This is the first in my Critical Thinking Series of questions from class discussions.
Question:
How does understanding the effects and benefits of massage or massage techniques make you a better massage therapist and/or more successful?
As we discussed this topic as a class, several themes emerged:
- Effectiveness & Outcomes
- Contraindications
- Professionalism
- Marketing
- Communication & Education
Effectiveness & Outcomes
The very first student comment to this question was in selecting treatment. We examined the adage "If all you have is a hammer, everything looks like a nail" and how it applied to this idea. In understanding how a massage technique will affect the body, we also can determine whether or not it is appropriate or effective for a given problem. Selecting more effective techniques leads to better outcomes.
Contraindications
Naturally, the prior discussion led right into the discussion of what to do when massage is not appropriate. Understanding the effects is a large part of the "do no harm" mantra. It can prevent possible harm, but sometimes it can serve another positive function in practice - positive regard for the client. This overlaps into the next theme, but it demonstrates a positive regard for the client's well-being to help them find the help they need, even if it isn't with you.
Professionalism
As part of this discussion, I asked the students how many of them had had a client who had asked them about a particular massage style or technique and what it did. Of course they all had. The follow up was "what did you say?". It was quickly determined that many hadn't felt they had provided the best answer, or that they had to think about how to condense an entire class down into a simple, understandable statement. The consensus was that you look like an idiot when you are unable to give an answer to those questions. Who should know better what a technique does, you or your client? Understanding these effects makes you appear more professional in the eyes of the client - more competent, more knowledgeable, more credible.
Marketing
Why should they buy what you're selling if you can't even give them a reason? Understanding effects is the foundation of what you need to communicate to your clients. But it doesn't stop there. A discussion of effects seldom means a whole lot to the client. Enter benefits.
Effects vs. Benefits
Effects are what happens in the body - mechanical, physiological, reflex... increased circulation, parasympathetic stimulation, enhanced lymphatic flow, and many, many more. Benefits are what the client experiences because of those effects - they sleep better, experience reduced pain, improved body image... Clients for the most part don't care about the effects (in marketing we call them features) because it doesn't really mean much to them. Benefits, on the other hand, are the things they care about - that register on their consciousness.
Back to Marketing
When a student learns the effects of massage techniques, the next step is to be able to translate those effects into why it is a good thing for the client, aka the benefit. Often this is a very different way to frame it and it is also highly dependent on the audience. It doesn't do a whole lot of good to discuss with an athlete how massage will help them sleep better when they are really concerned with performance improvement. Likewise an insomniac won't care about increased rang of motion and power out of their throwing shoulder. A thorough understanding of effects and benefits allows you to speak in your client's language about their problems. Not grasping this is like trying to speak a foreign language with only half the alphabet.
Communication & Education
Effective marketing is honest education - education about why your service is valuable to your client. Communicating and educating about effects/benefits effectively increases the value that you offer to your clients. You can't teach someone why what you do is important if you don't already know it yourself! To be honest, this category encompasses all of the ones we've talked about so far because education and communication are such an integral part of what we do.
Anything we missed? Please add it to the comments below. Happy massaging!
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