RMTAO Blog
Sam's Story
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As an industrial climber (think rock climbing but in an industrial setting), Sam puts a lot of strain on different parts of his body. At work, the weight of his climbing harness puts a lot of strain on his hips and constantly looking up causes additional strain on his neck and back. When he is climbing, he is often in very tight spaces and reaching and twisting to get to his next location, and this puts a strain on his body. He turned to massage therapy to improve his mobility and flexibility.
“Massage makes me feel a lot more comfortable and confident in these motions,” Sam said.
Sam finds that without massage therapy he would experience regular muscle strain. He also finds that massage therapy improves his quality of life, as well as allows him to continue in a job that he loves.
“I love my work but it can be upsetting when I am too sore to play with my little boy or if I am reluctant to get into physical activity with him knowing I have a big day of climbing ahead of me,” Sam said.
In his free time, Sam is a semi professional acoustic fingerstyle guitarist, and he finds that the strain he experiences at work can also affect him while playing guitar. Tension through his forearms also restricts and reduces his dexterity in both hands. This can make his main method of relaxation and source of enjoyment, playing music, very difficult.
“Often my hands are my only point of contact when climbing, this puts a lot of weight and strain through them,” Sam said. “Doing this regularly sometimes means I struggle to open up my hands and straighten my fingers. This is not good for classical, or fingerstyle guitar.”
Massage therapy has helped Sam in a variety of ways, helping him ease his back and neck pain as well. After a massage therapy treatment, his stride feels less restricted and he feels a significant improvement in his posture and breathing. He is grateful for the many benefits he has gotten from massage therapy, as well as the light stretching exercises and yoga poses his RMT taught him that help him remain mobile between appointments.
“Without massage and the stretches and techniques my RMT provides me, I get demoralized and overwhelmed with persistent discomfort and pain,” Sam said.
Sam would like others who may be considering massage therapy for the first time to understand that massage therapy is more than just a fun way to relax that many might think it is. Although he does find massage therapy relaxing, he continues to seek out massage therapy to maintain his mobility and decrease his pain so he can continue enjoying both the job and hobbies that he loves.
“Regarding newcomers to massage, I would say that it's not all candles and lavender!” Sam said. “It is an important part of R&R but it can also be used as part of a 'physical maintenance' regime.”