3 Questions to Ask Your Massage Therapist During the Coronavirus Pandemic

July 20, 2021 Admin

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3 Questions to Ask Your Massage Therapist During the Coronavirus Pandemic

This is an article that was deleted when I redesigned my website but is still pertinent today.

Imagine you’re at a new restaurant, enjoying a lovely evening with an old friend. Gazing over the menu, a pasta dish catches your eye, but you have a couple questions about it. When the server stops at your table, you ask what two of the ingredients are because you have never heard of them. Additionally, you ask if the chef can prepare it without the drizzle on top. The server describes the two ingredients immediately, then goes to check with the chef and returns with an answer about the drizzle. Feeling satisfied that you will enjoy the meal, you order confidently and excitedly await your food.

In this scenario, you are unsure about the dish in question, yet don’t think twice to ask the expert for more details. It is a societal norm to do so at a restaurant. Now, let’s take the same idea into massage therapy. Interestingly, many people aren’t comfortable asking for more details prior to scheduling a massage session. Now, let’s go a step further and look at this idea in terms of booking a massage appointment during the coronavirus pandemic. Those unasked questions are even more critical than ever when scheduling your massage.

Massage therapy is currently a medium to high risk activity and there is a possibility of contracting COVID-19 if you decide to receive bodywork, no matter what protocols a practitioner puts in place. Even so, bodywork is needed now more than ever due to excess stress, bodily tension, trauma, and so much more. It is essential for your health and well-being, as well as the health and well-being of your household, to weigh the risks of contracting COVID-19 against your need for bodywork. Below are three questions to ask any massage therapist prior to scheduling an appointment to ensure your comfort and safety needs are achieved.

What changes has the therapist made to decrease virus transmission?

Start with a general question. Before you ask it, establish what is non-negotiable for you to feel safe during a massage session. For example, at the very least, the therapist should state that both client and practitioner must wear masks, and that extra cleaning and disinfecting between clients is occurring with an EPA-approved disinfectant. Additional items you might hear in an answer include air filters, allowing more time between clients or fewer clients per day, eliminating the waiting area, and many more. Don’t worry though, not a single one of my clients has noticed these changes once they are settled on the massage table! After you hear the therapist’s safety protocols, compare them to your list of non-negotiables. If they are in sync, great! If not, move on to the next massage therapist on your list – you will find one on the same page as you with research.

What is the ventilation like in the studio, as well as the entire building?

Ventilation is one of the most important issues for preventing coronavirus infection while indoors yet is one of the trickiest for a solo therapist, and even a larger clinic, to control. Changing an entire HVAC system can be expensive and time consuming, and if they rent space it may be simply impossible. Solo massage therapists often rent a small room with no windows. In general, this blocks out unwanted light and noise. However, in terms of ventilation, this makes it harder to have a good stream of air flow. Additionally, these small rooms often share an HVAC system with the entire building where the air flows through multiple office spaces. The therapist, of course, cannot control the other offices. Keep in mind, while this is a crucial question to ask, there may not be much a business owner can do to improve the situation. Control over the HVAC system, an open office window to bring outside air inside, and/or the use of an HEPA air purifier are all possible ways a therapist may reduce transmission.

If the massage therapist or a client tests positive for COVID-19, what steps will they take to contact recent clients and protect future clients?

We hope this never becomes a reality, but if it does you want your massage therapist to have already researched and created a plan of action. Here are a few things to listen for:

Will they contact each prior client directly?
Will they work with the Texas Department of Health Services (or your state’s department if you are not local to me in Austin)? The CDC?
Will they stay open for business or temporarily shut down? How long will they shut down?

Once you have asked every question on your mind and feel completely confident you have found the right massage therapist for you, enjoy your session without hesitation! The most amazing part of massage therapy is that post massage feeling as you walk out the door: grounded yet floating, calm, carefree, and truly in your body. Speaking as both a practitioner and a client, even in today’s world, that feeling is absolutely still attainable.

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