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Massage Therapy Career Overview
Massage therapy is an excellent way to help people recover from injury, relax from a stressful day, or simply enjoy themselves. There are more than 80 specific types/modalities of massage, and many therapists learn multiple techniques in order to better serve their clients. Knowing which technique to use on which patient is very important, because everyone has different needs. For instance, a certain technique used on an elderly person probably would not work on an athlete.
Due to the physical nature of the work and the time needed between massage sessions, full-time massage therapists typically only give massages between 15 and 30 hours per week. About two-thirds of massage therapists are self employed, and often set their own hours.
Search Massage SchoolsMassage Therapy Training & Education
Training standards and requirements for massage therapists vary greatly by state and locality. As of 2004, 38 states and the District of Columbia had laws regulating massage therapy in some way, so it's essential to check information on licensing, certification, and accreditation in your state.
With more than 1,000 massage therapy full- and part-time college and training programs in the United States, there are many options when selecting a school. In addition to hands-on practice, these programs cover such subjects as:
- Anatomy
- Physiology
- Kinesiology
- Massage ethics
- Business practices
In states with regulations, a degree or certificate from an approved school is usually required before beginning a practice. The National Certification Board for Therapeutic Massage and Bodywork offers its own certification, which requires passing an exam and demonstrating your training experience.
Massage Therapy Career & Salary Outlook
With more than 80 types of massage therapy, there are many niche career opportunities in this growing profession. However, massage therapy remains highly competitive and opportunities for advancement are sometimes limited.
The median hourly wage for massage therapists is $16.06, with a median annual salary of $33,400. Top massage therapists (usually self-employed with a large client base) can earn upwards of $70,000 a year, while the lowest paid massage therapists earn only slightly more than minimum wage. Vacation destinations, such as Hawaii and Florida, employ the greatest number of massage therapists per capita.
Career Fields/Specializations
Massage Therapy Career
Whether reducing stress, rehabilitating an injury, or loosening muscles, massage therapists specialize in reducing bodily pain by rubbing and manipulating the soft body tissues. Massage therapists work wherever their customers need them, including:
- Offices
- Hospitals
- Nursing homes
- Fitness centers
Many massage therapists manipulate environmental factors, such as light level, noise, and sound to assist in relaxing their customer. Massage therapists may use various types of massage to relax their patients, such as chair or Swedish, Reiki, reflexology, and sports massage.
Reiki Massage Therapist Career
Developed by Mikao Usui in the early 20th century, Reiki is a massage technique designed to reduce stress, promote relaxation, and induce a healing effect. Mikao Usui taught that the world is full of life force energy and when your life force energy is low, you are more likely to experience stress and sickness.
Reiki massage therapists are trained to channel life force from the surrounding world into the patient through a laying on of hands. To become a Reiki massage therapist, you must find a Reiki master, who transfers the technique through what is called an "attunement" process that opens the crown, heart, and palm chakras to create a special link between the student and the Reiki life force energy source.
Reflexology Massage Therapist Career
Also called zone therapy, reflexology is the practice of massaging/pushing certain parts of the feet, hands or ears in order to bring about a beneficial effect on some other part of the body.
Reflexology massage therapists are trained to know which parts of the feet, hands, and ears correspond to which other parts of the body. Some of the ailments reflexology massage therapists say they can treat are:
- Muscle pain
- Sleeplessness
- Decreased energy level
- Tension
- Stress
Some reflexologists believe their techniques alleviate blockage or imbalances of the body's Qi energy.
Sports Massage Therapist Career
Sports massage is used in conjunction with athletic events for the purpose of preparing athletes for peak performance. This massage technique is used to:
- Relieve stress and swelling
- Reduce muscle tension
- Promote flexibility
- Help prevent injury
Sports massage therapists can help prevent a small injury from getting in the way of performance. In order to accomplish these feats, sports massage therapists use a variety of techniques specifically chosen to help athletes. A combination of traditional Swedish massage and Shiatsu is commonly used. The techniques employed are chosen to address the specific needs of the athlete, depending on what type of activity they perform and what muscle groups they are worried about.
