Massage Therapy Intake Forms & Client Questionnaires

Massage therapy intake is not a medical intake with the word "doctor" crossed out. The information a massage therapist needs before a session is specific to manual bodywork, and a generic health history form misses most of it. You need to know about blood clots, not blood sugar. You need pressure preferences, not prescription refill history. You need to know whether the client has implanted hardware, recent surgery sites, skin conditions in the treatment area, or a history of emotional trauma that may surface during bodywork — none of which appears on a standard medical form.

The Massage Therapy intake form is built for how LMTs actually work. It captures areas of pain or tension, areas the client wants you to avoid entirely, pressure preferences from light relaxation to deep tissue, and modality preferences — Swedish, deep tissue, sports massage, trigger point therapy, myofascial release, hot stone, prenatal, or lymphatic drainage. It asks about conditions that are true contraindications for massage: deep vein thrombosis, recent fractures, open wounds, contagious skin conditions, uncontrolled hypertension, and fever.

Contraindications That Generic Forms Miss

A standard health form might ask "Do you have any medical conditions?" and leave a blank line. That is not useful when the real question is whether the client has a pacemaker that contraindicates percussion devices, a joint replacement that limits range-of-motion work, varicose veins in the legs that require modified pressure, or a pregnancy that changes positioning and eliminates certain techniques. The form captures these specifically, with checkboxes rather than open-ended blanks, so nothing gets skipped during a busy intake process. It also asks about allergies to oils, lotions, and essential oils — the kind of allergy question that matters in a massage room but never appears on a physician's intake form.

The intake form stays in your office files. The companion client questionnaire is what you send to the client before their first appointment. It includes health history questions written in language a client understands, informed consent for therapeutic touch, and a clear explanation of draping policy and the client's right to stop or modify the session at any time. The signature block covers both consent for treatment and acknowledgment of cancellation policy.

Why This Matters for Your Practice

Skipping proper intake is how therapists end up working on a client with an undiagnosed DVT, applying deep pressure over a surgical site that is still healing, or using eucalyptus oil on someone with a respiratory sensitivity. A thorough intake protects your client, protects your license, and protects your liability insurance. It also makes you better at your job — when you know a client's full picture before they get on the table, you can plan the session instead of discovering contraindications mid-treatment.

Pricing

Each form is $19.99 for the complete set (intake + questionnaire), $14.99 for intake only, or $9.99 for questionnaire only. All PDFs are fillable in Adobe Reader, password-protected against editing, and HIPAA-compliant.