For those professional massage therapists and bodyworkers who seem to have found a specific niche or two, selecting the right kind of massage cream may be a matter of finding the one that best suits your niche modality. Even if you do not have a specific niche in your work as a massage therapist or bodyworker, you may still be able to detect one or two common and pronounced characteristics of your work, which can also help you to select the optimal massage cream.
One example of a fairly popular specialty among professional massage therapists and bodyworkers is the practice of modalities and techniques that aim to relieve pain. Of course, this niche can get even more specialized as you dig deeper and find those practitioners who work on clients with various types of pain, such as athletes who may have overuse injuries or clients with head, jaw and neck pain.
Addressing clients who present with aches and pains is also the type of action that could show up more as a common thread running through your practice, rather than a niche specialty that you market and advertise to potential clients. Either way, though, if you tend to see quite a few clients complaining mainly of pain, you could use this knowledge to help you select the best-possible massage cream.
In this scenario, you may want to begin trying out massage creams that contain some kind of pain-relieving ingredients. This might mean arnica montana or menthol, or you may find a massage cream that uses some other kind of
In addition, because easing pain often calls for deeper and more spot specific massage therapy or bodywork, one may also be compelled to search for a massage cream that provides the right amount of friction, or "stick." This type of massage cream should make it easier for the practitioner to apply his or her techniques without slipping or sliding away from the site of pain.
As another example, near the other end of the spectrum of massage therapy and bodywork, is the practice of modalities and techniques that focus much more on relaxing the client both mentally and physically, rather than addressing a specific source of pain. Often, the massage therapists who work in this niche or find it to be a common thread from session to session, may use lighter strokes at times, varying the routine so that it does not consist entirely of focused deep tissue work.
For these massage therapists and bodyworkers, finding a massage cream that allows for the right amount of both friction and glide could be key to best enhancing the application of techniques. In addition, massage creams that contain essential oils known to help induce calm and relaxation may help further the results of your hands-on therapy.
--Brandi Schlossberg
« Back to the Massage Creams Resource Center »
0 comments:
Post a Comment