Massage Therapist Treatment For An Achilles Tendon Rupture

September 14, 2015/3 Comments/in Business, Massage, Massage Clinic, Massage Therapist, Massage Therapy, Sport Massage/by Jamie Johnston

“I heard a loud pop and it felt like somebody hit me in the heel.”

I’ve had a few friends and patients over the years that ruptured their achilles tendon.

It just sounds terrible and I hope I never have to experience it.

The last time I heard a story about it, the guy was playing tennis and lunged after a ball. He just dropped to the ground.

He knew he shouldn’t move because the foot didn’t feel right and when you hear something like that, the last thing you want to do is move the injury.

Fortunately keeping still was the right thing to do.

First Aid For An Achilles Tear

I would treat this the same as I would for a fracture.

The person may still be able to limp or walk because the peroneals and other muscles deep in the leg compartment that remain in tact do not require push off with the superficial calf muscles.

Once that tendon is ruptured, immobilize as soon as possible, you want to do everything possible to prevent the calves from balling up.

Make sure to immobilize in the position found. Since the gastrocs cross the knee, do not straighten it because that motion would place more tension on the calf muscles and could further complicate the injury. However this is just my opinion from experience in dealing with things like this on an acute level (this study says that knee position does not affect the tendon gap at the injury site).

Once immobilized check the pulse distal to the injury to make sure circulation is okay.

If you’re not sure whether the injury is a rupture there is a few signs and symptoms to look for:

visible separation in the tendon
unable to stand or balance on the affected leg
swelling and bruising around the ankle
excessive dorsiflexion of the ankle
positive Thompson’s test.

While all of those signs and symptoms and the Thompson’s test are quality things to look for, I would be hesitant to have someone try to stand on the injured side or perform the test for fear of causing further damage. You are much better off to look at the mechanism of injury and let the doctors at the hospital perform any further testing that is required.

Achilles Tendon Rupture: Surgical Or Non-Surgical

I had no idea that there was a non-surgical procedure for this injury until just recently.

In doing research, there is quite the debate over which is better between surgical and non-surgical procedure and both have their advantages and disadvantages. It seemed like I could find just as many pro or against for either treatment.

In the non-surgical treatment the foot is braced in plantar flexion and three weeks later progresses to weight bearing exercise and manual therapy. Scar tissue fills the space between the ends of the torn tendon, which lengthens it and gives the patient less push off strength. It takes longer to recover, longer immobilization time and has a higher risk of a deep vein thrombosis.

There are a few different methods to the surgery but it comes with the risk of wound closure problems, infection and nerve damage.

One systematic review looked at seven articles from the last ten years and found:

there wasn’t a significant difference in re-ruptures of the tendon
more soft tissue injuries from the surgery (we could probably help out here)
better function after surgery
quicker rehab after surgery

The review also points out the difference between surgical and non-surgical treatments were minor so the importance lies in the rehab.

Photo by: Bob~Barely Time

How To Rehabilitate An Achilles Rupture In The Massage Clinic

Your approach to helping rehab this injury is going to vary depending on when the patient comes to see you and what type of repair was done to the tendon.

There are two approaches to rehab, the conventional approach and an early remobilization approach.

Getting a good history from your patient will be crucial to providing the appropriate care (as it always is).

When the conventional approach is used, somewhere around the 4 week point (after the operation) the person is usually put into a walking cast (ankle is placed in neutral) with some weight bearing exercises are started. Around the 8-10 week mark, the walking cast is taken away and range of motion exercises begin. After 12 weeks things are getting back to normal and full weight bearing activities are okay again.

When the early remobilization approach is used, weight bearing and range of motion exercise starts immediately (or within 2 weeks) after surgery while wearing a brace that holds the ankle in plantar flexion. Full weight bearing happens gradually at 3-6 weeks with orthotics in place that allow more dorsiflexion.

With either approach, weight bearing exercises are used around that 6 week mark. At this point it is also okay to start some Massage Therapy work around the tendon and the calf muscles. The biggest thing we want to do is help with increasing the ankle range of motion. Using some techniques like joint mobilizations, mild stretching, active and passive range of motion and manually stripping out the gastrocs will all help contribute to these goals.

