Hot Stone Massage?

I have not idea if it works or how it's supposed to work. However, it is apparently easy to misuse as there are quite a few law suits against hotels and various institutional massage providers (usually resorts) where patrons have received serious burns as a result of the apparent misuse of these products.

I listened to about five minutes of a thirty minute presentation from a lawyer who successfully litigated a case involving very serious burns, even some third degree burns. Among the factors that are important are the composition of the stones them selves (including their mineral inclusions), the temp they are heated to, how they are heated, whether they are allowed to cool, how they are applied (with or without towels), and whether the masseuse tests the stone's temp at all, and whether she uses her hand versus the forearm to test the temp (forearm is better). I didn't listen to the entire thing, but the bit I heard was interesting.

The single most interesting item was thats some well know and legit industry organization suggested 16 hours of hands on training before therapists were allowed to go work on members of the public. Yet in none of the cases he had seen, did a single therapist who had a claim against them have more than three hours. Even those who worked at big spas and hotels. Really a shocking stat.


Sounded like it the whole thing was an accident waiting to happen depending on how much attention to detail the person in question gave to things. I'll see if I can find any articles on it. Give that it was a lawyers only presentation, I doubt it.

TTH I'd love it if you could send me the case in which someone got a third degree burn. Stones can get incredibly hot but before any of the patients skin is touched the therapist has to first handle the stone. If the stone is going to cause third degree burns that therapist knows. If the patient did in fact receive THIRD degree burns (a burn well into the muscle and beyond) it was an intended act of harm and that therapist had better of gone to jail. Seriously, I'd really like to read on this TTH.

Massage therapists who do hot stone treatments likely charge extra because it is extremely time consuming to clean, sanitize, and re-heat the stones for the next client. The stones and heating equipment are expensive, too.

It's not really easier on the therapist, either. The stones still have to be moved and pressure applied to achieve a therapeutic effect. Otherwise they're just organic heating pads and you get the results Dude mentioned. Originally Posted by JustMe68

They charge extra because they can.


It takes a grand total of 5 min to wash sterilize and refill with water.


The stone itself is used as a tool to push the heat and pressure more evenly and even deeper in some cases.

250 bucks is not a terrible overhead price especially since it's one time.


Your turn.

My impression was that it was not a reported case since it settled. I did find reference to a third degree burn case, however, in a article from the Associated Bodywork & Massage Professionals.

http://www.massageandbodywork.com/Ar...lidGround.html

Obviously, the therapist in question didn't use his bare hands to place the stones on the patient in that instance. She must have used gloves or tools. As I understand it, you are supposed to use you hands to handle the stones and then test them against the more sensitive skin of the forearm to see if they are too hot.

Also remember, I heard five to seven minutes of a 25 or 30 minute presentation and then left to make a phone call. So there may well be more detail available. He did say that there industry group (which may well be this Associated Bodywork & Massage Professionals outfit) were actually pretty aware of the problem and other than not putting out formal guidelines were doing a fair job of trying to solve the issue. However, he indicated that the various States had extremely lax laws that allowed the use of hot stones by therapists with no extra training.

Not being properly trained in Massage Therapy can result in injury to the client. I don't offer any of the modalities of massage until I have had training and practice on family and friends prior to offering a new service.

TTH I'd love it if you could send me the case in which someone got a third degree burn. Stones can get incredibly hot but before any of the patients skin is touched the therapist has to first handle the stone. If the stone is going to cause third degree burns that therapist knows. If the patient did in fact receive THIRD degree burns (a burn well into the muscle and beyond) it was an intended act of harm and that therapist had better of gone to jail. Seriously, I'd really like to read on this TTH.






They charge extra because they can.


It takes a grand total of 5 min to wash sterilize and refill with water.


The stone itself is used as a tool to push the heat and pressure more evenly and even deeper in some cases.

250 bucks is not a terrible overhead price especially since it's one time.


Your turn. Originally Posted by SoftPlaceToLand

I have no dog in this fight and don't use hot stone in my practice, but I have two LMT friends who do use it and their stone-cleansing process takes almost 30 minutes. They charge a bit more because they have to reserve an extra half hour between clients. Maybe they are overly thorough, but I would be wary of a place that only takes 5 minutes to clean their stones.

Yes, the stone itself is used as the tool, but the therapist still has to move and put pressure on them. I was simply responding to the statement that by using the stones, it is "easier" on the therapist.

Not being properly trained in Massage Therapy can result in injury to the client. I don't offer any of the modalities of massage until I have had training and practice on family and friends prior to offering a new service. Originally Posted by Sherri

Yes. From what I heard of the presentation, poor to non-existent training (and in some cases improper selection of heating equipment) seemed to be the root cause of most of the injuries

I like hot stones up me ass.

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