How many actual hours of massage do you do a week?

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Permalink Reply by Erica Olson on November 30, 2009 at 11:14am

For me, it depends on the time of year. I live in a ski town, so income is extremely seasonal. Last winter, I worked probably 3-5 hours a day, 7 days a week. Last month, a full week went by without me working on anyone.

For self care, I found that my stamina increased and my aches and pains evaporated once I started lifting weights twice a week. I'd been doing yoga once a week for a couple of years, which also really helped, but kicking it up to 2-3x/week during the high season saves me. During winter, a monthly massage is absolutely necessary, but finding the time can be tough.

Ideally, with the correct time/money intersection, I'd love to do weights 2-3x/week, yoga 3x/week, and a massage at least once every other week.

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Permalink Reply by Frank J on February 6, 2011 at 5:58am

I think they may have included tips into that salary avg. I worked in a spa once and on paper I made about 30k and that was for about 2/3 of the year. With tips I know I made a lot more than 30k. I do agree with you that most MTs dont make that kind of money but there are some rare cases where it is possible

Gerry Bunnell said:

I once found on a website that gave salary averages that Massage Therapists made an average of 52k/year. I wondered to myself where they got their figures from. I can conceive of that kind of income frome clinic owners, but the majority of therapists I have encountered make less than that. It is possible that those who calculate salaries base it on an hourly rate and a 40 hour work week and don't take into account that full time for an MT ranges around 30 hours/wk with 20-25 hours being actual time spent massaging.

I personally love being an MT. Given the time I spend doing it and the income I make, I feel I am well compensated.

In regards to average longevity of a therapist, it is good to remember that it is an average. How many therapists actually make a career for themselves once they are out of school. I feel if one makes it past the 2 year mark, then they can be considered a career therapist. If an longevity average is taken from all therapists who have lasted beyond the 2 year mark, I feel the average would be very different. It is a statistic. Statistical information depends greatly on where you take the starting values from.

Peace

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Permalink Reply by Lauriann Greene, CEAS on February 6, 2011 at 1:55pm

Julie, you wrote: "I feel worse after sitting at the computer for 3 hours than I do doing massage for the same amount of time."  It's true that the static positioning and lack of circulation that comes from sitting at a computer can certainly make anyone (including me) feel pretty lousy.  Massage work certainly involves lots more movement and stimulates the circulation much more, but there are many other risk factors involved in the work (including repetitive movement, hand force and awkward postures, the "big 3" risk factors) that need to be addressed to prevent injury.  In addition, there are many other physical and emotional factors that can contribute to increasing injury risk for massage therapists.

 

One of the reasons that therapists don't do more massage is that the work is physically and emotionally demanding, and as a result there will always be a small minority of therapists who, despite their best efforts, will develop symptoms and/or injury.  Another reason is that many therapists don't know how to address these risk factors effectively so that symptoms and injury can be prevented. Methods exist that have been proven in decades of research to prevent injury. It is within the reach of most therapists to be able to do their work successfully and stay in their career by using these methods.  Whether that would mean that more would work past 20 or 25 hours a week is hard to say - we don't have enough research yet that would indicate this.  But at least they would likely be able to do that amount of work and remain healthy.

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Permalink Reply by Lauriann Greene, CEAS on February 6, 2011 at 2:08pm

Just a quick addition to my last comment, after reading some other comments in this discussion like "It is all about correct body mechanics and staying in good physical shape." Using good body mechanics and staying in good physical shape are important components to preventing injury; however, the only strategy that has been proven to prevent injury is a multifaceted one that includes a number of other factors, including ergonomics (you can't use good body mechanics in a space that doesn't allow you to use them), good nutrition and other self-care factors, dealing with emotional issues that can be risk factors for injury, and much more. There are many reasons that people get injured - that's why what worked for one person may very well not work for someone else; for example, someone said that yoga saved one person's back - I can tell you that PT and MT offices are filled with people who have hurt themselves doing yoga, too.  You need the knowledge to be able to analyze your own risk factors and then develop a multifaceted strategy that addresses those risk factors.  And yes, massage really is hard on the body, if you analyze the actual work that is done and how the body reacts to that work, there's no denying that the way most people do massage (i.e. with hand force, for an hour or more at a time, mostly standing, and multiple times per day or week) is real physical, athletic work that is challenging for the body.  The good news is that you CAN prevent injury - an understanding of the complexity of why people get injured from physical work is essential for this - it's also essential so you can understand why your clients get injured from THEIR work, and how to treat them.

