"I forgot to tell you..."

The most dreaded words during a massage session go something like, "oh, I forgot to tell you..." Worse, these things people forget to tell me almost always pop up towards the end of the session, when I can be less effective than I would have been at the beginning.

Some examples of "I forgot to tell you":

- "Oh my god! Not my neck! I forgot to tell you I was choked there." This is followed by the beginnings of a story about child abuse, and I am stuck reminding her that while I'm happy to listen, she's here to relax, not to relive.

- Towards the end of the session focused on back work: "I forgot to tell you I have carpal tunnel"

- Towards the end of a stretching session: "I forgot to tell you I have arthritis in that hand." (This one actually isn't so bad, since you can tap a joint to get some of the synovial fluid going and do a little gentle stretch to relieve arthritis)

And this is after the intake form and me asking if there are places I should avoid touching. Some variation of all three of these took place today, over three clients. Has Kim had a tiring day? Yes she has.