The relationship between the athlete and the masseuse grows closer through long conversations, but during the massage we are also in physical contact. Trust is born from established practices and from saying things out loud.
Long ones the talks bring you closer, but in the massage you are also in physical contact.
“My own finding a masseuse takes a bit of experimentation,” swimmer Ida Hulkko states.
A sports massage therapist is an important part of an athlete’s team, a jam remover and a trusted friend. Hulkko has been going to a sports massage therapist for a long time, for the first time when he was 15 years old. Since then, he has managed to have a few credit massages.
“The more it goes on, the better he knows my body: where to focus and how something works, I don’t have to say that now it hurts here and there.”
“During 45-75 minutes, there is plenty of time to talk. You can make a good friend at the same time, if you just click. It’s been pretty good for me, it’s always clicked.”
Massage helps eliminate pain and different treatments aim to speed up recovery. For Hulko, it is also an opportunity to get a little break from everyday life – “a kind of therapy session”.
For Ida Hulko, a massage is an important social event.
The 23-year-old European silver medalist in swimming has visited the Massage and health center in Mankeli, Tampere Janne Jaakola in processing for about a year. They meet almost weekly. Jaakola also asks about the effects of the massage and gets excited about Hulko’s competitions.
“If the competitions go badly and there have been some troubles, I sometimes feel it as a personal failure, even though it doesn’t go that way,” says Jaakola.
Long ones the talks bring you closer, but in the massage you are also in physical contact.
As a swimmer, Hulkko is a regular sports massage visitor. She is also used to being in skimpy clothing for her work and has never found it problematic to undress during a massage.
“It’s rare to get completely naked here. You can probably see it more in that pool when you train.”
Ida Hulkko throws away her shirt and goes to the massage table.
Janne Jaakola prepares the table for the customer.
There are also well-established ways of working in massage. When the client comes, Jaakola leaves the room, allows the client to undress what they need and sit on the massage table.
Jaakola uses a large towel to help with the massage. It facilitates massaging, but is above all an important part of covering.
“If the legs, lower back, buttock are being massaged, I cover everything possible. I’m really careful about covering up, it makes the customer feel safe and also protects clothes if you use oil,” says Jaakola.
“It also stays warm when covered, it’s terrible if it gets cold,” says Hulkko.
With athletes there are various jams and problems. They say you can’t talk too much about them, because misunderstandings can happen. Hulko has an example of this in mind from years ago.
Hulko had pain on the left side of his body and it needed treatment, which he told the masseuse about. A familiar masseuse started massaging the right side. Hulkko wondered about it, but thought that the longing would soon move to the more painful side.
And then she didn’t say anything until the massage ended.
“Then I didn’t say, in those situations, you should just boldly open your mouth.”
According to Ida Hulko, you should boldly say out loud all the problems and difficulties.
Sometimes is forced to rely on something other than credit massagers, for example on race trips. Things don’t always go smoothly with a new masseuse, but that doesn’t hurt either.
“Then we adapt to the fact that it’s good for both of us. I can also read the atmosphere: if the other person is not in the mood to talk or things don’t get through, then I don’t go,” says Hulkko.
“Sometimes things fly so fast in swimming circles that you have to slow down a bit if someone is new.”
Hulkko remembers one such situation. He was on the massage table at the World Championships and was talking with a friend at the same time, when suddenly the massage stopped.
“I must have said something. Then little by little it continued.”
Of impropriety Hulko has no experience with the operation, but Jaakola says that there have been inappropriate customers from time to time.
Harassment is almost always directed at female masseuses.
“One of our female massage therapists, a kind of bottomless bitch, threw one of the customers in the yard. Then there are emails that are addressed directly to our female therapists. They are usually a model, can you be without any clothes and covering up on the massage table. They come a couple of times a year.”
Such emails will go unanswered. Jaakola believes that the same messages will certainly be sent to many massage therapists.
Home visits are also situations where Jaakola prefers to send male masseurs. Home visits are always a bit exciting for him too.
“You never know where you’re going. Alone, with only a table to say hello, here I am now.”
For the unaccustomed the massage visitor may find undressing, physical contact and pouncing on the massage table in scanty clothes uncomfortable. Masseurs can also run into difficult situations.
In order to avoid uncomfortable situations, it is good to know massage etiquette. Helsingin Sanomat asked the trainer, masseuse and osteopath in charge of the Finnish Sports Massage College from Ilari Keckmanhow the label works.
