We recently connected with Matthew Gibble and have shared our conversation below.

Matthew, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Over the course of your career, have you seen or experienced your field completely flip-flop or change course on something?

Covid 19. It has affected life as we used to know it. In my profession as a Licensed Massage Therapist I had to step back, take inventory and decide how I was going to move forward. In the first few months of the pandemic I read endless opinions on how to attempt to do that. I wanted to re-open my business one time in hopes that I’d be ready for my clients to come back to my practice.

The first six months after re-opening had a very staccato rhythm. Some people were more than ready to come back to massage therapy, while others were cautious and waiting to see how things played out.

For twenty years I have operated a business focused on sports and orthopedic massage. My business is based out of my home and I’ve rarely ventured off site to work. However, with a slow start I saw a job posting which involved working with clients that have Spinal Cord Injuries. I interviewed via Zoom, (my first interview for a job in more than 20 years!) and was offered the position. It was one day a week working in a facility that offers adaptive training specifically for spinal cord injuries (SCI). In addition, the state of Colorado has a medical waiver program for such clients. In a nutshell, Medicaid pays for SCI clients to be treated via massage, acupuncture and chiropractic once a week.

Now, on Thursdays, I commute by bicycle about ten miles to north Denver for this work. It’s not anything I ever expected to do. The challenges are new as I work with paraplegics, quadriplegics and stroke patients. I’ve had to think outside the box in creating goals that are beneficial to the client and help them manage pain and work within a “new” body.

I’m also now going to a different long term facility working with clients who are older adults with physical disabilities and in wheelchairs. Again, before Covid, I don’t think I would have ventured into this new world. Meanwhile, my existing practice in my home office is full most days. However, I decided that a four day work week was something I desired upon re-opening so I’m loving fitting my work into four days. After 20 years in this business, I felt this was a good decision for me.

I’d like to share a story from just a few days ago. Recently I began working with a client who had a stroke six years ago. It has affected his speech greatly and presented new challenges in communication that I’ve never experienced before. His wife also helps to convey what his needs and goals are from week to week. He is able to respond to questions with a thumb up or down, a wave of the hand for a “so-so” and with one or two word responses. In my business, it is crucial to be able to read body language, a person’s breathing and other cues as to whether the work is effective. I’ve had to further hone this skill in working with this client.

As we finished up after a recent session, I walked back out to the waiting area to brief his wife on what we worked on, how it went and outlined goals for future treatments. His wife thanked me for my work, stating that it helps her husband in many different ways. As we stood up, she gave me a big hug. I looked over to my client and jokingly asked him if he wanted a hug as well. He can be a stoic individual at times, and surprised me as he raised him arms and eyebrows in a “why not?” gesture. I laughed and gave him a nice hug.

Meanwhile, a trainer working with another client on the main floor of the gym, saw our embrace. A big smile flashed across his face and he exclaimed “Awwww”.

At the end of my day, this was an unexpected bonus. I felt like I had made huge strides with this client in a relatively short amount of time. It reinforced for me, the power of touch and how medical massage connects to not only a person’s body, but their soul, their spirit. Additionally, for almost 20 years I have always worked alone. To see the trainer react the way that he did made me feel like part of a team. For an independent, self reliant individual this is a nice change.

Since the beginning of the pandemic I have felt that if I don’t learn something new, develop new habits and try new things I would be missing out on a great opportunity. The events and changes to my business over the past two years have reinforced that notion. While I’m still shocked and saddened about the devastation the pandemic has brought to so many lives, I’m grateful for the lessons I have learned in the process.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

I first got my start in massage therapy working as a Soigneur for the Pepsi Professional Cycling Team in 1987. Providing massage to the cyclists is just one of many daily duties of a soigneur. During this time I also competed as a semi-pro cyclist until retiring in 1990. I transitioned out of competition to the role as a manager of an elite amateur team in 1991 and traveled nationwide with the team for two years, culminating with our team placing four riders on the 1992 Olympic team that competed in Barcelona, Spain.

After stepping away from the world of bicycle racing and massage therapy for a period of time I completed an Associates Degree in Massage Therapy from the Boulder College of Massage Therapy. In 2001 I opened my own private practice, Raining Faith Massage, which I still operate today.

Twenty years in the business has shown me the importance of relationships with my clients. Many of my clients have now received hundreds of massages from me. Working over this length of time with individuals allows me the privilege to have a deep understanding of my clients and who they are. I see the joys in their lives, the heartbreak and also end of life in certain cases. Working with clients for so long transitions into an honor to do so, to be trusted with their emotional, spiritual and physical bodies.

The majority of my work is sports, orthopedic and medical massage. Sports massage relates to keeping clients healthy and active, injury prevention and helping to speed recovery. Orthopedic massage addresses postural imbalances that affect joint health, post surgical soft tissue work and normalizing soft tissue dysfunction. Medical massage encompasses working within the scope of Spinal Cord Injuries, Cerebral Palsy, Cancer, Hospice situations and other medical diagnoses.

I might mention that the world has changed considerably over the past twenty years which has brought me, at times, work I never thought I would be helping people overcome. One example is working with the victim of a shooting. When I completed my original education 20 years ago, I was trained in dealing with trauma but I never had a class that addressed soft tissue injuries from gunshot wounds. This type of injury presents multi-fold challenges. One is helping soft tissue and underlying structures heal from original trauma and post surgical conditions. Additionally, and more challenging, is working with a client (whom after many years of working together, also becomes a friend) work though the deep trauma that impacts them as a person. It is a fine line in the scope of practice of what I do to support a person in that space. My goal is always to bring the work back to what they feel in their body and support the additional help they receive from a professional counselor who addresses the psychological trauma associated with such an injury.

At times, when I am confronted with this kind of challenge, I think to myself, “I have been working for many, many years to be prepared for a situation such as this.” I’m grateful for the confidence of many years of experience so that I can help clients working to heal through such difficult circumstances.

Training and knowledge matter of course, but beyond that what do you think matters most in terms of succeeding in your field?

Number one, a massage therapist has to have a tremendous heart to help. A massage therapist has the unique opportunity to spend an hour or more with their client. This is abnormal in the world of health care right now. With that considerable time, I can gather a lot of information to make the best assessment that I can in order to help the client. It pays to be a good listener as well.

Secondly, self care as the therapist is of paramount importance. I spend considerable time each week working on cardiovascular exercise, strength training and time spent in meditation and reflection. My job would be much more difficult if I did not take care of myself first.

If you could go back, would you choose the same profession, specialty, etc.?

I definitely would choose massage again. During Covid I seriously considered whether I would continue in my profession. However, I could not see myself doing anything different. Now, in my late 50’s, my clients ask how much longer I will work. My goal is to make it at least thirty years with my business, but I hope to work longer than that. It may be in a more reduced capacity, but it would be incredibly hard to say goodbye to my clients after so many years of working together. As long as my body holds out, I’ll keep doing massage. That is the hope and goal for now!

Contact Info:

• Website: http://www.rainingfaith.com/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/matthew-gibble-b6557212/

Image Credits
Matthew C. Gibble