Welcome to your local Massage Therapy information page for Body Mechanics Orthopedic Massage!

If you are reading this blog, you probably have some questions about whether or not it is safe to receive a massage in the time of Covid-19, and what our practice and our cleaning regimen looks like since opening. If you have been directed here by reception or management, it is so that we can put all the information you need in one place.

** UPDATE as of September 3rd, NYS allows services, where you need to touch the face to take off their masks, provided the practitioner has had a Covid test….we are NOT taking masks off in treatment. It is unnecessary and creates undue risk. However, we feel that the ruling is an EXCELLENT indication of how safe it is to have a massage at this point. We look forward to breathing a little more deeply with you all when the risk is over. 

** UPDATE NYS posted as of Dec 12th that in-person services with precautions are not the driver of infections.

In July, Phase 3 allowed massage therapy to open in New York City. You can see our initial announcement about that at the bottom of this page. We were given specific guidelines to follow in a multiple page document from Forward New York that included a summary, as well as a detailed explanation of how a business is supposed to operate to prevent the spread of Covid-19. The instructions provide a comprehensive outline of required cleaning, safety, and operations. If you want to see the full document, you can follow the links here.

• Fortunately, we have always operated as a medical practice, so most of what was in the document was already being used by our facility in the routine care of universal and standard precautions ( the accepted standard for cleaning and disease prevention).
• Each of our rooms has always been equipped with 70% alcohol which is the CDC/OSHA standard for cleaning and disinfecting.
• We have also always had 30 minutes between appointments because I was used to hospital-based care and I did not think 10-15 minute breaks between patients was a reasonable time to clean, disinfect and do a full assessment.
• On a similar note, when we designed our space, all of the treatment room furniture was chosen to be able to be disinfected by chemical means. The chairs and tables may look nice, but we picked plastic for a reason.
• Now, of course, we are paying extra attention to cleaning things like light switches and buttons in addition to wiping down all of our tables and chairs. Rest assured, however, that we have and will always strive towards a medical level of clean, as that was how we were built.

So what are we doing with our massage safety, and what will you find to be different? 

• All staff is masked, and you will be too, for the entirety of your treatment. Not to worry, we have multiple ways of making this very comfortable and have extra masks on hand if you need a spare.
• Our staff is wearing scrubs/smocks so that they are not bringing outside transportation yuckies in.
• We upgraded our booking platform to a new one that is completely paper-free and HIPAA compliant. No passing forms back and forth, no touching clipboards.  All of your notes are now online (if you are an old customer, we kindly ask you to start with a new health history and consent form- but do not worry, we have access to all of our old information as well).
• You might also notice that our linens are a little brighter. Previously we used a local laundry company. We have switched to a hospital laundry service. Everything is packaged and handled for medical care. Our laundry was clean….now it is pristine.
• Your temperature will be taken on arrival.
• There is hand sanitizer provided in the rooms, not just at the desk, as it was pre-COVID.

There have also been some changes you may not see:

• Reception is disinfecting the desk on a regular schedule
• We now have tap and go EMV payments
• The waiting room is technically closed so most people go directly to their rooms after a brief pause to have their temperature checked. Our office has always been low traffic, but you may not even see another customer now or just see them briefly. You can help us by showing up promptly 5 minutes before your appointment so we can keep that happening.
• Our staff is testing regularly.
• Each room and the lobby has a discreetly placed HEPA filter device
• Reception is tracking visitors to our office who do not have appointments such as mailmen and pest inspection.
• All of our bedding/extra pillows/pregnancy supports have been modified to allow for disinfecting, not just regular laundering. * For example, our pregnancy pillows for side-lying used to be double covered in pillowcases to protect you. Now the pregnancy pillow itself is made from vinyl and that is covered with a pillowcase. We had custom pillows made for this
• We fitted each room air filter that brings the outside air in with a MERV filter. All the air coming into our space is CLEAN.

We are happy to answer any specific questions you have…please ask!