Wow, it is encouraging to see that my question about back strengthening for therapists is still alive and answers are still coming up. The suggestion to strengthen the extensor had never occurred to me and I am grateful,for that insight. And yes that is where my focus has been these two years. I don't do much physical exercise other than my massage work but I work on the core esp the back muscles. I am also working on a modified kegel exercise where I purposefully do the kegel exercise pulling all the interior muscles up toward my abdomen and diaphragm. It ends up lifting my spine and assists in my standing correctly upright with a feeling of the interior core being tightened. I have done many kegel exercises to tighten my lower abdomen after the birth of my last child who was quite large at age 34. It stopped me having a leaky bladder and uplift the interior structure from a prolapse uterus. The problem of the weakened ilium core has been greatly reduced by a specific exercise or cross hip resistance to pop the ilium a back into place. But years of visits to a chiropractor who uses muscle testing has brought me to where it is rare to have low back problems unless i sit a long time. And I raised my table and use my bended knees and straight back (with a pushed out butt) to keep my back in extension while doing the work of sparing the spine. Thanks again Jason and all of the input you all have maintained on this post. And I still maintain that massage schools should do a better job of screening students for problems with the back that they see on the tables in classes. I have several LMTs who are working with significant back pain from years of abuse as children in sports and falls from horses. They are looking for help with their problems as much as their clients .

I totally agree with this, as a PT and an LMT I know  this to be true. Many massage therapists rely on trades and other practitioners to keep them going. There is so much you can do for yourself. Traditional body mechanics is a good start but limited, Aston® Mechanics teaches you how to approach the body in a neutral alignment, adjusting the force vectors as you move, decreasing effort and increasing mechanical advantage = decreased pain. I am developing a fitness class for massage therapists right now-what do you think? Would people take it?

Laura K Dylla said:

Seems like exercise for massage therapists was a good question to ask. Thanks for all the input. My problem stems from a mild scolotic curve of the lumbar that cork-screwed my spine and skewed my hips. Thanks to adjustments by a chiro who does muscle testing, I am stronger than before but found that any exercises seemed to exacerbate the back problems. The erector spinae and lats and traps on my left side engage in warfare against my body. So finding exercises that stopped the corkscrew and strengthened my back at the same time seemed impossible. I viewed the turkish get ups and if I can find some good hand weights, also the farmers walk seems like a good exercise. I also viewed some extension exercises that will help my erectors.
But maybe, massage schools should introduce exercise as a way for LMTs to extend their life of massage. If there are anymore ideas, please give them to me. Thanks a bunch.

I think an exercise program for LMTs would be awesome, ESP if you included an assessment of structure that can point a therapist toward modalities or function that can improve and correct the torso. Misaligned ilium or hip displacement uncorrected is the source of much lumbar pain and sciatica...also causing lose of height and compression of discs and torquing of the entire structure. I would love to corroborate with you Michelle especially on the problems I encountered previous to attending massage school and what I experienced in the years since as an LMT working a full schedule. I am in much better posture since I started asan LMT and I try to use that knowledge and the tidbits of knowledge passed on by other LMTs I have encountered.