The next goal should be strengthening the calf muscles. After being in a splint, brace or cast for that long there will be some wasting of the muscle. I had a knee surgery back in 2005 and had to wear a full length leg splint for 3 months after the surgery. My leg looked like it belonged to a 10 year old kid compared to the other one.

Because weight bearing is allowed in both approaches at the 6 week mark, strengthening should be tolerated as well. If you’re not comfortable setting up exercise programs, reach out to someone in your network that is and get some help with it. Chances are the patient will already have exercises in place, either prescribed by the surgeon or from a physio they have been referred to.

Whichever rehab approach is being used will be dictated by the doctor or surgeon. Reach out to them and find out which approach is being used and get some feedback on what they have seen success with. Sometimes with surgery structures are taken from flexor hallucis longus, plantaris, peroneus brevis or parts of the fascia from the gastrocs. Getting that kind of information from their doctor is valuable information and may alter your treatment. If you’re dealing with an acute achilles rupture, even though they may be able to limp on it, get them down on the ground and splint the ankle in place. Do whatever you can to prevent any further injury or complications. When a person is coming in to your clinic for rehab, do a little research on what works best for a successful outcome and have some open communication with the persons other practitioners. And hopefully the next time you’re out exercising it never feels like someone kicked you in the back of the heel.

Why Every Massage Therapist Should Be Using Linkedin

September 6, 2015/in Business, Massage, Massage Clinic, Massage Therapist, Massage Therapy/by Jamie Johnston

“Help the people in your network, and let them help you” – Reid Hoffman, founder of Linkedin.

“James, please add me to your Linkedin network”

Why do I keep getting these requests from people?

I finally gave in and signed up for a Linkedin profile.

I just sat there, blankly looking at the screen like someone was trying to explain astrophysics to me. I just didn’t get it.

Is this like a new facebook? But it’s for business right?

I didn’t understand what I was supposed to do with it. After some reading and research it finally started making more sense.

It was originally created for job seekers and has evolved into a tool for any business owner.

Some of the biggest companies in the world are using it as a major part of their social media and recruiting campaigns. It has become the biggest social networking site that is strictly for professionals.

You use facebook to connect with your fans, twitter to connect within your community, but you use Linkedin to connect with your client (B2C) and other businesses (B2B).

Linkedin For B2C Marketing

Most people only think of Linkedin for B2B marketing and connecting with other professionals.

However there are ways to use it to market to customers. If I’ve heard it once I’ve heard it 1000 times, “content is the new currency”. Linkedin provides a great platform for this because you can use it as a method to post blogs.

Imagine that you are regularly generating content for your current patients that are following you on your facebook page. Why not use the same posts to engage with possible new customers?

There’s a higher level of trust when potential customers are reading your posts on Linkedin because it is THE social media platform for professionals.

Another interesting statistic is that 41% of internet users in the U.S. that are on Linkedin have an average income of over $75,000. So guess what?, they can afford to come in for a Massage.

But remember, don’t just use it for self promotion also look into groups to see how you can be of help and provide service.

Linkedin For B2B Marketing

Linkedin is different than using facebook and twitter.

Although facebook does have the option of business pages, those are meant more to engage with your customers. Twitter is meant more to engage with your community.

Linkedin is all about business.

According to this graph, hospital and healthcare make up 8.2% of the users on Linkedin. As we try and use Linkedin for B2B (business to business) marketing this is valuable information.

While 8.2% may not seem like a big number, their membership has grown consistently from 37 million in 2009, to 380 million in 2015. That’s over 31 million members working in healthcare.

This creates a huge opportunity for referring and getting referrals in business.

If you haven’t started creating relationships with other practitioners, here’s your chance. Use Linkedin to do a little bit of a background check on some of the Chiro’s, Physio’s, AT’s and other complimentary therapists in your area.

If you see some that are close to you or one you seem to have something in common with, start reaching out to them.

Ask them some questions about issues one of your patients is having and see if they come back with any recommendations. Ask about their treatment style. Ask what they would do to help.

Start building a bit of trust and then send one of your patients their way. Don’t be afraid to break some new ground being the one who is reaching out to others.

Using Linkedin To Get Referrals

If you look at your Linkedin profile (assuming you are using it, if not start) you’ll see that some in your network are 1st, 2nd connections etc.

