Bear with me as I share something that will seem unrelated to massage at first. I’ve been riding my bike to work for quite a while now, and I recently switched to a new bike. After a while, I started to notice a little knee pain when riding, and this got progressively worse the more I rode. I also felt a little uncomfortable with my position on the bike, like I might be a little low. So I raised my saddle, not by much, probably less than inch. The knee pain went away almost instantly, and I also felt more comfortable and more efficient in my pedaling.
I’ve worked with biomechanical models enough to know that a small change in the angle of a joint can make a significant difference in the forces across that joint during muscular exertion. So, if you’re experiencing some discomfort while giving massage, consider a small change to your table’s height, or a slight shift in your posture or how you position your client. Sometimes these little changes can prevent a bigger problem down the road.
