Spanish for Massage Therapists: Part 1

Being that our office is in Texas, the next chapter of our Center's development is the addition of Spanish health intake forms and brochures to offer our services to a wider population pool. We are also planning on creating a Spanish version of our website down the road. 

Our Progress So Far:
I took a few years of Spanish in high school. I have tried several "teach yourself Spanish" systems. But I am by no means fluent in the language. So, God bless Google Translate for the majority of our work so far. I translated our existing English intake form, word-for-word and phrase-for-phrase when necessary, and then emailed a proof to my Spanish speaking friend who is also a massage therapist for review. When we hear back from her we will create matching intake forms in both languages for easy comparison.

We have taken extra precaution to see that both forms meet the Texas Department of State Health Services Consultation Checklist as required by law.


Next Steps:
When asked if they would feel comfortable communicating with clients who spoke a different language, both of my therapists responded "Absolutely! I mostly talk with my hands anyways!" But for added convenience, I will be posting a series of blog posts to teach our staff (and anyone else who reads these) some common phrases and terminology that may help us better communicate with Spanish speaking clients. Google Translate is a great thing. You can push a button and it will pronounce the word for you. [Please note we are still learning and there may be errors below. If you spot an error please let everyone know in the comment section so we don't perpetuate false information]

Very Basic Phrases:
Hello! My name is _________________                      
Hola! Mi nombre es __________________

Pardon my Spanish. I am learning.
Perdonen mi español. Estoy aprendiendo.

Good morning!

¡Buenos días!

 

Good afternoon!

¡Buenas tardes!

 

Good evening!

¡Buenas noches!

 

Thank you.

Muchas gracias.

You are welcome.

De nada.

 

Who: ¿Quién?

What: ¿Que?

When: ¿Cuándo?
Where: ¿Donde?

Why: ¿Por qué?

How: ¿Cómo?

 

Intake Questions & Possible Responses

How can I help you?

¿Cómo puedo ayudarle?

 

I need a massage.

Necesito un masaje.

 

Half hour: medio hora

Hour: hora

Hour & a half: hora y un medio

 

Please complete this form.

Por favor completa este formulario.

 

 Where do you have pain?

¿Dónde tiene el dolor?

 

Head: cabeza
Neck: cuello
Back: espalda
Shoulder: hombro

Arm: brazo
Elbow: codo

Hand: mano

Abdomen: abdomen

Hips: caderas

Leg: pierna

Knee: rodilla

Feet: pies

For how long?

¿Por cuánto tiempo? 

 

1: uno

2: dos

3: tres

4: cuatro

5: cinco

6: seis

7: siete

8: ocho

9: nueve

10: diez

days: días

weeks: semanas

months: meses

years: años

 

Do you have any allergies?

¿Tiene alergias? 

 

Peanuts: cacahuates

Fragrance: fragancia 

Pollen: polen

Seasonal: estacional

Cats: los gatos

   

Are you pregnant?

¿Está embarazada?

 

Yes: Sí

No: No

 

How many months?

¿Cuántos meses? 

 

1: uno

2: dos

3: tres

4: cuatro

5: cinco

6: seis

7: siete

8: ocho

9: nueve

10: diez

 

I anticipate a fair amount of confusion in the beginning. If I do not understand a word they are saying I can ask that they write down a response so I may enter it into Google Translate. So the following phrase may be the most important:

Please, write it down.

Anótelo por favor.

My initial thinking is that medications will be a brand name that we may recognize, but we won't really know until we start seeing more Spanish speaking clients come in. If you have any suggestions or comments please leave them below.

In the next post we will learn more about possible client/therapist dialogue.