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Permalink Reply by Marla Barrett on February 9, 2011 at 7:40pm

I work tuesday through Friday with my chiropractor usually 20-22 massages. I also work at a spa on the weekends and I do anywhere from 12 to 15 there. So i can have a busy week for sure, and I LOVE IT!!! I have been practicing since 2001 and i am still going strong.

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Permalink Reply by Lisa on February 9, 2011 at 9:38pm

Just a couple of quick thoughts...

 

My school actually taught us to not do more than 5 sessions a day. They were very specific on doing more would decrease the longevity of your practice due to the physical and emotional aspects of giving a massage.

 

Also, could it be that therapists also work less hours than the normal 40 hour week we see in corporate america, because we are striving for more of a balance between work and life? I remember when I was in massage school, the students talked often about wanting to get away from the 40 hour week and hoping that one could continue to afford the same lifestyle working less doing massage.

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Permalink Reply by Daniel Cohen on February 9, 2011 at 10:42pm

This is good to hear Lee. I am 60 and would like to do this for at least 10 more years. Business has been busy lately. In the past 7 days I did 32 hours of massage (not including laundry, phone calls, cleaning). Yes I get tired but the next day I am anxious to get going. 26 is closer to my norm.

As for the average life in massage, 8 years is an improvement. It use to be 5.
lee kalpin said:

For years I did 27 hours of massage a week, mostly deep work (plus laundry, paperwork, cleaning the clinic etc.).I was tired by the end of the week, but I never had an injury and I have been in practice for 25 years.Now I am taking life easy. At present I do about 15 hours of massage a week, and consider myself semi-retired (I just turned 69). It is all about correct body mechanics and staying in good physical shape.

Julie Onofrio said:

Thanks everyone. I guess why I am asking is that I am gearing up my practice to do more massages. I have only been doing about 8-10 a week and already have 14 scheduled for next week -mostly all cash client which I have been working to build up but I haven't been working out due to a knee injury.

I also was thinking that we might be using the fact that massage is hard on your body (It may or may not be really. I feel worse after 4 hours on the computer than a day at the office!) to limit our success. Who ever started this thing not to do many massages? Is it all part of the mentality to keep people from being successful? Yes I know the more you do the more self care is involved- more massage sessions and more trips to the spa for me.

I was just thinking about all of my clients who work 40 hours at a desk. I know I became a massage therapist to get out of the rat race type of job but by doing only 15-20 massages a week makes massage a part time career and also makes it harder to make a really great living.

Just thinking out loud here sort of...

Julie

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Permalink Reply by Samantha Sarandos on May 19, 2012 at 7:49pm

 One of the many great things about being a massage therapist is being able to be at home with the children and still earn extra income.  I have 2 children myself, as far as comparing massage and other occupations though is far stretched, I don't want to offend anybody, so please don't take my reply as an attack.  I have worked in many industries before becoming a therapist. I was a house painter for a very long time and worked 12 to 14 hour days at time, and sure maybe I would get swore and tired, but it in no way was as much on my body and emotional state as doing 4 to 5 hours of massage. I love being a therapist and wish I could do more, I also love my clients enough to know that after a certain amount of appointments, I will not be able to give to them 100% if I push myself too hard.  I have been working since 1997  and I have had to take time off in between. And yes....every therapist needs a therapist...<3 

Donna Whitton said:

I'm not sure who started puushing the concept that many massages are hard on the body, but I do agree; however, so are many other jobs/careers out there. My husband is a road worker which includes shoveling for long hours - he doesn't just 'not' shovel after a few hours and figure on getting back to it after the body has rested, he finishes the job or atleast the eight hour shift. He maintains his body the same way as I do mine: massage, chiro care, good nights' rest, and having a hobby to balance out the bad stress with some personal time.

I personally choose to do as little as I do mostly because I'm a young mom - as in my kids are not even in school yet. That being said, I've already, on numerous occasions, discussed with my husband my plans for a little expansion once they are in school and my mornings are free for focusing on massages.

