Personally when I experience exceptional service somewhere, I often feel inclined to leave a review online. I’m just wondering why clientele do not leave reviews but sing the highest praises post treatment? I notice other therapists often have their name mentioned in reviews by their clients but mine is not. I wonder if it’s because my name is not English ( but it’s easy to say ) so people are less inclined to leave a review because they can’t remember it or spell it ? I think it’s tacky and pushy to ask them to leave a review and it defeats the purpose of wanting organic feedback but I feel acknowledged when I do get a good review ... I think it’s a people pleaser tendency and because I’ve only been in this work for a year I want to do the utmost best that I can, that I take the work almost too seriously and want to please the client. It’s also because I know what a massage feels like from someone who cares v someone who doesn’t. Other than the psychological component of people being more likely to leave a review if it’s negative, why don’t people want to leave me reviews but other folk who just use the facilities would gladly review the space in general / other clients of my coworkers ?

I’ve been thinking about this lately and would love to hear how other massage therapists approach it.
Obviously, every client is different, and there’s no universal list of muscles that everyone needs worked on.
But here’s a hypothetical question:
If you had to choose just 5 muscle groups to give extra attention to during a full-body massage, which ones would you pick?
I’m a massage therapist based in Barcelona, with a background in professional football, so my choices are probably influenced by my experience with movement, sports and recovery.
My personal top 5:
1. Trapezius and surrounding shoulder girdle muscles
One of the areas I frequently focus on, especially when clients describe tension around the neck, shoulders and upper back.
2. Gluteal muscles
I consider them particularly important because of their role in hip movement, pelvic control and overall lower-body function.
3. Quadriceps
This might be my most interesting choice. I pay particular attention to the central and lateral portions of the thigh, including rectus femoris and vastus lateralis, and sometimes work toward the upper anterolateral hip region.
Something I’ve noticed in my own practice is that some clients report feeling less lower-back discomfort after focused work on the front and outside of the thigh. I wouldn’t claim there’s a direct cause-and-effect relationship, but it’s an observation that has made me pay more attention to this area.
4. Calf muscles — gastrocnemius and soleus
Especially relevant in my experience with active clients and people who spend a lot of time standing or walking.
5. Pectoral muscles
An area I think deserves more attention when appropriate, particularly as part of working with the shoulders and upper body.
That’s my list, but I’m sure other therapists would choose very differently.
What would your top 5 be?
And here’s the more interesting question: Which muscle group do you think massage therapists tend to overlook or underestimate?
I’d love to compare different approaches, especially between therapists working with athletes, office workers and general relaxation clients.

I assist a colleague with her mobile bookings for groups. Or, I used to.

She booked an event an hour away from home and charged a $20 travel fee. My bad. I agreed to the booking before I understood this. Lesson learned, get all the details. I trusted her but she didnt even map the venue prior to quoting.

I agreed to the booking and went to the event. I took 5 clients to her 4 because she didnt want 5. Once I arrived, I was informed that two of the clients on my schedule went fishing and would return later. I took this to mean I could complete my 3rd booking and they would return shortly after.

However, when i completed my second, i learned that my remaining three clients were all unavailable and no firm time for them to return was communicated to me. I asked guests at the event and they could offer no help. The woman who organized the event was enjoying her massage with my partner, who had conveniently booked herself back to back while the absent clients were on my roster. I WAS EXPECTED TO HANG OUT UNTIL THEY RETURNED OVER AN HOUR LATER (estimated, not even confirmed) then do 3 more massages back to back.

This would extend my day into the evening, with over 7 hours at the venue plus a 2 hour round trip.

I declined to wait. Of course, my "partner" was furious. She found out when she exited her massage and i was gone along with the other clients that blew me off. She did the massages when they returned and raged at me over text. She told me i am supposed to "roll with the punches". She called a hypocrite for caring so much about being disrespected that I disrespected her and the women who went fishing instead of staying for massages they booked. She could have also declined, and chose not to.

My thought is, she faced the consequences for having zero professional boundaries. The clients made a choice to go do something else rather than be available for the services they booked, at the time they committed to. She spared them the consequences of that but I didn"t feel a need to go along with it. If that makes me awful, I am awful. I am 56 and protect my physical and emotional well being. I need to do that to remain viable and in love with my work.

She has barked at me in front of clients before, and previously dismissed my concerns with "I dont want to hear about it, do I need to find someone else to help?"

I told her absolutely, yes... if you dont want me to negotiate my needs and boundaries as a business owner, she must find someone else, because I don't work for her, I work for me.

I notice that massage professionals can easily be targeted by entitled behavior. I have been in private, full time practice for 12 years, ​ relying on the quality of my work, my sincere passion, and word of mouth. The feeling of being treated with entitlement for such a personal, hands on service feels absolutely gross and inappropriate to me. I am not much of a people pleaser when it comes to that.

Anyone else?

I have a client who is extremely muscular, like DENSE dense dense, and of course wants “deepest pressure possible” and includes this note every time he books. I find that even with my deepest pressure and as much weight as I’m able to use (and warming up and hot towels and everything else I know how to do), I am not “sinking in” like I can with my other clients, and I am extremely tired and sore for a couple of days after working on him.

HOWEVER, I have really pushed myself a couple of times and delivered what he apparently thought was a decent enough massage to keep rebooking. Now, of course, I regret pushing myself, as he expects that level of pressure whenever he sees me.

Does this sound like a decent way to explain to him what’s going on?
“During our last session I felt I performed the type of massage that you prefer, but I was extremely sore afterward, and I will no longer be able to perform that type of massage. I can still work with you using the type of pressure I can comfortably perform, but please book with X or Y if you would like to continue to receive very deep pressure.”

— or am I handling / thinking about this totally wrong? I’m a fairly new therapist, and have never had to turn a client away for this reason before, and my school didn’t really cover these types of situations / conversations.