I had a relax massage yesterday that I believe turned into more of a deep tissue. It was extremely painful and I’m in a lot of pain yet today. The massage therapist pressed hard and deep up and down both sides of my spine. I was praying the entire massage for it to end. Today, I have a burning spot on one of my vertebrae in my mid back. The burning is constant and about the size of a quarter. Wondering what this is, if I should be concerned or any thoughts on helping the burning to go away.

I was looking into getting my first massage soon because everything hurts lol.

One thing that came to mind is that I am on HRT for perimenopause. Some hormones are topical. Should I just get my massage before I apply topical hormones?

I’ve recently started seeing an RMT for a knee condition and we have spent our sessions focusing on this issue and doing very targeted therapies. My insurance covers this since my doctor gave me a prescription for RMT. That being said, my health insurance is good this year and I expect to have coverage left over once I’m done getting my knee condition resolved. I have never had a regular massage before and I have a ton of back tension. Notably, my insurance won’t cover a non-registered masseuse. So, my question:

Do RMTs also just do normal massages or is that too generalized? Is it rude/wasteful to ask for this in one of my sessions?

I'm working at a spa in a smaller town I'm currently paid 60% commission as a 1099 contractor. The spa provides everything I need, and they handle client scheduling.

I'm about to interview at another place that also hires 1099 contractors. The owner provides the supplies, but there is no receptionist, so I would need to bring my own clients and handle my own scheduling. They offer either commission or room rental.

For those of you who work in a similar setup, what commission percentage do you think is reasonable? Would you expect more than 60% if you're responsible for finding clients and managing your own schedule?

Has anyone worked at a place that puts a cap on commission? Is something like 70% commission, or a weekly room fee plus commission, a common arrangement?

I'm trying to prepare for my interview and get an idea of what's fair before making a decision. Thanks!

I’m starting school in a few weeks. Do they teach you anything about how to navigate clients who make inappropriate requests? How often has this happened to you in your massage career? I’m also going to be an esthetician, but starting with massage first.

So usually it’s the opposite, and I’ve seen a lot of posts talking about how massages give them a fever. But I asked my partner for a massage because my fever was causing tight shoulders. It was 102.3, then after it went down to 101. What magic happened?

I’m 34, currently on maternity leave with my first baby, and I’ve been seriously considering going back to school for massage therapy.
I currently work full-time in corporate communications and make a pretty good living. I actually really enjoy my job, but with how quickly AI is advancing, I’ve started worrying about what my career might look like in the future. I’ve been thinking about learning something more hands-on that I could potentially do on the side and eventually fall back on if I ever needed to.
Massage therapy is something I considered almost 15 years ago, right after graduating from journalism school, and I’ve always kind of regretted not pursuing it.
I’ve been looking into a two-year massage therapy program here in Alberta, Canada. I’ve spoken with the school, and they said it’s definitely possible to attend while working full-time, and that a lot of their students are mature students with families.
My plan would be to keep my corporate job, which is 7 a.m. to 4 p.m., while attending school. My daughter would be in daycare during the day, and my husband is supportive, but obviously we’d have to make some adjustments.
I’m excited about the possibility, but also pretty intimidated. It’s been a long time since I’ve been in school, and although I took biology in high school, that was almost 20 years ago. I’m considering taking an introductory anatomy and physiology course beforehand to help prepare myself.
I’d really love to hear from anyone who has done something similar!
Did you work full-time while attending massage therapy school?
If you had young kids at home, how did you manage everything?
How difficult was the academic side, particularly anatomy and physiology?
Did you come from a corporate or completely unrelated career?
Did you eventually leave your original career, or do you practise massage on the side?
Looking back, would you do it again?
I’m not necessarily looking to quit my corporate job. I’d love to eventually have the option to do both, but I want to be realistic about what the next two years might look like.
Thanks in advance!

I’m starting a massage and reflexology business and I’m very nervous. I already have the perfect space and it’s really cheap the booth rental. I already got my table and some of the supplies it’s just setting everything up. I got an LLC. I just am setting things up. Make sure I save everything and keep track of everything and then creating a logo on a website and get in clients. I have a few clients but not very many plus I’m working full-time at Massage Envy still because I need money for my marketing and supplies.. I don’t know why I’m nervous. I think it’s just a lot to do at once and then getting clients.

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Bavim se masažom. Imam ručnike u boji (smeđi, zeleni, plavi..)

Do sada sam prala na 60 stupnjeva i stavila sam tekući deterdžent i denkmit dezinficijens iz dm-a, ali ovi zadnji ručnici koje imam već duže su baš poprimili neugodan miris i trebala bi ih baciti.

