Written by: Kirsten Mowrey, LMT, BCTMB, Trager Practitioner
Holistic therapies appeal to clients who want to care for their whole selves, in the least invasive ways, toward their goals of health and well being. With the advent of SARS-CoV-2 (the scientific name for coronavirus or CoVid-19) into our populations, all healthcare professionals are reviewing their protocols to decrease the likelihood of transmission. To my mind, this includes anyone who sees a client in a treatment room for an extended period of time: reflexologists, craniosacral therapists, Alexander practitioners, and we in the Trager community. Yet, as a whole, our professions are often neglected in public health initiatives because we are not seen as equivalent to conventional therapies, and are often misunderstood or ignored by policy makers.
I do not think we can allow this oversight to continue in the face of this virus. Particularly as states and regions move away from shelter in place orders to more movement, we need guidance about how to protect ourselves, our clients, and our professional standing. To do that, we need information. Reopening is on the horizon. What does reopening mean right now?
In talking with colleagues, it is clear that we are all debating, hesitating, and unsure of how to practice in the face of this highly transmissible novel virus. Many of us are not ready to reopen. What I offer here is some information and resources to help orient us all to the new world we live in. For myself, the more data I have, the better I can make a decision that I can trust and stand firm in when communicating with clients, answering their questions with confidence, and knowing that I am doing the best I can given the conditions. Most of these resources are from the more numerous massage community, but I will mention particular points for Trager practitioners as well.
Healwell.org is a massage therapy group that operates primarily in hospital settings. Their video “Back to Practice Guidelines” is thorough and detailed on points of cleaning your room between clients, setting up your room for frequent sanitizing, and the use of PPE (personal protection equipment) for hands-on therapists. You can find it at: https://healwell.thinkific.com/courses/back-to-practice. Their recent blog posts discuss topics of interest to any bodywork professional.
Associated Massage & Bodywork Professionals (www.abmp.com) did an entire digital issue on CoVid-19 in April, available for free. “The Truth about Covid-19” by Sasha Chaitow, addresses specific questions, as well as walks us through the scientific processes in the wake of a public health crisis all in an informative, reasonable voice. ABMP also created documents, such as paperwork, signage and checklists for practitioners reopening. As far as I can tell these are available to anyone.
Ruth Werner, author of The Massage Therapist’s Guide to Pathology, recorded a YouTube discussion with Diana Thompson and Melanie Hayden titled A discussion on the potential changes coming due to Covid 19 to the massage/bodywork professions. You can watch it at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QN_IpPWkX9k. A wide ranging conversation that brings up several points of practicing professionally in current times and modifications necessary. It was filmed on April 20, 2020.
The American Massage Therapy Association (AMTA) has a list of links for massage therapists about reopening, including guidelines by states that have already reopened. I did not find any original material. This information is accessible to anyone browsing their website, www.amtamassage.org. The Federation of State Massage Therapy Boards (FSMTB) issued guidelines for reopening in mid-May, view it here: https://www.fsmtb.org/media/2319/fsmtb20200519guidelinesforpracticecovid-19.pdf. I was looking specifically for information on how to practice safely and how the treatment experience needed to change, not for financial or liability information.
For Trager practitioners, there are some key points I wish to emphasize. In Trager tablework we are often much closer to our clients than massage therapists, as we cradle limbs, sit on the table and hold our clients. With such close contact, changing clothing between clients will be essential in our case, or wearing a smock or apron. When speaking or pausing, taking great care with where our breath is directed depending on the quality of the mask we are able to afford and access. Drinking won’t be possible during a session, unless you have a sink in the room and can wash your hands again. All of our props will need non-permeable covers underneath their soft cases. Finally, our sessions are longer than the average massage session, so air circulation is doubly important. All of these thoughts are covered in the resources I listed, but I did want to highlight these for our profession.
Finally, my disclaimer. As with everything related to this virus, information changes rapidly. This virus is novel, which means we do not know a lot about it: how it mutates, what it does within different populations, how it interacts with specific conditions, what happens over time? These resources offer ways to make practicing safer, but they do not mean that our places of business are risk-free nor will they eliminate transmission.The resources I have listed above are the best I have found to date, offering science and research based information. I cannot tell you what to do--as Cal Cates writes for Healwell, “this issue is a hot potato, and everyone is trying to not be left holding it, from our professional associations to our government officials. Which leaves it in our hands.”
I advise that you learn in small doses. The changes we need to make are a complete overhaul of how we practiced in the past. Don’t overwhelm yourself, give yourself time to absorb all that needs to be done, and give yourself time to do it. Then you will be able to manage and communicate with your clients from your centered presence, which is why they come to you in the first place.
Kirsten Mowrey, LMT, BCTMB has been a Trager practitioner for twelve years. She can be reached at www.kirstenmowrey.com.