In a recent survey conducted by English Massage therapist and trainer Gerry Pyves, a startling statistic was revealed:

'88% of Massage Practitioners who have been practising for more than two years and massage 5 or more clients a week indicated that they could be suffering from injury.'

Even more worrying to the Massage profession was the finding that:

'98% of Massage Therapists who have been practising for 10 years or more and massage 10 or more clients a week indicated that they could be suffering from injury.'

Gerry was prompted to create this survey after his own Massage career nearly came to a premature end when he sustained severe hand and wrists injuries caused through Massaging his clients. These injuries led him to create an alternative form of Massage known as NO HANDS(r) Massage that does not rely on the hands and wrists to create deep invigorating massage strokes. This saved his Massage career, after which he began to teach what he had discovered to other bodyworkers so that they never had to endure the type of injuries that could prematurely end their Massage career.

In the last 15 years Gerry has taught hundreds of therapists how to avoid injury caused by repetitive Massage. In the months of February and March 2007 he personally taught NO HANDS Massage to over 350 therapists in the UK - a record number. He also teaches regularly in Taiwan where he has featured on national television news.

In order to alert the Massage profession to the dangers they face and how to save their careers, Gerry has written the book 'Protect Your Massage Career'. This ground breaking book presents the findings of the survey he conducted amongst Massage therapists. He proves that there is a very real threat of injury to every Massage therapist.

Gerry explains the 'Seven Stages of Injury' model - from Stage One where little or no discernible symptoms are felt, to Stage Seven - permanent career-ending disability. He reveals strategies that can be used to prevent therapists reaching Stage Seven.

What surprises and concerns Gerry is how few Massage training schools alert their students to the injury dangers and how to avoid them.

In today's compensation-culture society the book looks into the legal responsibilities of Massage employers and training schools. Already there has been a landmark case brought against Virgin Airlines by a person employed to massage air passengers. The court was told that her repetitive strain injuries were caused by the ' abnormal posture' of doing the massage on seated clients and doing it too frequently.

Virgin Atlantic admitted it was at fault for failing to assess the perils involved and Mr Justice Tugendhat ordered it to pay the employee £109,252 for loss of earnings, pain and suffering, plus costs.

The firm has also paid £26,000 in an out-of-court settlement to another injured beauty therapist.

How has the situation come about where so many Massage therapists find themselves injured? Gerry traces the historical development of Swedish massage. His research finds that the person credited with founding the Massage that became known as 'Swedish Massage', Per Henrik Ling, used Massage as part of a holistic therapeutic approach. He rarely Massaged his clients for more than a few minutes at a time. This meant that his hands and wrists never received prolonged repetitive pressure. Gerry's conclusion is that therapists were never meant to use the traditional Swedish massage techniques for extended periods of time.

The 'Protect Your Massage Career' book is a part of the 'Let Your Massage Fly!' ebook trilogy. The other two volumes in the series are 'Building a Successful Practice! - a guide to building a Massage Practice - and 'Massage in the Workplace' a short book that therapists can give to their clients as a way to promote their business.

The books are available as downloadable PDF files from the website:

www.letyourmassagefly.com

For further information about Gerry's NO HANDS Massage Company go to:

www.nohandsmassage.com

The books are published by Shi'Zen publications:

PO Box 57, Hebden Bridge, West Yorkshire, HX7 6WW, UK. Tel: 0870 24 30 876 Email: enquiries@shizen.com

Gerry can be contacted at: gerrypyves@nohandsmassage.com