Quote:
|
Originally Posted by abaya
Ah, I'm still envious of your job... once I finish my PhD, I really might just run off to massage therapy school. I do wonder, though, about the salary and how long it takes to get "established"... how difficult is it to find a position? To open your own practice? Is it better to work for someone else, or to contract yourself out? Also, how much did massage school cost? Do you ever get sick of the patients, after a long and smelly day?  |
I don't consider myself anywhere near "established" yet. I'm probably working in the wrong place right now, but I need the absolute flexibility that this place provides for about one more year. Most places in my area "hire" workers on an independent contractor basis; so, there's no salary. You get paid if you get work.
Opening your own practice is more risk and more reward. I don't have the contacts and the self-promotional skills to succeed at working for myself, so I chose to work for someone else.
According to salary.com, "A typical Massage Therapist working in the United States earns a median base salary of $45,400, according to our analysis of data reported by corporate HR departments. Half of the people in this job earn between $36,763 and $55,665."
My schooling, including equipment, cost about $12k, and it took 9 months. It was 600 class-hours.
Quote:
I had an allergy attack (hay fever) in January and a few sneezes into it, my lower back was killing me. I found it difficult to bend over at the waist, to get out of bed, to do push-ups... basically, anything involving the lower back muscles (right above the butt, directly to the left and right of the spine). It got better over time, but has never been the way it was before those sneezes.
I've practically OD'd on ibuprofen, used hot and cold packs, IcyHot patches, got a Swedish massage, and had a chiropractice adjustment done a couple of weeks ago (which actually helped it a lot). But still, every couple of weeks I'll just be walking along or doing some mild exercise, and suddenly WHAM!... all power leaves my lower back and I'm whimpering for the next couple of days.
The Icelandic doctor scribbled out a physical therapy recommendation, so I'm trying that avenue next... but I'm actually wondering if this kind of chronic pain demands an MRI to check for slipped disks, pinched nerves, etc. (And no idea what to do, if that's the case.) Any thoughts from your profession?
|
First, my profession is not allowed to diagnose. We can only assess and try to work from there.
I think visiting the PT would be a good idea. They will be able to do a thorough test of your muscles, both in active (you providing the motion) and passive (them moving you) to isolate which muscles are causing your pain. They might find that massage will be what will help you.
Quick and overly-simplistic guide to the healing arts: massage will be for relaxing overly-tight muscles. Physical therapy will be for strengthening weak muscles. Chiropractic will be for realigning bones that have moved out of place. Sometimes you will need more that one of these in series, and it will help in those times to have them talk to each other to maximize the healing.
The type of pain you are describing sounds like "splinting"; this is where a muscle is injured, and the surrounding muscles go into a spasm in order to isolate and protect the injured muscle. If the spasm is released or bypassed, the original muscle's pain comes through again.
You mentioned that you received a Swedish massage; that wouldn't help your issue. Swedish massage is for relaxation. Neuromuscular, or deep tissue, or similar is for dealing with pain.