Massage Continuing Education
Q. I also become quite "nervous" when I saw remarks as "why do I need so many hours just to rub someone's feet?" I can tell you why - because massage therapy is not just a feel good business. It has direct coralation to specific physical/mental conditions in a persons body. If you do not know what a person's health situation is and how that is effected by the massage you plan to do to that person you could jepordize that person's health - and for those with High blood pressure, send them over the edge. New Hampshire requires 850 hours now and I plan to continue with more education later. This doesn't even include your study and praticum time which for us bring the total to around 1500 hours. When someone gets on your table, you accept a responsiblity to that person - wouldn't you want your therapist to know how your body works and be able to evaluate what massage would be of most benifit to your health? Many of the hours of class time are devoted to things other than massage technique - Anatomy & Physiology, Nutrition, Health/Hygiene, Pathology, etc.
A. My experience with practioners who have started with 100 hour certificates in California, is that many of them don't stop there. Most of them use the opportunity to get their initial training with a limited upfront time and cash outlay (At S.F. Bay Srea prices 100 hours is about $900. The local AMTA 500 hour program is about $6500.) People gain some experience and perspective and enroll in continuing education classes. Since they already are in business, these classes now count as continuing education for tax purposes. Because it is broken up, the whole education process can also be done part-time. Far from being incompetents learning at the expense of their clients, these are competent basic practioners learning at the benefit of their continuing and new clients. I'll never argue against the benefits of continuing education. But I will argue for a diversity of approaches towards advanced training that allows for multiple time-scales, learning-styles, and backgrounds. Along with training in anatomy, physiology, kinesiology, pathology, and advanced techniques (e.g. trigger point, PNF, deep-tissue, cranial-sacral, sports massage, ...) training in auxillary disicplines like tai chi, akido, dance, music, and meditation can be extremely useful. These later all improve the ability of a practitioner to provide massage while using effective, flowing, body mechanics. Other inovative approaches might offer externships, giving continuing education units for outreach programs bringing massage into the community. The need for touch among trauma victims, the aged, and the terminally ill (with appropriate medical input of course) is well-documented. Other considerations are to insure that massage education and testing proceduces are constituted to allow participation by those who are dyslexic, blind, deaf, ... In summary, I'D argue that instead of inflexible, high hour programs oriented towards technical massage, we need uniform, basic certification appoaches that promote maximum integration of massage into society. Issues of advanced training and more technical massage techniques can then be handled by continuing education. In some ways this has its parallels with the medical profession backing away from a plethora of specialists towards primary care physicians and physician assistants.
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