Of course, I also like the idea of working less and enjoying life more, so I'm not sure if I'd ever take on a 40 work week anyhow - Nobody says on their deathbed: I wish I would have worked more.

Julie Onofrio said:

Thanks everyone. I guess why I am asking is that I am gearing up my practice to do more massages. I have only been doing about 8-10 a week and already have 14 scheduled for next week -mostly all cash client which I have been working to build up but I haven't been working out due to a knee injury.

I also was thinking that we might be using the fact that massage is hard on your body (It may or may not be really. I feel worse after 4 hours on the computer than a day at the office!) to limit our success. Who ever started this thing not to do many massages? Is it all part of the mentality to keep people from being successful? Yes I know the more you do the more self care is involved- more massage sessions and more trips to the spa for me.

I was just thinking about all of my clients who work 40 hours at a desk. I know I became a massage therapist to get out of the rat race type of job but by doing only 15-20 massages a week makes massage a part time career and also makes it harder to make a really great living.

Just thinking out loud here sort of...

Julie

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Permalink Reply by Linda LePelley, RN, NMT on May 20, 2012 at 8:31am

I do about 25 massages a week. I’ve been doing massage for 17 years. About 10 years ago I was working full time as a night shift RN Supervisor, and doing 4 to 5 massages a day in my clinic. I became ill and over the next year lost the ability to walk, but I was able to make adjustments that allowed me to transition to full time massage. I then began doing 8 and 9 massages a day, 6 days a week, for a couple of years. I think that throwing myself into massage and helping other people helped me deal with what I had lost. Then one day, I just had to admit I was exhausted, my hands and arms ached, and I had to focus on healing myself. I spent the next year doing only about 4 or 5 massages a week, and a lot of massage on myself. I got my hands and arms into the best shape they have ever been, and I went back to full time massage. I now do 26 to 28 one hour massages a week. I consider it a full time job. I don’t do full-body or relaxation massages any more, I refer those out, I only work on specific problems, such as RLS, Sciatica, Plantar Fasciitis, knee pain, headache, etc. What time and energy I have I spend on relieving pain and restoring mobility. I think that knowing I’m helping people is the biggest benefit of this profession for me. I am in the process of starting a non-profit organization dedicated to providing massage for persons who are at risk of being crippled by pain but can’t afford massage.

I think the most important thing about this profession, about anything we choose to do, is having a passion for doing it. Where there is a will, a way will be found to continue. Massage therapists have everything they need in their own hands to keep going, physically and mentally, if they want to.

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Permalink Reply by Gordon J. Wallis on May 20, 2012 at 10:58am

I have 38 hours a week available for massage work...I probably work about 34 hours a week.  I work on myself , stretching and self massage, at least one hour a day every day.   Ive lasted almost 30 years now.  I feel very confident when working on any repetitive stress injury because Ive experienced and cured myself many times. 

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Permalink Reply by Denise Wagner on May 20, 2012 at 12:29pm

I have been massaging for 8 years.  I do an average of 25 hours per week.  Sometimes more sometimes less.  I try to get regular massages myself.  I love what I do and I expect to do this for several more years.  I think proper body mechanics, healthy diet and regular exercise and stretching keep me going.  I do a lot of deep tissue.  Having a hydraulic table helps tremendously!  I can adjust my table easier for the different body types.

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Permalink Reply by Lucianna Johnston on May 28, 2012 at 12:25pm

I do a minimum of 20 - 25 clients per week but some of them are yoga clients. I find that making sure I stay fit (cardio, yoga) and eat a nutritious diet keeps me feeling great and injury free. When I had a baby I gained weight and got out of shape for a while and that was when it was hardest on me. I have lost all the weight and then some and am more fit than ever.....it is amazing what a difference it makes! I feel wonderful, and I agree with you, sitting at the computer for a few hours is harder on my body than a day of massages. I do think it's important to keep the bigger picture in mind when you are making your schedule and take adequate time off to recover. Sometimes I will work for a couple of weeks without time off and then take a couple longer breaks. Also, try to organize my clients according to how hard or easy they are to work on.

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