Are portable tables strong enough?

Question 15 "What about the strength of portable tables, I sometimes massage very heavy people - will a portable table be strong enough?"
Answer. Most well made portable tables can carry an extremely high static load, usually in excess of 500 kilograms. Despite this inherent strength, portable tables are less rigid and subject to more flex than fixed tables. For this reason most portable tables have a recommended safe working load of approximately 150 kilograms. Very few humans weigh anything like this, and for most purposes a portable table will be more than adequate. If your work requires you to have all or part of your own body weight on the table, as well as your patient remember not to exceed the maximum safe working load, and take particular care with your movements. Portable tables are not really recommended for treatments involving patient and practitioner on the one table. Stationary tables are far more suited to this purpose. The following tips will help extend the life of your portable table.
Portable tables perform best when the weight load is evenly distributed. Do not concentrate weight on a small area, avoid using the table as a seat, and do not use on a soft surface, or a surface that is not level, such as sand or turf.
Very heavy large patients are often not very agile, and have little room left on the table to support them when they need to turn over. This concentrates a lot of weight on the side of the table. It helps to steady the table when you need to turn them over. If they are of short stature, use a step to assist them to get on and off the table.
Ensure the table is set up correctly before anyone gets on the table.
Service the table to keep it in good working condition.
Do not allow your table to be used by anyone who has not received instructions in its safe use and care.
No matter how you look at a portable table, in the end its design is a compromise, based on solving the conflicting problems of strength, portability, lightness, price and functionality