Why Does My Massage Feel Like a Routine?

You love massage and you get them regularly. They’ve helped so much with you’re back pain and also recovering after those long runs and work out sessions. It’s important for you to stay in shape and massage feels awesome so you decide book a session at a new place. There you are on the treatment table and settled in, you’ve told the therapist your problem areas but something’s off… they’re not focusing on what you need. What you find is that they seem to following some step-by-step routine completely ignoring your request. The pressure is good, therapist seems nice but you leave the massage completely unsatisfied and not feeling heard.

It’s in cases like these that break or make someone sticking with massage. There’s no doubt that it’s frustrating to feel as though you’re throwing your money away when you really wanted that one spot worked on. Today I’m going to talk about massage routines, why they exist, the pros and cons, how therapists feel about them and how you can avoid them if you need a serious issue worked on. 

Massage Routines

I think I liken everything to food and I’ll do the same in this case. Massage Routines are like recipes. Let’s say you visit your favorite Starbucks store and you order your favorite drink but there is something off about the ingredients. The barista decided to chuck the recipe and make her own creation, not really what you asked for and you leave disappointed. In the world of massage and business, it works similarly. Businesses that offer massage are trying to avoid a product disappointment. Let’s say you visit a spa and the massage menu says

Riverflow Massage enjoy a relaxing bodywork session with light to medium pressure to the soothing sounds of a bubbling brook.

Now, you love water sounds and this massage sounds like exactly what you need. But the therapist working this shift is sick and tired of this massage. She decides the sound of birds in the background is more appealing, not knowing you have a severe phobia of birds. The entire session consists of you tensing your muscles at every chirp. In this case, the massage is a product and it didn’t deliver. Massage routines exist to promote an expected experience in sight, smell and touch. Therapists that work in spas and other businesses that offer massage will be trained in these protocols in hopes that it will become second nature. The downside is that some therapists use this as a safety net not as a foundation. Unwise employers that don’t permit a little flexibility in the massage will risk the therapist becoming bored and you feeling unhappy with your session.

Pros

You’ll benefit from a routine when the massage therapist is open to learning. There have been many routines that I’ve been trained on and although my movements weren’t exactly graceful at first, eventually I caught on and learned. You’ll benefit from a therapist that is taught something new because one that stays stuck in their ways might be a little bored from their own routine that they’ve developed. A therapist that is not learning is not growing and that is something you’ll feel in your massage. It’s up to the spa manager/director to make sure that therapist feels comfy in that routine for it to flow properly. Also, you as a client are introduced to new techniques as well. Routines can get you out of your regular massage routines and open your senses to receiving bodywork in a new and possibly positive way if done well.

Cons

As I mentioned before, a routine could be a safety net for a massage therapist. Think of training wheels on a bicycle. A therapist can do more but they fear veering off from what they know. This limiting belief can indeed make the routine feel forced and lifeless. This is also has a lot to do with the management of the location. Is the therapist forced to stick to the same routine step by step? While consistency is good, unlike coffee ingredients, human body shapes and sizes come differently. For example if a routine requires a whole lot of stretching you’re tall and built but your therapist struggles with the weight of your limbs, it can be a challenge to follow the same routine. In a case like this, it’s important for the therapist to improvise to avoid hurting you or themselves.

What a Therapist Thinks

I know, I know you’re the paying customer and the focus is on you but while you’re comfort is extremely important remember that massage is a two person experience. Client and practitioner work hand in hand to make this wonderful session take place, so in all fairness both of you should feel pretty good in the treatment room. Some therapists love routines and others absolutely hate them. The latter are the therapists that are free spirited and truly intuitive, believing anything prefabricated will cut the lifeblood from their massage. Then there are the fearful therapists that cling on to a routine for dear life, hoping that it will be able to deliver what the customer needs. The problem with the two is that it is two extremes and the goal would be to find a medium where discipline and freedom can co-exist in a treatment.

Avoiding Routines

Whenever I book a massage I’m looking for multiple aspects but I always tell the therapist, “be free to do what you do best.” This could mean many things for therapists but it usually results in a big smile because you’re telling that therapist that you trust in their abilities. If you want to avoid routines and protocols here are a few suggestions

Go to an independent massage therapist that has free reign over what they believe is best for you.

Visit a spa where the therapists can work with complete freedom  and long as they deliver the results the client needs.

Request a customized massage which many places offer on their menu.

Michelle Orchid Rodriguez is a wellness lifestyle blogger,educator and an independent Licensed Massage Therapist. Her mission is to promote a higher quality of life for others through her work in therapeutic massage  & promoting healthy living. She is the founder of Lumina Massage Inc. in Miami Lakes,Florida. Lumina Massage is a specialty massage company that focuses on neuromuscular therapy for pain management and advanced prenatal bodywork.