Finding the Best Massage Therapist for You

There are so many types of massages out there that the average person is left confused, and finds it hard to convey the type of modality they are looking for until they educate themselves. Unfortunately for some, that means wasting a lot of money receiving sub par massages.

The field of massage has changed over the years, it used to be most therapists were 2nd careers (like myself) and many felt it was a vocation to help heal people of stress and injuries. Nowadays you find many cookie cutter massage therapists working at franchises that pay very little of the hourly rate to the therapist, these therapists view massage more as a job then a career. They are making an hourly rate and rely on the client to give a nice tip.

In the state of Florida (one of the most regulated states in the country) they no longer even test the therapist with a practical exam upon licensing. How can a written test prove that a therapist is competent in a hands on profession? In my opinion you can't, so my suggestion is to look at the personal license number of the therapist of the state licensing. The higher the number the newer they are.

Try to support the independent therapists instead of those that only see you as an hourly wage. The independent therapists are getting the entire amount of your massage minus overhead and are in business as an owner most of the time, not just an employee.

You know your body better then anyone, so make sure you ask the therapist if they do the type of massage your looking for over the phone when scheduling your session.

I specialized in stress and deep tissue work for 22 years so I would ask them what type they were looking for and 9 out of 10 people said "I don't know".

I would inform them that I do not have a light touch, if your looking for a light style you want someone that does Swedish massage, if you want a massage that goes past skin level into the muscles but not deeply, then you will want a stress massage.Deep tissue work is great for problem areas and injuries such as auto accidents (some insurance companies pay with a script depending on state) sports injuries and trauma. Another option is to schedule a 30 minute session to see if you two match up!

Do your homework and give your input to the therapist, if its to deep a pressure or not deep enough. If the therapist is working too deep and you feel yourself tensing up ask them to lighten up or your defeating your purpose!

Remember, its your massage your paying for it, and you have the right to get what you want.

Once you both find the level of comfort you prefer then relax and enjoy!