It is essential that the customer feels safe. When coming for a massage, it is typical for the professional to turn away while the client takes off his clothes and lies on his back or stomach.
“Then the masseuse puts a blanket over it. The covering up phase is a very important phase for a person to feel safe,” says Keckman.
Janne Jaakola is careful about covering up, for Ida Hulko it is important not to get cold during the massage.
For a massage when coming, it is enough to remove the clothing from the massaged area. And that’s not a necessity either, you can also rub on, for example, the top of your pants.
If the upper back is massaged, women may have questions. What kind of bra should it be? Or can you go for a massage if you don’t have a bra on?
Those that can be opened at the back are an easy solution, but if necessary, the customer can ask the masseuse for a towel and the masseuse will go somewhere else for a while.
“This way you can wrap yourself in a towel and then lie down on the massage table. The massage can also be done over a sports top, of course without fat.”
Towels also protect clothes.
Talking is the best way to avoid misunderstandings, frankly. It is important that the professional justifies his actions so that people understand why something is done.
A good place for the discussion is the initial interview before the massage. It explains why the customer has come to the masseur and which places are being massaged.
“It clarifies the situation. Let’s go over the reasons for coming for a massage and agree on what to do and what will happen next. I myself will still ask if this treatment plan is OK, so there will be no surprises.”
If you have come for a massage because of upper back problems, for example, it is not appropriate to massage the buttocks without having agreed on the matter.
“It really isn’t. In the initial interview, it has been agreed what will be done. This would be quite a strange activity.”
How then we act when we go to the intimate area. When should you massage, for example, the buttocks or breast muscles in women?
“The massage itself is done in exactly the same way as the massage of other muscle groups, but covering up is really important. For women, of course, the breasts themselves are not massaged, but the muscle from the upper part of the chest, then you can keep the bra on or cover it with a towel or sheet. Same thing with the buttocks, the maximum amount is always covered when we are in an intimate area.”
In swimmers, the muscles of the upper body often require treatment.
There are different types of masseuses and clients. Some like to talk more, some less. Usually the masseuse observed the situation.
“Some people talk a lot, and that’s fine, but if the client is quiet, the masseuse won’t start a conversation. The customer can also say that I’m coming straight from work, is it okay not to talk. Then it’s easy for the masseuse to act accordingly.”
How about if the masseuse rubs too hard or poorly or just next to the point that is stuck. Can a professional be guided in his work?
“It’s okay to guide and that’s fine, a masseuse can’t feel what a person feels. No one should take it upon themselves.”
In many service professions, additional business is done. Is it acceptable to start selling, for example, supplements from a network marketing company along with a massage?
“People do many kinds of business, but I see that there should be some relevance.”
“Nowadays, massage therapists are also trained to guide various exercises to help, for example, with lower back or neck pain. If you sell, say, a rubber band to the side of the exercises you do at home, then why not.”
With the new masseuse, Ida Hulkko tries to sense the situation herself, so that everyone would be well.
Between customers may become troublesome. According to Keckman, sometimes people come to the masseuse in a stressful state, which affects ejaculation.
“We prepare for it by learning how to interview, it often helps when a person feels that they are being heard. Bad behavior is usually caused by things that are not related to the massage therapist, so it’s not a good idea to take them personally.”
But you don’t have to put up with everything. According to Keckman, female masseuses in particular sometimes have to face sexual harassment as well. It is something that is reviewed in the trainings before the internship.
“We have advised that if an unpleasant or threatening situation arises, you can leave or ask one of the staff to come. In a school environment, it is quick to react to it, but the situation can be different when working alone after graduation.”
Although women suffer from the phenomenon more, disturbing cases also happen to male masseuses.
“Usually then it’s a female customer who hints sexually, asks for a phone number and adds as a friend on social media.”
In these situations, you must tell the customer that the action is not appropriate. There is no need to listen to anything irrelevant. The customer can also be asked to leave.
“How easy it is in practice is a different matter.”
But sometimes the masseuse becomes a trusted friend. During a long massage, you have time to go through many twists and turns in life.
“You wouldn’t believe what kind of stories you hear: everything from birth to death.”
Ida Hulkko trusts the Finnish sports massage training and the masseuse’s professionalism, the most important thing for her is the social side and human contact. “I like that the masseuse is outgoing: able to talk casually, that there is no tense atmosphere.”
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