What to expect
Receiving manual therapy and massage
If you’ve never received massage or manual therapy, you may have questions about what occurs before, during, and after treatments. Styles of therapist can be different as well. Here are a few thought about working with me. Let me know if you have special needs, requests, or concerns about your session and we’ll adjust as needed to help make you comfortable.
Before you receive manual therapy
Most work is done while client is fully clothed. Therefore it is important to wear loose flexible clothing to insure your comfort. If any muscle work is required to increase the effectiveness of the work, you will be asked to remove some clothing and cover with a sheet. In our initial visit we will start with an interview, I will ask you several questions in regards to your health, lifestyle, etc. This allows me to get to know you a bit as well as making sure we have a big picture to work with in the treatment room.
During manual therapy
This work often requires close contact, as many techniques require me to wrap my arms around you while moving your body, almost like a slow dance. For some that can be intimidating or unnerving. Sometimes it is hard to let someone see us in a less than perfect light, but within a few minutes, we can generally become comfortable with each other. Of greater importance still, is that you, realize “you are the boss.” If anything makes you feel uncomfortable or uneasy, your responsibility is to let me know, so that we can adjust our style or positioning to help you be more comfortable. During the first portion of the treatment, I prefer to move around the body, listening and treating the areas of primary concern. You will likely be asked to lie down, sit up, lie on your side, or hold your arm here or there. This is why we do so much of the work while dressed. This is also why it is important to wear loose comfortable clothing. I suggest the same clothes you would wear to the gym or to yoga.
After you receive manual therapy
After all the work is done, I like to spend the remaining time doing massage. It is a great way to work out a few sore muscles and help the body relax on a systemic level. After your session, it is often like having a completely new body, and that can take some getting used to. With few exceptions, you can carry on with life quite normally following a session. I may suggest a long walk in the day following in order to fully integrate the work into the body. I frequently advise stretches or activities to insure things do not revert to where they were before we started.
© 2022, Jim Stevens Manual Therapy
Master Manual Therapist & Physical Trauma Specialist
Relieving pain and injury since 1994
What to
expect
Receiving manual
therapy and
massage
If you’ve never received massage or manual therapy, you may have questions about what occurs before, during, and after treatments. Styles of therapist can be different as well. Here are a few thought about working with me. Let me know if you have special needs, requests, or concerns about your session and we’ll adjust as needed to help make you comfortable.
Before you receive
manual therapy
Most work is done while client is fully clothed. Therefore it is important to wear loose flexible clothing to insure your comfort. If any muscle work is required to increase the effectiveness of the work, you will be asked to remove some clothing and cover with a sheet. In our initial visit we will start with an interview, I will ask you several questions in regards to your health, lifestyle, etc. This allows me to get to know you a bit as well as making sure we have a big picture to work with in the treatment room.
During manual therapy
This work often requires close contact, as many techniques require me to wrap my arms around you while moving your body, almost like a slow dance. For some that can be intimidating or unnerving. Sometimes it is hard to let someone see us in a less than perfect light, but within a few minutes, we can generally become comfortable with each other. Of greater importance still, is that you, realize “you are the boss.” If anything makes you feel uncomfortable or uneasy, your responsibility is to let me know, so that we can adjust our style or positioning to help you be more comfortable. During the first portion of the treatment, I prefer to move around the body, listening and treating the areas of primary concern. You will likely be asked to lie down, sit up, lie on your side, or hold your arm here or there. This is why we do so much of the work while dressed. This is also why it is important to wear loose comfortable clothing. I suggest the same clothes you would wear to the gym or to yoga.
After you receive manual therapy
After all the work is done, I like to spend the remaining time doing massage. It is a great way to work out a few sore muscles and help the body relax on a systemic level. After your session, it is often like having a completely new body, and that can take some getting used to. With few exceptions, you can carry on with life quite normally following a session. I may suggest a long walk in the day following in order to fully integrate the work into the body. I frequently advise stretches or activities to insure things do not revert to where they were before we started.
© 2022, Jim Stevens Manual Therapy
Master Manual
Therapist & Physical
Trauma Specialist
Relieving pain and
injury since 1994
