Don't Ask A Physical Therapist for a “Massage”
Through my years in PT practice, I’ve worked with more than a handful of clients who come into their sessions simply wanting to get a rub down. Coincidentally, these clients typically are the ones who do not progress well and continue to have recurrent pain and limitations despite many sessions.
Here are three reasons why getting a massage from a PT is NOT a good idea for your path to wellness. The third one will definitely surprise you!
Reason #1: Massage Is Not the Best Asset in a PT’s Toolkit
There is no doubt that a massage is an effective treatment for alleviating pain. Most people who get a sore and tight muscle or trigger point released will feel better for hours or even days after. Massage therapy has been shown in research to reduce stress, alleviate pain, and has other purported health benefits for a variety of patient populations.
Many Physical Therapist will perform an evaluation and consider that “massaging” (PTs prefer to call it “soft tissue mobilization” or “manual therapy”) to as a valid treatment tactic. However, such therapy should only be a fraction of the time spent during session.
Therapists have other tools in our arsenal that carry more efficacy such as a corrective movement exercise, stretches, and education to help clients prevent pain and improve function. A massage will be useless in isolation without considering the other aspects of care.
For example, Adam is a client who sits in front of his computer all day and developed a 3/10 neck pain. When Adam went to his PT, it was found that he has a poor desk setup. His keyboard and desk height is misplaced so that he does not get any support to his neck and upper back. His treatment will include several corrective exercises to help his work station posture and education pieces that focus on optimizing his ergonomics. A massage will just be a band aid to his condition and will not actually solve the problem long-term.
Reason #2: Many PTs Do Not Like Doing It
The second reason why a person shouldn’t demand a massage from a PT is because we don’t like to do it. A good way to get discharged early from PT sessions or to have a PT dislike the customer is to demand what treatment should be like.
A Physical Therapist has to go through three years of rigorous training. Many of us graduating after 2016 will have a Doctorate in Physical Therapy (DPT).
For a client to come into a clinic or PT facility demanding that a majority of their session be “hands-on” is an insult to the profession.
Imagine going to the auto shop for some car troubles. After running a full diagnostic, the mechanic tells the customer that they need an oil change but the customer says “no, just rotate my tires and give me a car wash”.
Reason #3: Many PTs Aren’t Good at Massage
Here’s the third and probably most surprising reason why no-one should ask for a massage from a PT. It would shock you to find out that throughout all of my training in the classroom, I had an eight (that’s right: 8) hours of classes how to perform massage (Swedish massage in particular). Yes, we had less than 1% of our education dedicated to this. None of my practical exams from professors ever asked us to perform a massage technique.
If a person wants a massage, the better option is to go to a licensed massage therapist, who will charge less and probably do a much better job at massaging than a Physical Therapist.
Dollar for dollar, you or your insurance provider would be paying a Physical Therapist wayyy more compared to a licensed massage therapist, AND your PT probably wouldn’t give you as good of a “massage” as a LMT
Summary: What You should expect from a good PT
Now having listed 3 reasons why I believe massage therapy is not the best time spent in Physical Therapy, it may still be a valuable tool that a Therapist will use. If you are having significant pain and acute flare-ups of musculoskeletal pain, Manual Therapy may be helpful and even essential to your recovery.
An effective Physical Therapist should know when to employ Manual Therapy but also dose it properly in such a way to help the patient get better faster while not neglecting the other things that will make you well in the long-term.
Below is a video I made regarding the type of PT practice you should avoid. Your time and money is valuable, don’t waste your precious resources on BAD PT