Before you proceed any further into this chock-full issue of Massage & Bodywork (CBD, piriformis, and Zero Balancing, among others), do yourself a favor and read Diana Thompson’s “Set Wellness Goals,” page 62.
I’ve been a bodywork client seeking pain relief and comfort from injuries a few times in my life. Most of my injuries were rather small in the grand scheme of things, and massage was a powerful antidote to the pain I was feeling.
Too often as injured clients, it’s easy for us to seek out—or be assigned by our primary practitioners through insurance—a defined number of sessions with an MT with the goal of relieving pain and increasing functionality and mobility. Essentially getting us back up and running.
And when we’re done with our series of sessions, that’s it, thank you very much, never to see you again.
I believe this is such a missed opportunity and where massage can shine.
MTs, if you’re working with injured clients, setting new goals beyond injury recovery may be a way to connect more deeply with once-injured clients and establish a lifelong protocol of wellness. Simply put, many clients may not even realize this is an option. They may be unclear about the long-term benefits of massage and bodywork beyond injury recovery.
In our 2019 National Consumer Survey that we conducted with Harstad Strategic Research, 31 percent of respondents who had previously received a massage told us they don’t need a massage right now because “what was broke got fixed.”
I’m guessing the MTs who worked with these injured clients didn’t take the next steps in educating their clientele about the lasting benefits of massage, and then setting up a new wellness strategy—a long-term plan—that emphasizes general well-being, stress relief, or re-assessing old or lingering injuries.
Over the years, in the pages of this magazine, we have often lamented that massage practitioners can sometimes struggle with the “ask.” Sometimes that can mean selling product and sometimes that can mean selling their services and expertise. And sometimes it can mean simply booking the next session with a client before the client leaves the establishment.
Within my own bodywork sessions that addressed my injuries, not once when I was done working with an MT on my injury recovery did they suggest we set up a new protocol, a new set of goals, that would have continued the therapeutic relationship. I would have been a willing participant, but the ask never occurred. Instead I left the session feeling better, and massage was out of my life until the next time an injury occurred.
How many once-injured clients have left practitioners like this over the years? How many potential long-term clients have walked out the door never to return?  
If you’re seeking assistance in prolonging your client-therapist relationship, Diana Thompson’s article should be first and foremost in this issue and a guiding light for helping practitioners.
Finally, I’d be remiss to not address this issue’s cover story. We pulled out all the stops for our readers: three photo shoots, interviews with two hemp growers, MTs incorporating CBD into their practices across the country, and former NFL running back Ricky Williams, who shifted from playing professional football to launching his own CBD brand. And we even held the presses for the American Spa CBD Summit held in Denver on Monday, August 5, to make sure that we got all of the latest research on CBD into these pages. Let us know how you feel about the CBD phenomenon.
Our team worked tirelessly putting this package together, but special thanks goes to Senior Editor Karrie Osborn and Art Director Amy Klein who worked with author Julie Crispin to create this definitive CBD edition. We hope you enjoy.

Darren Buford
Editor-in-Chief
darren@abmp.com