Massage - How to Choose Your Therapist

Choosing a massage therapist can be difficult. Whether you have used massage for years or are new to the experience, there will always be times when you need to find a new therapist and, in the case of injury, fast! This article outlines what I look for when choosing a therapist and why.

My four top considerations in choosing a therapist are:

1. Location


2. Technique


3. Gut feeling


4. Availability

1. Location

From a practical perspective, it is great if my massage therapist is close to home. I am not entirely myself by the end of a massage. As well as being fatigued, I can sometimes feel a bit ill and I don't trust myself to drive long distances in that state, so this criterion largely relates to self preservation.

The other point that I take into consideration is the type of practice the therapist operates within. If they are independent then I will immediately skip to their profile, but if they are working within a centre, then I will take its key features and service offering into consideration. These can vary considerably and typically speak to the therapist's background and preferred style of treatment.

2. Technique

Each therapist will have a preferred massage technique and over time, you will learn those that you respond to. As an example, I will only consider therapists that specialize in variations of remedial massage and sports massage. Other techniques such as pressure point or shiatsu are also interesting to me. I will avoid anyone that is focused purely on relaxation as this tends to be too gentle my needs.

3. Gut Feeling

Massage is a very personal experience. I will look at the photos and profile to help judge whether the therapist is a person I trust. After all, you are going to be lying there with nothing but a towel between you and this person, so I care about what my gut is telling me. This is where it becomes really important to trust your instincts. My personal preference is for therapists that work with athletes or have a sporting background, as they are more likely to understand my specific needs and propose an appropriate treatment.

4. Availability

I am an extremely disorganized person. Whilst I will occasionally book in advance, there are frequently times when having a massage is a last minute decision for me. So, availability is quite important to me. Some people are happy to take a more structured approach and book well in advance, in which case this criterion is less relevant.

Over time, I have found an approach to address this issue, and that is to have a panel of therapists rather than just one. I typically have my 'Number One' who is the person that I would ideally see and I have developed a relationship with. When I am organized, I will make the effort to book in advance with my Number One.

Then I have my back-up providers. These are generally larger clinics that I know have a strong overall standard and a number of therapists on staff. This is where I go for my last minute needs. I may not know the specific person that I am getting, but I know that the practice hires quality professionals. In this case, I am generally after point treatment to fix a specific ailment so these massages are a transaction for me.

So, in summary the four criteria that I consider are location, technique, gut feeling and availability. These may not be the most logical, but they work for me. I really hope you find them useful.