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Posted by Sylvia Carlson Feb 8, 2007 |
Most massage therapists have formal training. They learn the basic strokes and techniques. Typically, while in school, massage therapists learn the same standardized method of massage, but they will develop their own unique style eventually. Many massage therapists learn a variety of massage techniques and out of that will evolve their own unique style. It's inevitable. There are no two people who can perform the exact same massage and have the exact same response. This says something about the validity of research, but more importantly, it says something about what we bring to the table.
When I finished massage school, I felt that every protocol I had learned for a specific health condition was a good model, but in real life, people are far more complex and bring with them far more than just a sore leg or a sore back. Some of the techniques worked. Some of them didn't. Some of them needed to be adapted to the individual on the table. Massage techniques evolve out of necessity because even though we all have the same structure and anatomy, we all come from different places and what works for one may not work for another.