Question: 
I’ve never had a massage. What should I expect?  Will it hurt?  How often should I get a massage?

Answer:
On arrival, the first thing your therapist will have you do is complete a medical information sheet.  This is necessary to ensure that you have no conditions that would be aggravated by massage.  Your responses, together with a brief interview, will help your therapist tailor a session to meet your needs.  You will then be escorted to the therapy room, and given instructions on how to prepare for your massage.  You will be warmly draped during your massage, and only the area being worked on at any given time will be uncovered.  Should the therapist need to move one of your limbs, they will either do it themselves or ask that you move or change position.  Throughout your massage, it will be very important that you communicate with the therapist if the pressure is too light, too intense or if there are areas that you suddenly experience as tender or painful.  At the conclusion of the massage, you should feel looser, more relaxed, balanced, and perhaps taller(!)If the therapist is using light pressure, it is highly unlikely that your massage will be uncomfortable.  With moderate or deep pressure, there is the possibility of soreness both during and after; however, this is highly variable, depending a lot on the condition of your tissue and your own pain threshold.  Again, feedback by you during your massage is important.

Frequency for massage is also highly individual experience.  Some schedule weekly, some bi-weekly, some monthly, and some even less frequently.  Athletes who are training hard may wish to be seen more than once a week.  Finances and time availability sometimes influence a person’s ability to schedule more often.  Removing those as factors, if a person has moderate to severe muscle tightening, a lot of stress, or an acute injury, they may wish to be seen once a week for 2-3 sessions, and then gradually drop back to a comfortable level for them..

Question: 
I already give my dog massages.  How is what you do different from what I do?

Answer:
Chances are, what you are doing is more along the lines of petting rather than an actual massage.  Petting usually consists of random movements that are experienced as pleasurable by both the dog and its caretaker.  While a massage may also be pleasant for the dog, massage is more therapeutic in its intent.  Massage strokes are deliberate and focused, and meant to improve the dog’s wellbeing.  Your canine friend will experience it as vastly different physically, physiologically, and even emotionally.  Since dogs experience a lot of the same age related infirmities over the life cycle as humans, they can benefit from massage in much the same way as their human counterparts.

Question: Might this improve my performance (or extend my career), and if so, would it be better for me to get one before or after my event? (a race, a game, etc.)

Answer:
Regular sports massage can provide an athlete with several performance advantages.  With its emphasis on proper stretching and event preparation it can lessen the likelihood of injuries, injury being a major factor in shortening an athlete’s career.  Regular sports massage can also lead to improvements

in range of motion and muscle flexibility, shortened recovery time between workouts and more efficient elimination of lactic acid and other metabolic by-products of exercise, each helping to optimize performance.  There are advantages to both pre and post event massage as each has distinctly different purposes.  Pre event massage is intended to supplement an athlete’s warm up, and often involves jostling and loosening techniques. It can be performed right up until the time of the event or activity although ideally deep work should be no later than 3 days prior to ensure your best performance. Post-event is geared towards reducing muscle spasms and other after effects of intense exercise.  The serious athlete should strongly consider a sports massage program of maintenance, event and rehabilitative bodywork as all three phases are important in endurance and in maximizing performance.

Question:
Could this (massage) make my pregnancy easier for me and my baby? What about those cut out tables for pregnant women? Do you use one?

Answer:
While pregnancy is a wonderfully exciting time for most, the hormonal changes necessary to carry your baby to term, and the changes in the way you stand, walk, etc, can be taxing and tiring.  These discomforts can then be felt by your growing baby.  A prenatal massage specialist will not only help you to relax, but where indicated, can perform some gentle stretching to lessen the physical strains on your neck, shoulders and back.

As for the cut out tables, they are wholly unwise!  Using them can increase intrauterine pressure, and put additional stress and strain on uterine ligaments.  Prone positioning (face down) is possible for early pregnancy, and thru week 22, supine (or face up) is possible with proper pillowing.  After that, side lying is the customary position.