PPS Episode 3: Mapping — How Do You Know Your Massage Worked?

If you work with clients who come to you because they're in pain, how do you really know whether the massage you just gave worked?

A client can get off your table and tell you they feel better. Your hands may tell you the tissue changed. Their range of motion may improve. But what actually happened to the pain they came in with—and did that change last?

In this PPS episode, Amy shares the process that eventually led her to start mapping pain before and after massage. What began as a simple way to measure change became one of the tools that helped her see repeating pain relationships, develop her four-point pain marker, explore scar tissue and bilateral assessment, and eventually build Pain Patterns & Solutions.

You'll also hear why Amy says pain is information, not an invitation, how she began using pain as a clue rather than automatically treating where someone hurt, and why mapping can be useful no matter what type of pain-management bodywork you practice.

You do not need to know PPS to start using this.

Amy is making the pain map she uses available as a free download, along with simple directions and examples so you can begin experimenting with mapping in your own treatment room.

Download the free Pain Mapping Tool:

PPS Pain Mapping Guide

TIMESTAMPS

00:00 Who this episode is for

04:40 Why Amy wanted a way to measure massage outcomes

09:23 When better posture didn’t mean less pain