Hi everyone,
I'm a Milwaukee local and an Army veteran. I currently work in healthcare as a dialysis tech and I'm also a nursing student. I'm bilingual (English and Spanish) and I enjoy working with people.

I'm interested in switching from nursing to massage therapy, and I'd love to hear from anyone who has gone to a massage school here in the city or nearby. How was your experience? Was it worth it, and would you recommend it?

Any tips on what to look for (or avoid) when choosing a school are also welcome. Thank you!

Experiences with Aveda Beauty School? Wisconsin School of Massage Therapy? School in the greater Milwaukee area?

I had a couples session today where I was following along to my boss with my boss leading transitions, draping, etc. She was definitely trying to reinforce primarily Swedish flowing lighter strokes as we had a discussion prior. During the session, I felt I was accomplishing something, feeling the tissue respond, but I feel my boss was expecting me to transition the same time as her to keep in time.

While working the back and shoulders, my client requested more focus in that area but my boss had already transitioned and was waiting for me to do the same. My client repeatedly kept asking for more pressure and deep tissue but I felt like my boss was watching intently to really critique my Swedish strokes. I tried to split the difference and give the deepest Swedish strokes that I could at the expense of my posture. My boss even later commented on how bad it was.

We were just about to conclude the session when my client piped up about carrying all her stress in her shoulders and wanting work there. I said that we had to end the session and got an "oh..." sigh and it crushed me. I've had other couples sessions that feel the same and I don't think I like it. Never had done a couples prior to those and thought it was primarily nerves/lack of confidence that I tried to overcome and alleviate but they're really all feeling the same.

My boss just talked to me about a couples session that I did that I guess I completely botched and I felt the same throughout. She had to offer a complimentary massage to my past client. I've tried my hardest to adapt and learn, through trial by fire, in something I'm completely untrained in but I keep coming back to that this really isn’t for me. Today has really given me a genuine reason to consider declining from now on.

I don't think I like the dynamic of being meant to stick to something more cookie cutter while having to work following someone, especially at the chagrin of the client, just because. I love a good easy full-body general 60 min but try to tailor it a bit either from what they request, what they tell me prior, or what they respond to during.

I was taught that my client is ultimately my boss and influences the session, my client's goals, wants,and needs are what I want to provide, and I don't feel like I can do that in this kind of scenario. I don't think I want to do it anymore if this is the outcome, it feels very unfulfilling to me and I'm sure it does for the client as well.

I work in healthcare as a dialysis tech, and I'm also a nursing student and an Army veteran. Seeing so much illness every day has made me want to focus more on prevention and wellness, and I'd like to start by learning massage therapy and eventually become a wellness specialist.

I'm in the Milwaukee, Wisconsin area and would love to hear your experiences:
Which massage therapy schools in my region (Milwaukee or nearby Wisconsin) would you recommend, or avoid?
How was your experience with your program, and how well did it prepare you for the licensing exam?
What career paths would you recommend after getting licensed (clinic, spa, chiropractor or physical therapy offices, or private practice)?
What do you wish you had known before you started?

Any advice from people with experience in the field is appreciated. Thank you!

My friend owns a chiropractor / physical therapy clinic and wants to offer massage therapy as one of his services. The clinic has a massage table and private room. What's the best way to post to find available massage therapists? This is in California.

•Does being a PTA make you a stronger LMT?

•Is there a potential increase in pay by holding both licenses?

Hey, I am new to the career and I am in search of a CE that deals with epileptic clients.

I am an MT with Epilepsy and I'd like to lean my career towards helping other epileptics but I am having trouble finding CE's and modalities focused on individuals with Epilepsy. Can someone help point me in the right direction?

Hey I am looking for a place to learn Swedish massage. What is some of the best recognized schools?

So some background. I recently moved from Colorado to Georgia, after practicing massage for 17 years. When I graduated from massage school in March of 2009, Colorado was in the midst of really regulating massage therapy. Since I was about to graduate I wasn’t required to take any sort of national exam, I was grandfathered in.

