I ran into a recent new client last night. When he came to see me two months ago, he was limping and had been in significant pain for months. The massage helped....for about 5 minutes. As he walked from my front door to his car, I saw his limp return.
Which, in this case, means the massage was a complete success.
Why? Because it showed both of us that massage was not the answer to his problem. It motivated him to do something he'd been hoping to avoid -- going to see his doctor -- where he discovered a more serious problem in his hip that really does require medical intervention. Massage will be able to support him while he goes through those treatments but it was never going to fix the problem.
This is not the first time this has happened for me. People who are in pain but don't want to go to a doctor for some reason will sometimes go see a massage therapist instead. If I can, with professional confidence, say "this is not strictly a muscular problem and I don't think massage can solve it" they are much more likely to then go see a doc.
Our greatest value is not "fixing problems". Our greatest value is listening to a client and their body in a way the often can't (or won't). And then providing a response that might alleviate the problem. Sometimes massage is the answer. Sometimes it isn't. We won't know till we listen.
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