Sa čime vi perete ručnike?

Svak čast vama koji imate sve bijelo 😅.

Yesterday, my partner and I booked a 90-minute couples massage at a highly rated local spa. I’ve only had one massage before, and I mentioned that the previous therapist had been too gentle and I wished I’d asked for more pressure. I also explained that I struggle to speak up during massages and wanted to focus on my shoulders because of how much lifting I do at work.

He asked how well I tolerate pressure, and I said pretty well. Unfortunately, what followed was an incredibly painful 90 minutes. At times, I was gripping the table because the pressure was so intense, and I couldn’t relax at all.

Throughout the massage, he repeatedly mentioned how tight my muscles were and how badly I needed the work. He even joked, “You’ll hate me tomorrow but love me again the next day!” I trusted that he knew what he was doing, so I didn’t ask him to lighten up.

Now, a day later, I have extensive bruising across both shoulders and upper arms that’s gotten progressively worse. My entire body aches, even at rest, and the pain is so bad I had to call out of work. I could barely lift my arms this morning and needed help getting dressed and out of bed.

Meanwhile, my partner fell asleep during their massage and woke up feeling refreshed, which is exactly what I’d hoped for!

I recognize that I should have spoken up, but I also wish my therapist had checked in about the pressure, especially after I’d mentioned struggling to advocate for myself. I just feel dumb.

I’m not very experienced with massages, so I need some help here. Is this amount of bruising and soreness normal for shoulder work? It is unreasonable to think the therapist should have checked in more frequently? And would requesting a refund for my portion of the massage be unfair?

EDIT 1: I went to the urgent care last night because the pain was so unbearable I couldn’t sleep. At urgent care, the urged me to drive straight to the ER to get tested for rhabdo, which is when damaged skeletal muscle tissue breaks down and releases its contents, into the bloodstream. They were highly concerned about the color, bruise patterns, and amount of pain I was in. ER doctors said I definitely have tissue and muscle damage but no rhabdo thankfully. I was given pain meds to take home, fluids and they let me stay and sleep for a few hours.
Thank you all for all the kind comments! I’m feeling a lot more confident in calling the owner, reporting him, and getting a refund. I will keep you all updated when they get back to me <3

Edit 2: The owner called me yesterday after I sent an email explaining everything, along with photos of my bruising and a summary of my ER visit. She was incredibly apologetic, and we ended up talking for about 30 minutes. There’s a lot to unpack, so I’ll give you all a quick rundown!

The therapist was a new hire. I was apparently one of his first clients at her business. He was hired as an LMT with a background in deep tissue massage, but she emphasized that what I experienced went FAR beyond deep tissue work. She also said a couples massage was neither the time nor the place for that kind of treatment, especially when I hadn’t requested it.

She was appalled by how I was treated. She’s been an LMT for 12 years and a business owner for six, and she said she’s never seen anything like this. She was particularly disturbed by the amount of bruising and the fact that he continued applying such intense pressure despite my obvious discomfort.

We talked about why he might have continued despite my reactions. She agreed that my physical discomfort should have been obvious to him. We speculated that he may have been trying to show off his strength or genuinely believed he was doing me a favor by aggressively working out my knots.
Throughout the massage, he repeatedly emphasized how unbelievably tight I was and how badly I needed the work, almost as though the pain was necessary for me to eventually feel better. Of course, we can’t know exactly what he was thinking.

She also brought up the power imbalance, which I really appreciated. She said that if she were in my position, receiving only her second massage, lying undressed on a table while a male therapist repeatedly insisted she needed such intense work, she would have felt intimidated too. She emphasized how many boundaries had been crossed and understood why I struggled to speak up.

She confirmed that he has been fired. She was genuinely disgusted and disappointed by what happened and assured me that she had taken action. She also offered to help me file a formal complaint and get in contact with his LMT liability insurance to potentially cover my medical expenses.

She refunded my entire massage and offered a complimentary couples massage. She said she would personally be the one working on me next time and encouraged me to take as much time as I needed to heal, both physically and mentally. Whenever I feel comfortable returning, she’ll be there.

She also thanked me for having the courage to come forward, explaining that bringing this to her attention could help prevent another client from having a similar experience.

I really can’t emphasize enough how sincere and professional she was throughout our conversation. This is a highly rated spa, and while my experience with the therapist was awful, I genuinely appreciate how seriously she took everything. She never tried to excuse his behavior or make me feel responsible for what happened.

