Good aftercare advice ensures the client’s health and safety and, especially if it has been recorded in the notes, is a sensible precaution against potential litigation. Massage can make people drowsy or spaced out and it’s important to establish that your client is fit to negotiate stairs, or drive home. And suppose you notice an unmentioned skin disorder and fail to mention it, the client later goes to the doctor, is diagnosed with an infectious condition, and claims to have caught it from you? This kind of worst-case scenario would be prevented by good aftercare practice: sharing information, suggesting referral and making a note of the conversation.
Aftercare doesn’t have to be after the massage. Very often the obvious time is when engaging with the client at the beginning. Questions about pain or stiffness lead naturally to questions about habitual movements or body use and then to considering what could be done differently. John, over six feet, came to me because his girlfriend said he was beginning to stand like an old man. We tracked his incipient kyphosis to his proofreading job, and before he got onto the couch, we’d worked out that he needed a lower table, and also to take regular stretching breaks from his work.
And finally, aftercare needs to be relevant to the individual, and take into account her knowledge and skill level, lifestyle and health. When Dolores told me she’d been getting cramps between her shoulder blades, I began to remind her of the shoulder rotation exercises, but on noticing her wince as she tried them, quickly remembered that she has two frozen shoulders (probably also the cause of cramping in her rhomboids and mid trapezius), and instead suggested a hot water bottle for her upper back when she watches television at night.
Massage School Classes in Maui