As a massage therapists your hands are your livelihood. But they get worn out from constant use and we 5 great tips for massage therapists to prevent sore hands. Wouldn’t it be great to use a liniment that helps with restoring health and vitality to your hands. Well there is such a liniment and it has been used by martial artists,Tui Na, and Thai Massage practitioners for close to a hundred years to protect and strengthen their hands as well as bones throughout the body.
Iron Palm Liniment
The liniment we are referring to is called Iron Palm Liniment.Do not let the name mislead you, it was a name coined close to a thousand years ago because of its ability to make the hands strong and impervious to damage with impact training.
What makes Iron Palm Liniment so special is the herbs used in its formulation create a neutral property liniment so it is neither hot or cold like you might see in Bio Freeze or Tiger Balm and other similar type products.
Most of these products contain Methyl Salicylate which gives the warm and hot sensation. Iron Palm on the other hand is neutral and can be applied right after a injury or if the area is swollen. The herbal properties in Iron Palm strengthen and heal your bones, tendons, ligaments, sinew and all connective tissue.
Your hands consists mainly of bone, tendons, muscle and cartilage and with constant use they have a tendency to just wear out over time. From loss of strength, dexterity and constant pain, these conditions become chronic and can have a huge impact on your livelihood.
As a Massage Therapist, your fingers and thumbs are your moneymakers. They work tirelessly for your client providing relief to tense and knotted muscles. However, one of the problems a successful Massage Therapist will encounter is sore hands, fingers and thumbs. The repetitive action of massage can cause this soreness and over time can lead to more serious problems.
Below Are 5 great Tips To Prevent sore Hands
Tip #1 Eliminate Negative Energy
As a practitioner you give positive energy to your client but you also can receive negative energy in return. Eliminate this bad energy by showering, taking a sauna, eat, drink water, stretch, do some self-massage or yoga, and other self-care, or at least take a break from the massage area for at least 30 minutes, in order to recharge your batteries and clear out negative energy before starting another massage. Sometimes the one who needs a massage the most is the one who is always giving them.
Tip #2 Apply Healing Liniment Before And After
Apply Iron Palm or comparable liniment prior to starting your clients massage and afterward. This will provide positive energy to your hands and help them recover when you finish.
Tip #3 Warm Up
Warm up properly before you start as with any sporting activity a proper warm up is essential for minimizing injury and being productive. Even guitar players warm up their fingers before playing a concert. Eric Clapton spends over a hour practicing scales and riffs to loosen up his fingers and hands.
Tip #4 Posture
Your posture is important, make sure your table height is just right for you and you feel comfortable.The knuckle/finger rule doesn’t apply for everyone, its how your body mechanics affect you. Focus on relaxing your body when you are massaging.You shouldn’t need to force pressure into the body, just lean in and sink into the tissue, your clients body will let you go as deep as you need to, you shouldn’t have to try to go deep.Scan through your body and make sure nothing is tense, jaw, shoulders, arms, etc, keep your core strong though, don’t hinge your back and keep your scaps depressed.
Tip #5 Listen To Your Body
Listen to your own body, “Our bodies send us periodic messages like ‘Take a break, get exercise, or get rest,’ but we do not listen. Our conscious mind says, ‘Keep going, don’t stop,’” but we just ignore the messages to stop.
The best course of action is when our body tells us to take a break is we should stop take a breath and concentrate on ways to recharge our body with meditation or other mind/body techniques like Qi Gong, Yoga etc.