Cut to now, to transfer my license I am now required to take and pass MBLEX. When I realized this I panicked, most of the material, I had forgotten or flat out never learned. So I buckled down and studied…hard!

I used the AMTA pocket prep app and purchased the premium version of David Merlino’s Mblex prep app. It includes a comprehensive review of all the subjects you’ll be asked about. I also took advantage of his podcasts and flash cards. Without both apps I wouldn’t have passed. As I was studying a lot of it actually came back to me and was basically a review. And a lot of it were things that were completely alien to me.

It took a lot of patience and even a few emotional breakdowns. But at some point you’ve done all you can do and you’re as prepared as you’ll ever be. I was absolutely terrified driving up to the testing center and entering the little cubicle to take the test.

You’re given 110 minutes to take the exam. But I was able to finish in about 30 minutes. About half of the questions were easy to deduce and/or common sense to me. The other half took real critical thinking. And honestly, I guessed a fair amount.

When I saw the words “congratulations” I audibly breathed a huge sigh of relief. I left, called my wife to give the good news. Sat in my car and cried. I did it! You can do it too! I’ve been out of the game for almost 20 years when it comes to studying and test taking. But it’s absolutely doable!

If you’re studying for the Mblex you’ve got this!

Hey everyone. I hope all is going well! So, without giving too much info: My Pelvic Floor has problems relaxing (to put it rather vaguely). I'm planning going back to Pelvic Floor Physical Therapy. But, I guess to rather COMPLEMENT P.T, I'm considering trying a different type of massage to I guess, reset my nervous system a bit.

To specify a bit further: I also deal with Chronic Tightness around my whole body. I was born extremely early (3 months). I'm struggling to come up with what type of Massage Therapy is best for me. Because Chronic Tightness and an inability to relax, I feel make things complex.

[Please, be kind, because I’m a young woman alone in a different country and a lot of things is not obvious to me]

I went for a massage in a turistic town in Spain. The person who conducted the massage was a man, I didn’t expect it because the place seemed aimed towards women as clients but now I see it’s written on the website (in the Spanish version, it has also automatic translation in English so I didn’t catch it).

The studio was very small in a little building of the rooftop. Here a lot of things are very small, the apartments are definitely built with the thought of squishing as many people as they can.

I wasn’t very good at communicating in Spanish. Some touches (that could be accidental) were a bit too close to inappropriate areas. I was dressed in lower part of underwear and with towel on my breasts.

The massage lasted almost 120, I booked 60 minutes (the longest he offers is 90 minutes but he didn’t get my booking because of website error so he only found out when I wanted to confirm 15 minutes before). He lowered the price from 45 euros to 20 because of the reservation error. He seemed to care a lot about good reviews, on Google he has 6 and they are all 5 starts. On Instagram the studio has 3k followers and follows 4,5k people. Almost all of the accounts are women’s. Both the reviews and Instagram posts started around June.

When I didn’t understand when he asked for permission to do something, he would use different words or if it still didn’t work, he just wouldn’t do the thing. He asked about performing acupuncture on a very tense spot on my back and I declined.

Despite my back being very tense he spent more time on my legs. His Instagram is full of female lower bodies being massaged but a lot of them seems to be just one person.

He hugged me slightly from behind at the end? And when I was leaving he asked for a hug. And I don’t know if it’s a cultural difference or something suspicious.

Anyway, I’d really appreciate some help because I’m really unsure if it was normal or not.

**Update: I posted this in the comments but I just told them that I don’t offer 30 minute services. Short and sweet, lol. I appreciate the commentary from everyone else though!

I thought this was an “interesting” request and wondered what other LMT/RMTs would say…

I recently had a new potential client reach out to me asking for massage for their teens. This was a referral from a previous client I had.

