ie check her massage and keep an eye on her, but at the end of the day, she was probably doing albeit a little over enthusiastically, what she has been shown to do without the knowledge behind it.

I've seen their massage protocols in the past and it says things like "lomi lomi move" "deep tissue move" - this doesn't mean that they are trained up to do this type of massage, they've just learn't a single move shown by them by the head therapist.

I'm going to high jack the thread hun:lol:
That's actualy quiet frightning, as I know to my cost, once your spine is damaged an uneducated person can do a lot of additional permanent damage.
I've been thinking of getting into a massage routine for a couple of months and know it would be important for me to tell the therepist what's wrong with me before they start.
So Anne, what should I know about them? What qualifications should I, or anyone else expect to see before lieing down on the couch?

 

[jacqueline]

Deep tissue work even when done correctly can be "uncomfortable" and you can end up a bit sore but what fills me with horror is she was doing this over the spine area and carried on the trapz, which is less of a crime, that said when you told her it was too deep she should have let up straight away and not repeated it on the other side.

The incident with the spine, this is day one week one sort of stuff, it is a no no.

Likewise these sort of deep tissue "moves" should only be carried out by experienced therapists who have trained. I carry out a lot of deep tissue work but always work with the client and within their tolerance.

Another thing is this is how we can lose customers too, as some think this is what happens when you have a massage. Luckily you knew this wasn't correct and did something about it. Others might just run to the hills and avoid having another massage.

Between stories like this and therapists who do massage routines on auto which we have discussed recently, I despair at times and hand on heart I am glad I practice in the States where there is state regulation and the licence is issued by the health department and governor after rigorous training and a licensure exam after graduating,so you can pass the course but if you don't pass the national exam you don't get a license and can't practice so not just anybody can do a three day course and then be let loose.

I really believe standardisation and regulation is the answer and lack of it really worries me within our industry in the UK and I do wish I had more time to look further into it, as, although I know there are some fantastic therapists out there but for every great therapist there are many that "cuff" their way through but regulations would go some of the way to help!

I'm shutting up now ;+)