Too often people think they should just reach out to people who they know directly (1st connection) instead of others who are also in their industry or similar to their industry (2nd connection).

Linkedin is there to be used, so use it to leverage yourself and start generating referrals.

Think about what happens if you were looking for someone to refer to and they only had a handful of connections. You’re going to question if they’re actually worthwhile doing business with, especially if you’re considering referring one of your value patients to them.

Open up and add as many people as possible, grow that network. Once you do it will help you to be found more often when people are doing searches.

As you begin to grow that network you will start to see other people who maybe you didn’t realize were on the site. Also having more connections makes you more approachable for those looking to network and so does the more recommendations people have made about you.

I used to think it was redundant to hit those endorsement buttons for my connections. But each time you do that (or someone does it for you) it increases your credibility. If someone is looking to refer to you and a lot of your connections have endorsed you, it reflects to the person looking at your profile that you’re good at what you do.

Start building up that network so people can refer to you. Build your business.

The Ultimate Pyramid Scheme

Connecting with people on Linkedin is kind of like a pyramid scheme or similar.

I tried one of these things in my early 20’s.

All I had to do was get ten of my friends to sign up to a company and use their long distance services.

Then get ten of my friends to sign up ten of their friends to sign up ten of their friends and so on. I went to some of their conferences and tried to drink their Kool-Aid.

I hated it.

But Linkedin is a place where this could actually work (and it’s legitimate). Think of each of your 1st connections as ways to develop relationships with 2nd and 3rd connections.

Looking at the above example, for every 6 connections you have on Linkedin there is an opportunity for them to introduce you to 6 more people (36 second connections) and for each one of those, they could introduce you to 6 more people (216 third connections) and so on.

I’m not sure that you could get down to a 13th level of connections, but you get the point.

While your 1st degree connections are important, they’re not as important as those 2nd and 3rd degree. You’re already doing business with your 1st degree connections, so you want to dig deeper and create more business opportunities further down the line.

You need to develop relationships with people outside your direct network in order to increase your Massage Therapy business.

Remember it’s all about networking and that is the essence of the value in Linkedin, networking with other professionals.

Linkedin Profiles For Massage Therapists

You want to make sure that your profile is going to be seen by as many people as possible.

Do a quick google search of the top Registered Massage Therapists on Linkedin.

What do these profiles have in common?

Each one has a welcoming picture (except one) of the therapist, which is immediately engaging for anyone who is doing a search (possible potential clients). When someone does a search they don’t see your complete profile, they see an abbreviated one like the ones in the link. You have to try and engage right away.

They each have a great headline that represents them and their purpose well. Notice that they all have specific keywords related to Massage Therapy which increases their visibility.

Each one has at a minimum which province they are in, but even better is to put which city you’re in. This is crucial as it helps to narrow down searches when someone is looking for a Massage Therapist in their area. They also have the name of the clinic they work at listed making them easier to find.

Do an advanced search on Linkedin and see who comes up as the top Massage Therapists and use their profiles as a guide to setting up your own profile (just click on “advanced” beside the search box).

There’s a reason they’re ranking high in searches.

Linkedin is the place you want to start making business connections. Use it to start connecting with other businesses and practitioners in your area to generate referrals and build relationships. Unlike other social media applications this one is truly about generating business, so make sure your profile is easy to find and engaging for anyone who is searching. Just don’t try and convince any of them to sign up for long distance phone plans.

Why Every Massage Therapist Should Be On Twitter

August 12, 2015/3 Comments/in Business, Massage, Massage Clinic, Massage Therapist, Massage Therapy/by Jamie Johnston

I looked at the person next to me, we couldn’t believe what we just heard.

I did a full on palm slap to the face while shaking my head.

It was during a social media camp while a woman was doing a presentation on how to use twitter for your business. Apparently they didn’t screen the participants.

Someone put up her hand and asked “Is twitter a place I go to, like a coffee shop”?

But some good things did happen that day.

I was fortunate enough to have lunch with one of the presenters. He told stories over lunch about how using social media had benefited his business.

His marketing budget compared to the previous year was cut by ? which also increased their profit margins. And one big difference was they were actually getting more customers through the door. It was fascinating talking to him and seeing the passion he had for this relatively new marketing concept.

College had only ended six months before and I was looking for ways to promote myself, so figured I’d sign up for this social media camp.

