We know that our massage therapist is going to ease muscle tension and help us work through injuries, but that hour on the table reveals so much more than just the stress we asked them to soothe. 

Here are 15 things your massage therapist can tell about your body without you saying a word:

• Type of purse you carry – Your body is tighter on one side when you carry a large purse. Glutes, hamstrings, and quads will be tight and you will also have an unnatural pelvic tilt.
• When you sit at a computer all day – Weak lower back, one hip higher than the other, tight glutes and legs, means you’ve got a desk job.
• The way you sleep – If you are a stomach sleeper, we can see extra strain on your neck.
• Drive a lot – When you rack up those miles, you tend to exhibit “hunched shoulders”.
• Injuries – New or old.  Massage therapist can feel heat and inflammation in an acute injury.  Chronic injuries show in the form of dehydrated muscles that feel tight.  And with repetitive motion injuries, tendons and muscles feel wiry like guitar strings.
• Too much texting – The downward position of your head when texting creates an imbalance in the shoulders.
• Dehydration – Upper back trigger points will be tender if you have not had your recommended eight glasses of water each day. Drink up, especially before and after your massage!
• Always cold – When you are cold, you tend to hunch up your shoulders to your ears, so it I no surprise when you come in with stress in your necks and the tops of your shoulders during winter months.
• You’re a runner – Hips and lower back will feel tight and you might complain about tension in the bottom of your feet.
• Allergy sufferer – The tissue around your eyes, forehead, cheeks, and jaw will feel tender and inflamed.  So will lymph nodes in the chest, neck and underarms.
• Bra is too tight – When you bra strap is too tight and cutting into your shoulder blade, the muscle above the scapula tightens in response to the pressure. 
• Hormonal – Sensitive area (trigger points) in the lower back that feel stickier, tense, hot, or rubbery to your massage therapist – and painful to you could mean you are about to ovulate or having your period.
• Might have skin cancer – As a massage therapist, we have our eyes on the back of your body, where you cannot generally see.  We can spot irregularities in places you cannot, and we’ll let you know if we see anything!
• You need a new pillow – Sleeping on a pillow that is wrong or too-old can throw off the alignment of your spine.  If your head is tilted down or up, it will put a strain on your neck. 

These are just a few things we can tell. When you come in with an area you want to focus on, just let us know! Regular massage will help muscle tension and to heal those imbalances.