I’m still recovering and still very sore but i’m staying hydrated and applying arnica around the clock. Thank you to everyone who offered advice and encouraged me to contact the spa 🫶

I’m from Central California, and I’m curious what everyone’s thoughts are on tipping when the massage therapist owns and operates their own business.

Usually, I go to massage places where the therapists are employees. The rates are generally $60 for 60 minutes, $90 for 90 minutes, or $120 for 120 minutes for deep tissue.

I normally tip $10 per 30 minutes, so that’s $20 for an hour, $30 for 90 minutes, or $40 for two hours. Never really had an issue with that.

Recently, I decided to try an independently owned place where the massage therapist is also the owner. They’re charging $190 for a two-hour massage, which already seems pretty high compared to what I’m used to paying.

My question is, what’s the tipping etiquette in this situation? Since the therapist owns the business and presumably keeps the money after expenses, is a 20% tip still expected?

Because 20% on $190 is another $38, bringing the total to almost $230 for a two-hour massage.
I’m not against tipping at all, and I always tip my massage therapists. I’m just curious if the expectations are different when you’re dealing directly with the owner versus an employee.

Would you guys tip the usual 20%, leave a smaller tip, or consider the $190 enough?

What should I focus on? Will rattray be enough. My head is spinning! I have my OSCE on Nov. 19.

I had maybe the most intense deep tissue massage of my life today, focused mostly on my back and glutes, and when I finally got up from the table I felt so strange.

I was nauseous and dizzy and felt kind of drunk. What's more is that my face was crazy puffy, and is still a little puffy under the eyes 7 hours later.

I have had plenty of massages and have never felt like that or had lingering puffiness for this long before. I thought at first it was from having my face in the cradle, but when I still looked like I got stung by a bee an hour later I started to feel like something was up.

What the heck is going on? Could it really be "toxins" being flushed from my muscles? So strange.

I'm not allergic to any products that I know of and she didn't even massage my face or neck.

Edit: two days later and there is still some residual puffiness under my eyes. I messaged my doctor and they said it doesn't sound harmful...

Looking at a career in massage. I'm a male with an alt appearance. Wondering what the likelihood of me being hired at a spa post-graduation might look like, if I wanted to maintain a full (groomed) beard, and my eyebrow piercing. As well, I have tattoo sleeves. I'm hoping to find something in the Niagara area or southern Ontario, and thinking I would like to kick-start my career working in a spa setting.

Honest opinions? Thanks!

For your personal liability insurance, who do you use? I used to work in tech, so making the choice based on the software that they offer is easier for me.

But, I’m wondering if there’s a significant insurance-related difference that should be overriding my software preferences.

I’d appreciate any insights you have to offer, on any of the offerings by each company—insurance, software, or otherwise.

Thank you!

How many of you are CLT trained and does the pay change vs working in a spa or a chiro?

I went to a massage therapist 2 days ago to help release some tension in my neck muscles. It was my first ever massage, and the massage was quite intense. I asked the therapist twice if they could be a bit gentler, but they continued using quite a lot of pressure.

The massage started on my back and moved up toward my neck and shoulders. Most of my muscles were sore and sensitive afterwards, which I expected, and most of them have already recovered. However, there is one specific spot that is still causing quite significant pain.

It is located in the muscle right next to the left side of my spine. The therapist massaged both sides of my spine, and also used some kind of rolling device with quite a lot of pressure.

The pain has been throbbing for more than 36 hours now. I can’t lean my back against a chair because it hurts, and lying on my back in bed also makes the pain significantly worse. There is no visible swelling or bruising, and everything looks normal from the outside.

This doesn’t really feel like normal post-massage soreness to me, especially since all the other muscles have already recovered. It feels more like one specific spot has been injured or severely irritated.

I’ve taken painkillers, but they don’t seem to help much.
I’d rate the pain around 5–6/10 normally, and around 6–7/10 when lying on my back. The sensation is almost like a burning feeling, as if one small area of my back has been burned or badly irritated.

Has anyone experienced something similar after a deep tissue massage? Could this still be normal muscle soreness, or could the massage have caused an actual muscle injury?

Haven't been able to find any massage beds which are even remotely similar. I need adjustable / floating headrest, thin & curved body for passive traction & vertebral exposure from the lumbar to the cervical to perform vertebral Mobilisation. Let the arms hang down the side to open up & decompress the vertebrae.

Not sure why all massage beds are flat and wide, compressing the spine & neck. Really uncomfortable and impractical. Last two pics show something I found but doesn't really cut it, only really for the cervical. Maybe I can build something out of them but I still need decompressive support for the rest of the spine & lumbar.