The best marketing advice I’d been given in college was “just give each person, the best damn massage you can, because you never know who they’re going to tell”.

While that may be true…how you gonna get them in the door in the first place?

Twitter.

Why Massage Therapists Should Be Tweeting

Massage Therapy is more than than just giving good treatments.

It’s about building relationships.

Twitter is a great tool for doing this. It’s not just about promoting your business, it’s about getting people to interact with it.

Don’t be afraid to show your personality. If there’s one thing that’s true in this industry, there is a VAST array of personalities.

While we all want to project a professional image, people don’t come in to be treated by a robot. Show people what you’re interested in. Retweet what you’re interested in.

If someone is looking for a new Massage Therapist and you’re tweeting about some of their interests, who do you think they’re going to want to talk to while on the table for an hour? You, or the guy who refuses to show they actually have a sense of humor?

I have patients that come in regularly, just to hang out. One patient I’ve had in the past would regularly come in and when I asked why she was in today:

“was at work and thought, I’m gonna go hang out with Jamie for a bit”.

Don’t be afraid to have the personality that keeps them coming in, engaging with them outside of the clinic.

But there is a fine line here.

You don’t want to send out tweets thanking them for coming in today. There is still a professional boundary that should not be crossed. If they tweet out a thanks to you, it’s fine to favorite it or respond but remember that coming for a Massage is still something personal they may not want broadcast to the public.

Leave that communication in their hands.

Connect With Your Clients And Build A Massage Therapy Community On Twitter

Do a little research on twitter on your own and find out what your local community uses to connect.

I live in Victoria BC and the most common hashtag I see here is people using #yyj because it’s the code for the local airport. Each community will have their own thing they are using.

Just do a simple search of the name of your town/city and you will see some of the hashtags and commentary used to identify what’s going on.

If you can’t find one, start one. Develop something you think people in your community would connect with and promote it. You never know, it just might catch on.

Are there upcoming events that maybe you can contribute to or get involved in? Do you see opportunities where your knowledge would be an asset? For instance, if there were some local marathons, Run For The Cure, or other events where people could use Massage?

If you see things like this trending within your community, try and join the conversation and give some information to the people tweeting about it. As it is with any conversation, the more value you can add the more welcome you’ll be.

As I do a #yyj search writing this post, I see three tweets about coupons to a local gym, one about WWE wrestlers in town and one about our local football team carrying momentum. With each one of these, it would be easy to make up a quick comment about how Massage Therapy could help anyone involved.

Offer up some quality information about how Massage Therapy can help, not just a link to your website. The more information you can give back the better, it’s all a method of building trust in your community.

Building trust isn’t done by just providing great content.

It’s also in the mentions, the retweets, the favorites, the thank you’s. When others in your community see these interactions, you are starting to build yourself up as a trusted source.

Refer For Other Businesses

Remember that content has become currency.

As you scroll through your twitter feed, there are endless ways to have it be a benefit.

If you see people in your community asking questions, try to be an answer. Be a curator of information.

Know some great businesses out there? Promote them. Use them as an answer to people’s questions.

Someone asking where’s good to eat?, tell them about your favorite restaurant.

Need a good place to workout?, recommend your gym.

Someone looking for a chiropractor?, refer them to whoever you have a professional relationship with.

It doesn’t always have to be about marketing yourself. If you become that curator of information, you will build trust with present and potential customers. But you’ll also start being recognized by those other businesses and get the same in return.

You have an opportunity to add value, not only to your customers, but to other businesses in the area. You’re in the same boat as those other businesses, why not give a helping hand to each of them and support local?

Use Twitter To Gain Intel On Your Competition

There is a general theme among Massage Therapists where we don’t really talk about competing for business.

However, it’s the reality of what we do.

We are all usually pretty good about referring to each other when we can and generally getting along and making space for each other. The reality is we are all competing to have a busy practice and need to make a living.

Use twitter to find out what others are doing. Use it as a tool to learn.

Watch and see if people are griping about some of the other businesses in town.

What things are those patients complaining about? Customer service? Lack of direct billing? Difficult to get booked in at certain hours?

Use those complaints to see if it’s something your practice can offer.

If you can offer some of those things, send out some tweets to your followers about it.

