Quick Tip:

Oh, I love this one so much! (A very special thank you to my patient, let’s call her “Ms. A”, for this pain-ending tip!) Cramps are kinda my thing. I know that sounds silly, but I have been working with cramping muscles for over fifteen years. ...

Stephanie Farrer Massage Therapy: Blog

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Why I Have An Illness Policy

I had to put a snarky sign up in my lobby last week. At least, it felt snarky to me. As a massage therapist, one of my least favorite things to do is tell a patient that they are not able to receive massage therapy. There ...

3 For $150–The End of an Era

I have had the 3 For $150 package for all twelve years of my practice. I would say that at LEAST 80% of my patients get this package. In fact, now that the package will be changed to 3 for $160 on January 1, 2020–I have ...

Giving Thanks

Let me begin this week with an apology. I’m so sorry that I didn’t make a post last week—season is in full swing here in Highlands County and I have been working on as many patients as I can to accommodate all the people who are ...

The Fascinating Dr. Janet Travell

Let’s get back to our series on Trigger Points this week, shall we? The study of myofascial pain syndrome (MPS), also known as chronic myofascial pain (CMP), was pioneered by two highly successful and well-known physicians—Dr. Janet G. Travell and Dr. David Simons. These two physicians ...

Florida New Massage Regulations: Anti Human Trafficking

TL;DR (Which means: Too Long, Didn’t Read): Don’t come to my office to solicit me. Massage therapists are NOT prostitutes. Let me say this again: Massage Therapists are NOT prostitutes. The State of Florida is cracking down on human trafficking—and I am very happy about this. ...

Massage Session: What It’s Like

I put a pin in my Trigger Point Deep Dive posts to cover something that’s come up several times this week. I’ve gotten a couple calls from new patients who have never had a massage before. The whole process can be kind of intimidating if you ...

Let’s Talk About Knots

As massage therapists, we deal in knots—right? This is what I always thought, until an explosive Facebook group post a couple weeks ago. I’m a member of a few Facebook groups for massage therapists, and I love reading posts with perspectives different from my own. I ...

Quick Tip: Ice or Heat?

It’s been a week. Already. But in a good way. Those of you who live here in Highlands County will know what I mean—the snowbirds are coming back. Highway 27 is already booming and it’s only mid-October! I’m excited about it. I love it when my ...

Medical Massage Month: My Pain Story

This week, I thought I would share my own struggle with chronic back pain. Whenever I tell patients that I suffer from chronic low back pain, they are often surprised. I manage to do everything that most other people do, I even do a physical job—but ...

A Job You Love: Medical Massage

I just finished writing the blog on Emotional Release. I tell you this to let you know that I’m so pumped, I’m still writing. I was really excited after collaborating with my friend Willow—she and I have always just clicked and we really wanted to start ...

Emotional Release

I just put up a video with my friend Willow from Willow’s Massage Therapy here in Sebring. In the video, we touched on the topic of Emotional Release, so I thought I would dive a little deeper into this topic today. If you missed the video, ...

Legitimacy

I never knew a blog post could cause so much controversy! Some “Inside Baseball”: In this spot before was a post that I THOUGHT was about the struggle to find and express legitimacy as a massage therapist. I began by talking about a run in I ...

I Love Working With: Swelling

I wanted to first apologize for not having a blog post last week. It was never my intention to skip a week, but between preparing for Hurricane Dorian (which luckily missed us, but I feel so much for everyone affected in the Bahamas!) and missing a ...

I Love Working With: Sciatica

In this second post of the “I Love Working With” series, I want to cover something I have been dealing with since I was 22 years old. I love working with patients who suffer from sciatica because I know what the pain is like, it is ...

The Power of Pineapple

I always say that I learn the best things from my patients. The other day, I was working with a lady who told me that she chews on the cores of her pineapples. What? Why? I always thought the core of the pineapple was inedible—why would ...

I Love Working With: Anxiety

I thought I would start a new ongoing series this week talking about patients I love working with. The idea for this series came to me a few weeks ago when I was talking to one of my patients about the emotional path an athlete takes ...

Quick Tip: Twenty and Two

I am about halfway through a post about anxiety—but I am too anxious to finish it. It’s been a DAY here in my office, but I did want to put up something for my normal Wednesday post. So, I will take another week to finish the ...

The Power of (Dill) Pickles

I love my patients!! They always give me the best ideas for posts. A special Thank You to Alice for this one 😉 A lot of my patients experience cramping—it’s no fun, waking up at 2 in the morning with cramping in your legs! Trust me, ...

All About Pain Creams

Very common question for people with pain: “Which pain cream do you think I should use for…?” As a chronic pain sufferer, I have tried quite a few. Recommending a pain cream can be really difficult because everyone’s pain is different. It’s important to get to ...

How to find a good massage therapist: State Licensure Requirements

I recently got a text message from a former patient who just moved to Texas asking me if I could help him find a good massage therapist. The city he moved to has a TON of massage therapists! A Google search pulled up over 30 for ...

Article in Highlands News Sun

I’m so excited about the article from this week’s local paper! I didn’t know it at the time, but I actually got to write the article myself. I’m really happy with the way it turned out! What I WASN’T happy with, however, is that my business ...

Deep Tissue: 2 Schools of Thought

“Do you do Deep Tissue?” Yes? Maybe? Do I? It depends, actually. What do you consider “Deep Tissue”? Don’t get me wrong—I can use my elbow with the best of them. In fact, my husband calls me “Thunder Thumbs”—because he says that I can’t seem to ...

What Type Of Massage Do I Want?

This is the most common question I get in my office. Usually, when I am talking with a patient for the first time, I ask them a general question like “What is our goal for the massage today?” That’s when it inevitably happens. The eyes kind ...

How I Became A Massage Therapist.

I haven’t met a massage therapist yet who always dreamed of doing massage for a living. Don’t get me wrong—massage therapy is a great profession—but it just seems to be the kind of career you fall into. Usually, massage therapists have a “story” about how they ...