I offer 60 and 90 minute massages through my mobile massage practice.

I have a pretty full schedule right now but decided to make an exception due to not being able to find a different practitioner for them. So I gave them my prices and asked what days and times they were looking for. They responded that they wanted to do one 90 minute and split it into 30 minute sessions for 3 children…

How would you respond to this request? I already know my answer but am curious about others’.

Hello everyone,

I’m a former massage therapist and currently own a personal training studio. We are about to expand into a much bigger spot and have an extra room for a massage therapist again.

Where is the best place to advertise to potential massage therapists looking to rent out space?

I feel like Craigslist can’t be the best option lol.
Any ideas would be appreciated!

I’m moving to a new city and am wondering if any rmts have seen success with positioning their business inside a building full of offices downtown. Do clients come in throughout the day/during lunch hour/after they’re done they’re 9-5?

I’m 23M, and have Osgood Schlatter disease since 14. And the last couple of weeks have been terrible, to the point where concentration on anything useful is hard. Has anyone with OSD done this, and did it help you? If yes, how long and how many sessions did you go for?

Hi, I’ve been going to a small massage place near my workplace run by some really sweet Thai ladies for some tkme regularly. I first went for a deep tissue massage, and now I usually book an hour and ask them to mix deep tissue, Swedish, and Thai massage with some stretching.

I used to see one specific therapist because she had the best reviews online. She’s great and really knows her stuff, plus she's strong enough to work out all my knots, but I always end up feeling pretty sore for a couple of days afterward.

Anyway, fast forward to last Friday, I wanted get a unscheduled massage since I had time between meetings. My regular therapist wasn't there, so I went with someone else since I was already there. I was skeptical at first, but I felt totally relaxed within ten minutes. She was honestly amazing, and I couldn't stop smiling during and after the session. I had to look down when walking back to office because I couldn't smile and didn't want to weird people out. I felt so relieved and relaxed, and I wasn't even sore afterward.

It felt like magic, I have no idea how she did that. It's like not only my body is relaxed, my nervous system also feels relaxed. It really is a skill0! Thanks for all the massage therapists out there.

She suggested I try hot stones as well, so I am looking forward to try that next time with the same person

Question for the female LMTs here: How do you genuinely view involuntary physical arousal during a professional session? I recently had a great, purely therapeutic massage, but I spent the entire time fighting a normal physiological response. I know therapists are trained to ignore it, but I can’t help but feel guilty and disrespectful afterward. I’d love to hear your honest perspective as professionals to help ease this anxiety

I’m pretty sure I have hypermobile Ehlers Danlos Syndrome and I would really like to get a massage that helps but I haven’t had great luck. The only professional massage I’ve ever booked didn’t properly address my neck/shoulder tension after I told the masseuse that I had a very mobile spine, and I felt the need to say that because a PT had tried to treat my mild scoliosis with massage when I was a teenager and sent me into full shock at least once by pressing firmly on the bone. I also felt…other things when the PT touched my lower spine. I have uneven hips for some reason and some mild damage to my tailbone from a childhood accident and her attempt to help with that caused very intense feelings of stimulation and relief that were not appropriate in retrospect.

The professional masseuse was good and I didn’t have any dubiously consensual experiences on her table but she still left a lot of tension when she was done?

Are there terms I can search to find someone who can give me an appropriate massage?

As a massage therapist, I see people on my table every single day, and almost all of you carry the exact same low key anxiety.
You apologize because you didn't shave your legs, because your feet are ticklish, because your stomach made a loud digesting noise, or because you fell asleep and started snoring.
Let me let you in on a secret from behind the table: We literally do not notice, and we definitely do not care.
When your hands are working deep tissue all day, we are entirely focused on your muscle fibers, tension patterns, and making sure you don't hurt. We've felt every kind of knot, heard every weird body noise, and seen every shape and size. Your body is just a puzzle for us to help untangle.
To my fellow therapists what's the one thing you wish your clients would instantly stop stressing about the second they walk into your room? And to clients what's the one thing that still makes you slightly nervous on the table?