Here’s a great example of a Massage clinic doing just that:

Anybody who follows them gets to see the great new service they are offering and it may get some people to book in since they know that it’s now less hassle to submit their insurance claims.

However (and I can’t stress this enough) DO NOT negatively call out other businesses or people on twitter, or any other social media for that matter.

If you see gripes about another business don’t respond to the gripe saying that you’ll offer a better service at your clinic.

It’s unprofessional and does not represent you well.

The bottom line is we all care about our patients. But shouldn’t we care just as much about getting more patients? Marketing is hard, especially when you don’t have a ton of money to spend on it. But the biggest thing you have to market is YOU. Make who you are known and connect with like minded patients. Engage with them, like them, thank them, refer them. The more you give, the more trust you will gain, the more trust you gain, the more you will be a fixture in your community.

Why Facebook Is Better Than A Website For Your Massage Therapy Business

July 28, 2015/in Business, Massage, Massage Clinic, Massage Therapist, Massage Therapy/by Jamie Johnston

“Facebook’s greatest priority is making the platform valuable to the consumer, not to you, the marketer” – Gary Vaynerchuk

I was fresh out of College and had no money.

I knew nothing about marketing, advertising or how to set up a website.

I made an appointment with a local marketing/web design company to talk about setting up a site. Spent an hour in their office and talked to two designers about what I needed and wanted.

They got back to me about a week later with a quote of $5000.

Um, okay I can’t afford that.

I went on about my way and about six months later one of the designers (Doug Brown) gave me a call out of the blue. He had taken over the company and invited me to come down for a visit to talk about what I was doing.

He sat me down for an hour or so and instructed me on what I really needed.

“Jamie, you don’t need a website, you just need Facebook and Twitter”.

Why Every Massage Therapist Is A Social Media Marketer And Entrepreneur

I wish someone had told me in college that I was going to be an entrepreneur.

While we talked a little bit about being self employed, I didn’t realize that I would come out of college being my own business.

As great an education as it was, I think this is one area that is really lacking. You walk out piled up with student loans, hoping to get a job with grandiose ideas in your head that you’re going to make X amount of dollars your first year.

You’re lucky enough to get hired in a clinic, but have no idea how to market yourself.

Much less do you know how to set yourself apart from the other practitioners in your clinic. You need to find a way to set yourself apart so that when people call or book online, they’re looking for YOU.

How To Use Facebook To Increase Your Massage Therapy Business

Like it or not, Facebook is here to stay and can be one of the greatest marketing tools you can use.

What’s more important is that Facebook continues to increase it’s exposure for mobile viewing as opposed to laptop or PC viewing. In fact it has become their main focus.

Most mornings when I wake up, (and I hate mornings) the first thing I do is roll over, grab my phone and open Facebook. I doubt I’m the only one, in fact I’m willing to bet it’s what most people do.

That’s one of the reasons that Facebook is focusing more on mobile viewing, our phones have become an extension of us, so why not capitalize on it?

Rather than spend a fortune on a website (especially if you don’t have any programming credentials) you can set up a Facebook business page for free, and really it can do everything you need and more.

You can register your FB page under your business name, and I’ll give a shoutout to my buddy Alicia Doll on the way she set up her page.

Here Alicia did a great job. (go give it a like)

A great personable picture of her (I mean really, who wouldn’t want to book in with her?) as well as a clear picture of her logo which represents her brand.

This is how you want your page setup because as people scroll through their Facebook feed, they will connect with your logo and any post you put up, giving you an opportunity to make your brand more recognizable.

Online Booking For Massage Therapists

Just under her picture is a tab labelled “book now” where she has integrated an online booking system so that anyone looking is able to book in with her immediately. I’m not sure there is a better way for a clinic to spend money than on an online booking system.

There are a couple things this does for you.

Facebook likes clicks. The more activity there is on your page the more Facebook will rank you in your customers news feed. So each time someone clicks to book in with you, Facebook recognizes the activity and makes your page more recognizable to customers.

It also gives people easy access and increased choice when attempting to book in.

If I’ve heard it once I’ve heard it a hundred times at our clinic:

“I booked in because I loved the online booking system”. Probably the easiest way to generate new customers is giving them an option that puts control in their hands.

Not having to make a phone call, be put on hold or navigate a schedule with another person also helps to build a greater patient relationship.

