The power of touch: a career in massage therapy: hippocrates wrote, "…rubbing can bind a joint that is too loose and loosen a joint that is too rigid." He knew the power of the right touch - Tech Connection

Career World, Nov-Dec, 2002 by Tamra B. Orr

Nicole could feel her mother relax as she worked the muscles slowly and firmly. Within a few minutes, her mother went from frazzled and tired to calm and quiet. Nicole glanced down at her hands as they rubbed her mother's shoulders and wondered once more at how a simple massage could make a person feel that much better. Wouldn't it be neat, she thought to herself; if she could be paid to do something like this when she was older?

If working with people to help them feel better is something that interests you too, a career in massage therapy just might be for you. This unique profession blends a healing art with science and throws in the chance to spend time with people one-on-one.

A Close Look at Massage

While some people may think of massage as just rubbing someone's shoulders, it is far more than that. The classic definition is the manual (by hand) manipulation (movement) of the soft tissues (skin, muscles, tendons, and ligaments) of the body for therapeutic (healing) reasons. Massage therapists use their hands in many different ways to work these tissues, including effleurage or slow, gliding strokes; petrissage or kneading, pressing, and rolling; friction or tight circular movements, often over joints; and percussion or drumming the body rhythmically. They also sometimes use ice or heat on areas of the body or teach patients simple exercises to help them stretch or loosen tight muscles.

All of these techniques help with a variety of health problems such as stress, sports injuries, sore muscles, and different kinds of pain. Helping the muscles to stretch and loosen can release tension, improve posture, and often make a person just feel generally better from head to toe. They can be used on all ages, from young children to the elderly, if done properly.

Pain was the reason that Shelley Duncan chose to take her 13-year-old daughter Ginger to a massage therapist "Ginger is a gymnast," she explains. "She had gone through some dramatic growth spurts and had had ankle joint pain for the past three years. We had tried several other solutions," she continues, "but decided on a massage therapist who specialized in sports injuries." Initially, Duncan took Ginger in once a week for six visits, and now is down to once a month. "She is in much less pain now. Ginger uses some of the self-massage techniques the therapist taught her at the gym for when her ankles are bothering her. The therapist also works on her wrists and shoulders, and the wrist pain is almost completely gone."

Lynn Siprelle went to a therapist for the same reason. "I had muscle tension and aches, and work was stressful," she says. "Massage therapy seemed to offer the fastest and least invasive way to relieve the pain. Plus," she adds, "it felt fantastic!" Siprelle believes the therapy was very effective. "My regular massage treatments helped me get in touch with the world below my neck," she chuckles. "It was a great reliever of stress."

Lea Ball went to see a massage therapist when her right arm began aching from too much time spent at the computer. "My work is all on the computer," she says, "so I have little choice but to sit there. However, my therapist showed me exercises to get up and do regularly, plus she focused on that arm in my treatments. Within a few weeks, the pain was gone."

These people are not alone. More than 114 million people visit a massage therapist every year, spending a total of $4 billion to $6 billion for treatment. A recent study showed that between 1997 and 2000, the number of American adults who reported getting a massage doubled from 8 percent to l6 percent.

Training and Education

Currently, there are over 150,000 practicing massage therapists in the country. The American Massage Therapy Association reports that its membership quadrupled in the mid-1990s and is currently more than 46,000 strong. Massage therapists work in wellness facilities, private clinics and offices, chiropractic offices, salons and spas, fitness centers, health clubs, and nursing homes. Some will come to your business or your home, bringing a portable table with them.

"This isn't a job where you will make huge amounts of money," says T.J. Ford, a massage therapist from New York and teacher of massage therapy at Portland, Oregon's East-West College of Healing Arts. The median salary per year for therapists is $32,000, with part-timers averaging about $20,000, and full-timers who work extra-long hours making up to $60,000.

"I have been a therapist and teacher for nine years," says Ford. "I learned at the Swedish Institute in New York City, [and trained] in England. I love this work because it integrates the scientific world and the creative one. My favorite part is being able to connect with people on a unique level. I consider it an honor," she adds, "to be part of a person's healing process."

Celeste Kurth, a massage therapist for the past 17 years, agrees. "The best part of this job is knowing that my clients come in miserable and feel great when they leave. Massage is a safe, nurturing way of healing. Being a catalyst to their healing is a great reward."