Hi all! Might be a bit of a strange question but basically..

I have sensory processing disorder and it makes my skin CRAWL, feeling the skin off hands rub on me (even my own). Hence why I’ve discovered that using latex gloves to rub any cream onto my body is much more tolerable and doesn’t make me freak out.

Would it be a weird request if I asked a massage place if they would be able to accommodate it. Idk! Maybe im overthinking this… anyways thanks :)

Anything similar to bodylever massage tool? Looking for a tool that helps with forearms, shoulders, quads from workouts/martial arts but at a lower price point.

I’m curious how other massage therapists handle clients who become angry, rude, or unkind when you have to reschedule due to illness, injury, or physical limitations.
I’ve been a massage therapist for years, and one thing that has increasingly bothered me is how some clients seem to forget that we’re human beings with bodies that get sick, hurt, and exhausted.

We spend hours taking care of other people’s bodies, but sometimes it feels like we’re expected to sacrifice our own well-being to avoid inconveniencing someone.
I’ve experienced situations where a client was so upset about having to reschedule that the therapeutic relationship never felt the same afterward. Even when they’re outwardly polite, the tension during a hands-on session can be incredibly uncomfortable.

I don’t want to spend an hour providing physical care to someone when there’s obvious resentment between us. That doesn’t feel like a healthy therapeutic relationship for either person. I understand that cancellations are frustrating, especially when clients have arranged their schedules around an appointment. But I also believe therapists deserve basic kindness and consideration when they’re genuinely unable to work.

So I’m curious: Have you ever stopped accepting a client because of how they treated you when you were sick or injured?
Do you try to repair the relationship, or do you consider that behavior a reason to end it?

I’d really appreciate hearing how other experienced therapists handle this.

Hey everyone,
I’m a practicing massage therapist and I’m hitting a wall with an issue that's becoming really alarming. About 10 minutes into almost every session, I start developing intense lower back pain. It gets so severe that it actually starts restricting my breathing/making it painful to take full breaths.

As soon as the pain starts, I find myself struggling to maintain good body mechanics because I’m trying to protect my back, which makes the whole session a fight. Once I step away from the table, it relaxes after a few minutes.

Has anyone experienced this level of rapid back pain or respiratory restriction during work?

Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

For example, when my back is bothering me, I'll book a massage specifically to address that area. I understand that working on surrounding muscles can be beneficial, but my main goal is to get relief from whatever is bothering me, not necessarily a full-body relaxation massage.

When booking, I usually have the option of 60, 75, or 90 minutes, and I always wonder whether paying for the extra time is worthwhile.

From a massage therapist's perspective, is there a point of diminishing returns? Can you accomplish just as much in 60 minutes when focusing on a specific problem area? Or does having 75–90 minutes allow you to do more effective work?

Sometimes I wonder if longer sessions eventually become repetitive because there's only so much you can do to one area in a single appointment.

Hi!

I’m autistic, and due to that I struggle to understand things when they’re not explained in full detail. With that, I’m wondering what massage therapists mean when they ask: “Is that pressure okay” or “Let me know if it’s too much.”

I have a very high tolerance for pain and discomfort, so I’ve never felt the need to say something was too much in a massage.

Is this question simply to ask about personal discomfort? Or should I be letting them know if something is painful for another reason?

Hi all, I'm looking to buy a new bed and i dont know if i should buy an electrical one or not. Im a massage therapist. I do deep tissue treatments. I know its recommended to get an electrical bed but there's never really been a time where I thought to myself I'd love to move my bed up or down.

I've been doing this for 10 years now. The bed i buy will be the last one I buy. I do plan on studying acupuncture and other modalities in the coming years. The difference between a good non electrical breed and an electrical one is around 1000e. What do you think i should buy?