Washing hands before and after performing massages? Changes in bacterial survival count on skin of a massage therapist and a client during massage therapy.

Objective: Massage therapy involves direct contact between the therapist and the client in a clinical setting, which can result in the transfer of bacteria. The purpose of this study was to determine the degree of bacteria transfer between a therapist and a client during a massage session and differences between types of lubricants used.

Design: Medium cultures were taken from the therapist's palms and the client's skin before, during, and after the massage session.