Your Guide To Becoming A Massage Therapist

By Christa Jarvis


As early as 2330 BC, a painting in the Tomb of the Physician depicts what is presumed to be a massage session, with two men appearing to have their hands and feet worked on by two other people. The Chinese compilation of medical wisdom and information, the Nei Jing, contains rubbing techniques and uses in thirty various chapters, and was composed in 722 BC. In 700 BC, the earliest known Chinese doctor Bian Que practiced medicinal massage.

In the modern world, in spite of a millenium of practice, massage has not yet earned the gold standard of scientific research as it is difficult to make clinical trials out of it. However, we know by heart that rubbing indeed relieves stress, anxiety, pain, and even depression, which is why we seek for a qualified massage therapist Dover NH. For those who are aspiring to be professional therapists, here are a few nuggets you have to dig into.

It is not enough that you have the hands to do the work. You have to empathetic and sensitive to the needs of your client. You can do some extensive and intensive research by getting the experience yourself so you can observe how therapists should behave themselves.

Choose an area of specialization. Like physicians, therapists also have different concentrations, depending on the end or purpose of your practice. Some will focus on repairing muscles, or reducing pain, or healing a physical ailment. Your style will also branch out from from one or two to more techniques once you mastered a couple or so.

Sports massages are designed for athletes who are recovering from injury and for helping them perform better in their physical best. The clinical form, on the other hands, focuses on using the technique to aid in the healing of physical disorders and ailments. For deep relaxation and stress relief, you can go for Swedish massage, used for both relaxation and healing like the deep tissue form.

Find a great training program that will suit your needs. Complete your training program, which would usually be five hundred to six hundred hours. How many classes you are planning to take simultaneously will determine how long you will be able to finish the program.

Enroll in a school that offers the programs you are most interested in. After completing your training, you will be taking an exam to get you certified and licensed. Not all states require licensing, and not all states legalize practice without a license, so better check the requirements of your jurisdiction.

Finally, decide whether you want to look for a job or go self employed. You can usually make more money by starting your own business if you are willing to take the challenge that it will be difficult to find clients at first. Make sure that you got your business papers and items taken care of such as your business name and registration, and set up a comfortable space for your clients with reliable equipment.

According to the gate control theory, massages can stop nociception, stimulate the parasympathetic nervous system, improve sleep, release endorphins and serotonin, and prevent scar tissue and fibrosis. These effects remain to be proven. However, the practice can make use of randomized controlled trials which can increase its credibility by displaying the reproducible therapeutic effects of massages.




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