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Good Body Mechanics
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Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Josh, DeliberateWebSolutions.com on
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Great question Matthew!
First, it's not okay if you get injured. You've got to stay well to both be a support for your clients as well as modelling to them proper body mechanics. It's a transferable skill.
Body mechanics take some time to integrate and continued focus to maintain. At my school they taught Tai Chi to support awareness of body mechanics and efficient body movement / moving-body awareness. It was very helpful. But if Tai Chi or another movement modality isn't taught at your school I'd say start practicing simplified versions of what you're being asked to do.
Try things like moving at one-quarter speed with enhanced awareness on each subtle movement. I know it sounds like it might be tedious but in fact can be a great meditation as well as reducing the chances of you injuring yourself.
Remember also to aim for great efficiency in your movements and forces (vectors). The 'harder' you 'push' the more likey you are to overeffort and hurt yourself and/or your client.
It starts with awareness.
Best of success to you Matthew!
Joshua
PS. Walking meditation might also be a useful support practice. :)
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Permalink Reply by Cera McMiller on
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Hi Matthew,
A couple of points for you; You may have heard that the average life span for a massage therapist is 3-5 years, partially due to injuries and partially due to burn out. When I was in school and trying to focus on my technique and my body mechanics I also felt a little overwhelmed. At one point I thought similar to you, I am ok with an injury, I can tough it out. I did not suffer the way you seem to be, but I did strain myself.
I made the decision to stop thinking about it so much (because overthinking really affected my massage technique) and I couldn't concentrate on either fully. Over time I noticed that my body mechanics inmproved by making small but frequent adjustments in my posture, how I hold my shoulders, and where my feet are. I have aslo adjusted my table height several times.
With time, patience, and practice you will get there. Please NO INJURIES!!! : )
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Permalink Reply by Gordon J. Wallis on
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The way they teach massage now almost makes me wanna throw up. The whole system causes people to think too much..My gawd just make sure you are comfortable when you massage somebody...Dont even have to think.. As far as the schools go....I always tell new massage therapists to forget everything they were taught... They'd be better off just using common sense.
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Permalink Reply by Matthew Taylor on
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Cera McMiller said:
Hi Matthew,
A couple of points for you; You may have heard that the average life span for a massage therapist is 3-5 years, partially due to injuries and partially due to burn out. When I was in school and trying to focus on my technique and my body mechanics I also felt a little overwhelmed. At one point I thought similar to you, I am ok with an injury, I can tough it out. I did not suffer the way you seem to be, but I did strain myself.
I made the decision to stop thinking about it so much (because overthinking really affected my massage technique) and I couldn't concentrate on either fully. Over time I noticed that my body mechanics inmproved by making small but frequent adjustments in my posture, how I hold my shoulders, and where my feet are. I have aslo adjusted my table height several times.
With time, patience, and practice you will get there. Please NO INJURIES!!! : )
well what i really said was i would rather injure myself than someone else. i'm not ok with injuries at all since i have suffered quite the few years before even getting into school here. but you're right about not thinking about it so much. i'll try it tonight in class. i just hope that i still don't burn out once my legs and/or hands start shaking o_O it's a slight problem i hope to resolve soon, but it's not as bad as worrying bout my body mechanics
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Permalink Reply by Michelle Batac on
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If this is already being done at your school, sorry for the repetition. It was taught at mine and worked for me. otherwise, seriously overthinking things really does cause more stress than its needs to be right now for you, i agree with the others.
Someone on the table.
Someone watching.
Someone giving the massage.
The person on the table gives feedback every time it is asked for by the student working on them. The person watching gives pointers about body mechanics and draping only to the person working both by physically moving the person into correct positions and explaining it in words.
sometimes having another person helps to add feedback on paper for future recall.
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You want to be comfortable with or in whatever movement you are doing.. Thats it.. You gotta check it out yourself.. Try different things.. Dont think so much...feel your body..Does that feel good to you? Its a matter of just doing it and finding out yourself...Other wise you are just a robot trying to memorize the way you think you are suppose to do it...But never really sure...Just forget everything, get comfortable, and massage.
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actually, yesterday, we did anterior upper body massage and i got some 1 on 1 instruction from a graduating student. he REALLY helped me by teaching me a lot and also he was able to give me slight pointers on my body mechanics which made me not even think about it at all! i was able to give a great massage with his instruction, i got constant feedback from my client, it all went VERY VERY well. so thanks to him, i got some advice as to what can help my body mechanics in the future that i can use not only with anterior upper body but the whole body. pushing my weight against the table for support that he taught me, REALLY helps while in the stances, it's great.
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having just graduated, I can tell you my experience would be always focus on your body mechanics. The rest will come soon enough. Quite automatically. Just never forget to take care of yourself. Nobody else will do it for you.
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Permalink Reply by Therese Schwartz on
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Matthew, it's also possible that if you are straining this much with your legs shaking that your table could be too low. Try different table heights and see what works. You will find that different size clients and different modalities require different table heights.
Glad you got some help!
Oh, and I also find that when I learn a new technique (I've been out of school for 3 years but keep educating myself) that it's still difficult for me to manage learning body mechanics and the technique at the same time. I like Gordon's idea of "Does that feel good to you?". If it doesn't, do something different immediately. Your discomfort will transmit to the client.
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you know, everyone on here is very helpful and gives great advice. thanks all.
i'll def have to readjust the height of any table i work at to see how it works for me. thanks! :D
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Gosh hydraulic tables are so nice..Makes adjusting table height so much easier.
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i know! oh man i love the hydraulic tables, makes life so much easier, i like playing with the one in class and its so fun lol, i get yelled at for it from time to time, typically because i try to use it as much as possible xD
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