No pain no gain?

Have you ever had a massage that was so painful it caused you to tense up? Was the massage therapist's name Helga? No disrespect if you wear pigtails and your name is Helga. I just got an image of either a Russian or German massage therapist with her knee in your back! You are begging her to stop but she keeps telling you to be quiet. Based on feedback like this from clients I decided to use a number system so they could communicate with me on the pressure during the session. Let me explain. I use a number system between 0 and 10, 0 being the least painful and 10 the most painful. For massage to be therapeutic you want the pressure to be within the range of 6-8. It’s so much more effective feedback that if the pressure is a 9, it can be decreased to a 7 than to hear “Add more” or “It’s too much”. Try it next time and see if it helps!