Massage Today reached out to massage therapists across the country to better understand how COVID-19 has affected their lives and massage therapy practices. Not surprisingly, the common thread in many of the responses we received was hope and resiliency, both for getting through the current crisis and returning to a massage therapy profession stronger and more integral to everybody’s health and well-being than ever before. Here are their stories.

Passion for the Profession

“I miss my clients!” says John Lambert, CMT, of California. Lambert is a solo practitioner in an over-55 retirement community. “I see many of the same people regularly for chronic pain issues. You connect with them and they become a part of your life. I miss seeing them staying active and improving their health,” he explains. “My biggest hope is to simply get back to business. I know my clients value my work. I must do my part to create a safer space for them to receive my work.”

“I totally understand the need for the restrictions but nonetheless it is a challenge” says Rick Greely, LMT, of Ohio. Greely faces these challenges as his state enforces its stay at home order. “My hope is that the profession learns and grows from this experience. We see a new appreciation for the benefits we provide and that many of our health care sisters and brothers enjoy our services” he explains. “Know that many, many, many essential workers will need our help to heal from the stress that they have had to deal with. “

Jeff Montoya, LMT, practices in Wisconsin, where the governor included licensed health professionals in the exemptions from the Safe at Home order. “I find it encouraging that we are included with all other health and allied health professions,” he explains. “However, this has caused confusion and conflict among massage therapists who either do not understand why we were included or who believe we should not have been included as exempt. When we begin to practice again, we will do so with an increased awareness of safety and sanitation. I believe that society will be ‘touch-deprived,’ and we may even see an increase in the demand for massage.”

Tony Karoumi, LMT, of Illinois says: "In my 46 years of life I’ve never been through something like this. Things we’ve counted on and taken for granted have been altered or taken away. But on the other side of that, we have gained another prospective. A perspective that you wouldn’t be privy to without your world changing.The silver lining in this for me is seeing people and families spending time with one another, slowing down, walking/riding bikes more, and eating meals together.​"

Hope for a Better Future

Gabriel Antuna-Rivera, LMT, of Alaska feels both the sting of quarantine and the shared resiliency of the spirit of community. “Beyond my hope that people, not just my fellow massage therapists, will never have to face another crisis where they have to leverage their own security over that of the public, I hope that the public’s passion for massage therapy endures (in part because the majority of our community governed themselves by science and not a dangerous desire to feel normal in strange times), that we continue to gather more students of the practice, that massage can continue to cut away at the self-care epidemic that this country’s been suffering long before this crisis came about,” he says. “We were making good progress. We can and must continue to do so.”

Becky Ohlson, MEd, ATC, LMT, who practices in Nebraska, looks to the future with hope that the massage therapy profession will come back stronger than ever. “I know that we will be needed once we figure out how we can safely work with our clients again,” she says. “So, I know it will get better, we just don't know what the picture is going to look like for us yet. We just have to be patient, be educated from reputable resources on the virus, and be ready to make modifications as necessary.”

Marva Wright, LMT, of Illinois explains how challenging it is to be away from her clients. “I have clients that see me for pain management only, on a routine schedule, who I cannot see as long as we are under the shelter in place order,” she says. “I absolutely agree with the order, as social distancing, along with proper hand-washing, sanitation and covering our coughs and sneezes because they are the best ways not to spread the virus. But, I have clients who are not receiving needed treatment right now and that’s difficult to ponder.”

Wright hopes the massage therapy profession will be better prepared to deal with crisis after the pandemic. “I hope that we follow through with making connections with our leaders and legislators to put forth a plan that will protect us from great financial loss should another pandemic or the likes affect our ability to work in the future,” she adds. 

Caren McCarty, LMT, of Kentucky, shared her hope that “my clients are comfortable with the PPE guidelines and understand this too shall pass. It will be a new normal, but I think we can all adjust. I hope when my clients get on the table, they will be able to forget what is going on in the world. I want to be able to hold that space for them where they can relax.”

Massage Therapy Schools  

Massage therapy schools are the backbone of the profession as they support the next generation of massage therapists. We checked in with schools to hear how the pandemic is affecting them.

Dainah Craft, CEO of the Indiana Wellness College, has been able to weather the storm so far, but with great difficulty. “This would not be possible without the Department of Education’s unilateral approval of moving all programs for every type of school to an online education system,” she says. “We have been using IDL (Interactive Distance Learning) for the last decade already, and were very well prepared to continue providing education at a high level and ensure that student-to-student and student-to-instructor communication has been an ongoing occurrence.  Like all massage facilities we were required to close our student clinic opened to the public, which has dramatically reduced our monthly and annual income. It has made paying our bills, and keeping all staff employed without pay cuts very difficult.”

Craft offered words of encouragement, saying: “I would encourage all students, employers and myself to remember that nothing lasts forever. The dark night will come to an end, and the sun will shine again. Focus on the lessons you have learned though this experience and make a commitment to change the things within your power to control, so if this ever happens again, you will have more control.’

As Massage Today continues its coverage of the impact of COVID-19 on the massage profession, we encourage all massage therapists who would like to contribute their thoughts and experiences to reach out to us via email.