Massage Content On Your Facebook Timeline

This is where you get to connect with present and potential patients.

Use your timeline to engage by telling stories, linking to valuable information or uploading videos.

What better way to engage than by giving a potential patient information they can connect with?

Let’s say you want to focus on Pregnancy Massage. Give out as much info on the value of Massage during pregnancy but also on various topics associated with healthy pregnancy so that you become a go-to for valuable information on the topic.

Content is key, and the more of it you can give, the bigger following you will get. Attention has become more valuable than money. You could be the best Massage Therapist in your community, but if no one knows about you, you limit your chances of success.

Do a little bit of research each week and you’ll be able to tell a story and continually give information that will keep your patients engaged and connected to you.

One of the great features that Facebook gives you is the ability to schedule your posts. You can pick a time that’s good for you, sit down and schedule your posts for the week, freeing up time during the week to focus on Massage.

Using Your Facebook About Page To Promote Your Massage Therapy Services

This is where patients can get to know you, so make it authentic.

It’s personal connections that matter so make sure to try and make a connection to your potential patients here. Don’t put up something simplistic.

Write things that you’re passionate about. Write specific things you want to focus your practice on and why. Nobody cares that you do Swedish Massage, Trigger Point Therapy and Fascial work. That’s what the majority does.

Separate yourself from the majority and give people something to connect with.

Are you passionate about Sports Therapy? Then explain why. Give people a story to relate to. Tell them how your Massage Therapist helped you recover from an injury. People will connect with that story and realize that you know where they’re coming from.

Remember, this is your chance to start building a relationship so start by making it a strong one.

Get Your Fan Page Raving

Use the “Reviews” tab and don’t be shy.

Get some of your newly acquired or long standing patients to give you a review.

You’re good at what you do, don’t be afraid to let others help you. Most of us are willing to ask people for referrals in the form of telling their friends/colleagues/family, so why not do it publicly as well.

People like to be recognition and I’d venture to say most of your loyal patients would be only too happy to write something up for you to post online. It gives them ownership and a sense of belonging, not only to exchange with you but also because they respect and trust you.

Massage Therapy Techniques And Exercise Pictures

Use the “Pictures” tab to show people what you do.

Attempt to build a library of demonstrations for people to expect when they come and see you. While it can be beneficial to have pictures of your nice treatment room, remember they’re coming to see YOU.

Get a friend and shoot a couple of pictures demonstrating what a treatment will look like from you. Have your friend take pictures of you doing some stretches or home care exercises.

Ryan Hoyme does a great job of this and gives away free pictures to his subscribers as well as free ebooks on how to use photos and videos for marketing. Here’s a few examples of his work:

http://ryanhoyme.com/FREE/

These are a few good examples of what you could use, but make sure you get a few that have your face beaming with a big smile in them too.

Try and build up a stock, so that in turn you have images to refer people to for home care. Use apps like instaquote or canva and you can create great images with exercise instructions to upload on your page.

Remember that giving away content is a great way to earn trust and a great way to advertise.

Social Media Lessons For Your Massage Therapy Business

I was fortunate enough to get a job in a clinic where I didn’t have to use social media much as it was already a busy clinic.

However I have been reading and studying a lot about it over the past couple years.

I’ll always be indebted to Doug Brown for that day, not just because he got my interest started in social media. But because he taught me the first and most valuable lesson of being in business and using social media.

After we were done I asked “what do I owe you?”

His response “nothing, don’t worry about it”.

Since then I’ve bumped into Doug repeatedly in town, kept in touch on twitter and watched his career continue to flourish as he is featured in local magazines. He’s always been willing to give back, help out and be a generally good guy.

What I learned from Doug back then still applies today and I think it always will. He was willing to share his knowledge, show me how to do something new and follow up with me afterward. These are all things you can do to make your business better and grow relationships with your patients.

As much as we all got into Massage Therapy to help people, it is still a business and we are all an entrepreneur. There’s nothing shameful about that and we need to embrace it. Facebook is possibly your best and most cost effective marketing tool. Being able to use it to promote yourself, your content, online booking and a host of other applications it provides, will help you build long lasting relationships with your patients.

Use Facebook effectively, share knowledge with your patients and they will remember you as much as I remember Doug.