Author Archives: Lu Mueller-Kaul

Treatment Guidelines for Massage Therapists #3: The Confidence Cure

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image by Spielbrick Films

Now, this is the strangest of my guidelines so far–and the one that causes me the most internal struggle. I don’t want to be the cocky therapist I spoke of in part 1 of this series. But somebody who wants to get better might lose their confidence if I only talk about “trial and error” and admit freely that I don’t know what’s going on. So I’m navigating a gray area.

I say “I don’t know” but follow with a plausible theory, and explain that I will use it as the basis of my tryout treatment. But I also speak of similar cases that were easily resolved by my treatments.

Studies show that pain responds to expectations. Whether you say “You’ll have to live with this, if there is a herniation, you’ll always be in pain” or “That’s just a problem of a few tense spots, they’re harmless, but cause nasty pain that will pass in a couple of weeks” chances are you’re right.

I’ve gotten this very important piece of information from Paul Ingraham’s tutorial on low back pain. It’s a must read for massage therapists, so go buy it now!

The problem with pain is that it’s a construct of the brain, not something that happens in the tissue. We like to think that what’s going on with muscles and fascia and nerves is in direct relationship to the pain, but that’s not true.

Since it would be WAY out of our scope of practice to treat the brain, we can treat the tissue, get more mobility, more range of motion, less tension into the sore spots–but we should also keep in mind that our clients need to feel confident.

I find it easiest to be truthful and reassuring by using examples and statistics. First we need to educate ourselves, then we can empower our clients. Paul Ingraham’s website has been helping me a lot, and I keep sharing his information with my clients.

So is “the confidence cure” nothing but placebo? Ingraham has an answer here, too (and it’s “no”). Pain gets worse with stress, and the probability of the pain passing is higher when we expect it to pass. So giving correct, well-researched information is no placebo, it’s a cure in itself.

What’s your favorite source of recent information? Do you have a blog that you often recommend to clients? A news outlet? How important is research in your practice? Please comment!

Treatment Guidelines for Massage Therapists #2: Work the Attachments

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I’ve told you about my “Consultation & Tryout” sessions. The tryout part is a very short treatment, about 20 minutes, to address a local problem.

20 minutes give me plenty of time to work out the attachments around the affected area. Often nothing else is needed in a session.

Case example:

(of course name and job is changed)

Steven came to me because he couldn’t sit down for a year. In his job as a sales representative for a technology company he had to work on the computer, the phone, and visit prospective clients, so he was driving a lot.

In his office, he had managed to work while standing up, but in meetings standing was awkward, so he sat down a little sideways, with sharp pain around the left sitz bone (ischial tuberosity).

Of course driving was extremely difficult, and since this had been going on for a year, other problems were showing up: low back pain because of the sideways sitting and pain under the heels because he was standing for long hours in the office.

He said that seeing a couple of doctors had been inconclusive, and nobody really knew what to do with him. Ischial bursitis came up as a possible diagnosis.

Because an acquaintance had told him about me, he was interested in my inexpensive “tryout” option. At this point he was willing to try anything, but he surely didn’t want to waste any more money.

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Scoliosis Pain Treatments – participate in a case study!

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Scoliosis Pain Treatments - participate in a case study!

Do you suffer from pain because of scoliosis?

If you live in or around Orlando, FL, and you are in your teens or twenties, you can be eligible to participate in a case study for scoliosis treatments.

I will reduce my fees for Rolfing Structural Integration for a few select individuals.

Please contact me through the Contact form on blog.balanceorlando.com.

Requirements are that you’ll provide me with recent X-rays, keep a daily journal about activities, exercises, and your pain levels.
I can only work with three more candidates this year, and hope to be able to start a bigger study next year.

Thanks!

P.S. right now I’m reading the story on The Curvy Spine. It’s moving me to tears. The state of health care and greedy practitioners that benefit from it infuriate me. I’m glad the author had been so stubborn in fighting for herself.

5 Best Marketing Strategies for Introverts

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Are you an introvert? Then you probably feel the need to be alone from time to time, and you rather think than engage in smalltalk. Not sure? Take a test and tell me your result in the comments!

Introverted business owners often struggle with marketing. Especially business owners like me, who run small places that don’t have a “sales” department. The idea of “selling” alone makes us cringe. But so does the corporate environment of gregarious shoulderslappers who constantly quiz you about your weekend plans. It’s exhausting to walk through the hallways, trying to keep a smile plastered on your face, forcing yourself to laugh and chat. Eventually you got tired of being a team player. Continue reading →

Scheduling Sessions With Me

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For 2012, I’ve reduced the hours when I’m available for appointments at Balance. We also have a new (and better) scheduling system.

Maybe you’re a little miffed–two years ago you were able to just send me a text or call my cellphone, and I’d see you the same day to fix the crick in your neck, the painful shoulder or your sciatic pain.

Now I’m telling you to call our office at 407 704 8867 (we have remote operators, you can call 24/7) or to use the online scheduling system www.balanceorlandoschedule.info which you can also access from any page on our website.

Probably I recommend one of our therapists who can help you sooner than I.

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Treatment Guidelines for Massage Therapists #1: Trial and Error

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from triggerpoints.net — good guide to trigger points

(this is part one of a series… please also check out part two)

If we look at medicine honestly, we see it’s based on trial and error. Even when the board-certified specialist prescribes a drug that’s been studied for decades, she won’t know how it affects one particular patient.

We often don’t know why a treatment works, we just hope that it will.

