a community of practitioners

Massage school with limitations

Hi,

I'm new here. I've been reading the forum and getting lots of great information. So glad I found this site. :)

I'm planning on entering massage school in the fall. We have a nice 6 term program at the local community college. I've been wanting to do something in the healing arts for most of my life. I was a doula for awhile, and studied midwifery for awhile, but with small children, that didn't work out well at the time. Now that the kids are older (I am too, darn it), it's time for a change. Currently I'm a freelance book editor, and while it allows me to work from home, I end up working ALL the time just to make ends meet. I've been working with a couple of wonderful people (an acupuncturist and an LMT) while healing from a car accident last fall that have inspired me to make this change.

Anyway, now that you know a little of my history...here's my question. I have Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome Hypermobility type. What this means is I'm bendy. I was the kid in school freaking people out because my elbows bowed out funny and I could bend my fingers backward. The severity is moderate, so I get clicky shoulders, some aches in my fingers and wrists, hyperextensions on some of my finger joints and both my thumb MCP joints. I'm in physical therapy to strengthen the muscles in these areas to better support them, learning optimal body mechanics, and will be getting silver ring splints to support my hand joints when I'm not doing massage. I've discussed my intention with my PT, my hand therapist, and my LMT. They all thought it was possible as long as I built up my strength and kept it up. I do daily exercises designed to do so and qi gong. I spoke to one of the teachers at the program I want to attend and they said they could find alternative ways for me to do some of the deeper work.

Do you have any more suggestions for me to support and/or strengthen these weak areas so I can perform this job? You're all in the trenches and do this job every day. I value your opinions and suggestions.

So with this against me, why am I choosing this profession, knowing it's such physical work? As I mentioned before, I've wanted to do something in the healing arts for a long time. I've been a reiki practitioner since 2000, and since experiencing craniosacral therapy while healing from the accident, I want to learn that as well. It has really helped me and my kids who also happened to be in the car with me that day. While I don't need to be licensed to do reiki or craniosacral work in my state, I feel I need an anchor modality that will help clients find me. We have a lot of bodyworkers in our area, so one needs to be well-versed in several modalities to attract clients. Even so, according to labor statistics for our area, there is still room for growth here in this field...and if I need to, we can move closer to the coast for more options. And finally, two of my kids are chronically ill due to the Ehlers-Danlos and associated illnesses. If I am trained to help them, it not only helps them but our budget, since we don't need to pay out of pocket to have them treated. Our insurance doesn't cover massage, but it has sure made a difference to them while healing from the car accident. I'm also currently studying herbal medicine, with an emphasis on traditional Chinese medicine, so I feel that will help me stand out, as I can provide liniments, salves, etc to soothe sore muscles.

I'm also interested in learning more about trigger point therapy and any other modalities that speak to me. Ideally, I'd like to focus on therapeutic treatments to help others like my kids who end up with chronic pain. When they talk to their doctors about it, they get nowhere. There are a lot of people out there in the same boat. I would like to help them.

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Permalink Reply by Gary W Addis, LMT on July 2, 2016 at 7:29pm

Therese, how does chikly differ from CST? Which is superior in your opinion?

Therese Schwartz said:

I have taken Chikly's LDT 1 class and it's amazing! Very light work with profound benefits for clients.

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Permalink Reply by Gordon J. Wallis on July 2, 2016 at 8:30pm

I believe you could do the Russiter system without a problem. And it's sort of a rare system, so you would have a nitch.
And it works.
Toni Rakestraw said:

Wow...what a comprehensive list! Thank you! I'm taking your advice from our chats and sticking to non-licensure practices for the moment. Found a great deal on a table today and am looking into liability insurance now. Got on the mailing list for the next craniosacral training in our state. I'll do some research on these. I can't thank you enough. :)

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Permalink Reply by Toni Rakestraw on July 2, 2016 at 10:06pm

Thanks for your input, Gordon. I'm reading about it now. I'm wondering how it would work on someone with EDS as a patient. I may write to them and ask.

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Permalink Reply by Gordon J. Wallis on July 2, 2016 at 11:04pm

Rossiter is what I call a hard style. It uses force, and can hurt. But that's a hard style you can do. Because you are standing and using your body weight. Ortho-bionomy is what I call a soft style, you don't need power or strength. With those two systems, you would be able to help a wide swath of people out of pain ,discomfort , and stress. I'm just thinking out loud. Ortho- bionomy would work for an EDS client, I think. All that being said, I'm not an expert on either system. I totally understand the Rossiter concept though. I use that concept on myself when rehabbing my forearms.

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Permalink Reply by Toni Rakestraw on July 3, 2016 at 12:07pm

Thanks for your input, Gordon. I'm reading about it now. I'm wondering how it would work on someone with EDS as a patient. I may write to them and ask.

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Permalink Reply by Gary W Addis, LMT on July 3, 2016 at 12:33pm

A visit to Chikly website, a photo showing them working on the scalp of a client confused, in my mind as it looked so similar to CST. With apologies to all who think CST is the cat's meow, though I have had only one CST session and zero schooling in it, I just can't buy into it.

Lymph drainage therapies work, I know this from personal experience treating my late mother in law during her final weeks of life. And recently, my wife slipped and fell in the shower, badly bruised one arm. Some say I should have begun treating her immediately; others that one should wait 2-3 days for capillary healing. I waited one day, then began MLD-- gently. Two days later, the huge purple contusion is significantly less inflamed.

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Permalink Reply by Toni Rakestraw on July 5, 2016 at 7:55pm

Thanks! We seem to keep missing each other online. :P

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Permalink Reply by Toni Rakestraw on July 5, 2016 at 10:59pm

Thanks, Gary. I'll watch the videos. I'm sure I'll learn a lot. :) I've decided to put off massage school for awhile in favor of non-licensed practices. See if I can make a go of that first. So far I've got my insurance, a table, and a website mostly done. All I can do at the moment is reiki, but it's a start to build upon. I'm reading all I can on marketing. The publisher I work for had cut back, so I've suddenly found myself with a drastically lower income for the next several months. I need to get something going one way or another, so I'm actively working on this as well as looking for freelance editing clients. Something will happen either way.

Thanks, Pueppi. Your advice always gives me something new to consider. I'm talking to some of the Rossiter people. It sounds interesting.