As therapists, we should be well aware of how hard it is to really determine cause and effect, and how much our own brains trick us into seeing causality where there is none. Continue reading →

Massage Therapy in FL–the PIP bill passed

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Billing PIP for massage therapy is almost over. The new bill is in effect, and we can’t bill auto insurance if the patient’s policy was renewed after July 1st this year.

If it’s an older policy, the patient is still covered for massage therapy and acupuncture, because the bill can’t revoke an existing contract.

Very soon, all policies will have been renewed, and Florida massage therapists will have a tough time in 2013 and beyond. Don’t think you won’t be affected if you’ve never billed insurance!

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Why blog? Does it help get more clients?

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A reader just told me he’s doing the 31-day-blogging challenge. He asked me whether blogging is any help for my business. Since I’m a lazy blogger, I’ll use my answer as today’s post:
It depends on what you want your business to be. I’m blogging in order to get an audience for future massage CEUs since I’m about to work with HomeCEUconnection.com on 3 classes, and I’ll be doing live workshops in the Orlando area as soon as I’m approved as  a CE-provider by the Florida Board of Massage.
I also write posts that have my clients in mind… just explanations that I often use when I’m talking to clients (like the hyperlordosis-post, or the post about scheduling with me).
Of course the exercises are with clients in mind, but they also appeal to other massage therapists.
I like following up with clients after a treatment by emailing them a link to one of my videos on YouTube, to help them remember a stretch I gave them as “homework”, and I’m planning more posts that refer to the videos.
So a lot of my blogging is not aiming directly at getting new clients, it’s more about building a reputation as an expert on structural alignment and the massage industry in Florida.
Eventually I’ll use the posts I’ve written to build other websites for these different topics, so blogging helps me create content for the future.
If I was blogging simply to attract new clients, I would write posts specifically for keywords that people might search for.
back pain treatments
stretches for a tight upper back
how to correct forward head posture
sciatica relief
etc
That’s pretty much what I explained in my SEO post. It’s all about identifying what people might search for if they don’t know about what you offer… so as an example let’s say you’re working with myofascial release.
Of course your website has a page all about that, optimized for myofascia, fascia, MFR, myofascial mobilization, myofascial massage, and such (well, I hope it does… or whatever your specialty is).
That way you make sure people find you when they’ve heard MFR is awesome and helps people in pain.
But what about people who’ve never heard of MFR?
They would not find you. They probably don’t even know that massage therapy can help… all their experience is with simple rubs in a spa.
You have to try and find what people would search for … “can’t turn my neck” and things like that.
Then you make a post “I can’t turn my neck–what to do” and write about the different possible reasons why range of motion might be restricted, and how massage therapy can help.
It’s a lot of work, of course, and you should not expect results for a year. But if you utilize social media well and you get others to promote your posts, you’ll see that some people schedule appointments because they read your blog posts.
It’s like all marketing–you have to find something you like, and stick to it. If you rather talk to people in person, join a few networking groups, build relationships with other businesses in your area and learn effective networking.
But if you like writing…  get more information on content marketing. Check out copyblogger.com!
I hope this helps a little.. I’m looking forward to your 31 posts!!

 

To all other bloggers…  please comment with a link to your blog, your twitter handle, your G+ profile, your facebook page and so on. The foundation of successful blogging is community! 

 

Just shut it!

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Silence is golden for the introvert, while extroverts like to chat.  What does this mean for the therapist? Should you try to find out whether you’re dealing with an introvert?

I say no. With every client, it’s the therapist’s responsibility to respond to what they bring to the table that day. And it’s not even true that introverts want it quiet all the time–they just don’t like smalltalk. My online buddy Trina posted a wonderful list of myths about introverts.

In any business relationship, you have to follow your client’s lead on how to engage. It’s your responsibility to create an atmosphere of safety. Chatting away pointlessly never gets you there.

A massage therapist who talks all the time is the number one reason for clients not to come back.

To the extroverts, a talkative therapist is just a bad listener–and the extrovert wants to be heard. Just ask questions, don’t tell stories! An extroverted client will be happy to get into a conversation about pretty much anything.

The introvert, on the other hand, will answer your question with as few words as possible. Monosyllables from ANY client are your sign to just shut it. Play some music to ease your discomfort with silence. Something very boring. Like the Pandora station I made specifically for relaxation.

In regards to introverts, it’s really important not to engage in smalltalk. It feels stressful, to some individuals even painful, and a stressed client won’t benefit from your treatment.

So what about extroverts? Won’t they get antsy when you give them the silent treatment?

Some will, some won’t. Some deliberately come to you because they know they have to get more self-awareness.

So the groundrule I go by is simple: Don’t tell stories. Just respond to what the client is willing to share, don’t make your client your audience.

What do you think? As a therapist, what is your experience with clients who just won’t shut up? And as a client–have you ever had a therapist who annoyed you because they didn’t talk much?

Would you agree that when in doubt, it’s better to be quiet?

Say “no”.

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Let’s say I have a friend named Linda.

She is always running late. She keeps forgetting things she promised to get done. She stood me up several times when we wanted to meet for lunch. Last time we really talked, she told me about trouble at work. She was very upset, because people who she had a good relationship with were complaining about her.

Really, she’s one of the kindest, sweetest people you can imagine. But she’s letting people down because she just can’t say “no”.

Saying “yes” to every request just means that you can’t get anything done, you’re constantly stressed out, and by trying to please everybody, you end up pissing everybody off.

 

Don’t be Linda. Just say “no” more often.