Feb 08
25
Massage Training Controversy
One of the big issues in the massage profession has to do with the number of hours of education that one needs to become a professional, licensed massage therapist. While many states have adopted 500 hours of training as the basic amount of hours of massage school, there doesn’t seem to be any proof of what is really needed.
There seems to be two schools and probably many in between but the two basic versions are:
- 100 hours of basic massage training focusing on giving massage
- 500+ hours of extensive training in anatomy, physiology, orthopedic massage or some advanced systems of massage
When I went to massage school back in 1987, the basic requirements in WA State were 250 hours of massage school which did include anatomy, physiology, pathology and treatment massage for working with various basic conditions such as sprains/strains, headaches and common conditions. I was in the last group that was let in under those requirements of 250 hours. The number of hours of training that was required was going up to 500 hour of massage school where it stands now. I was very glad to be in the last class at 250 hours because I didn’t want to spend the extra time and money. The reasons for the increase in the number of hours of training was just an arbitrary thing that the state board seemed to come up with at the time. The massage schools were actually requesting it for no other reason than that they could make more money by getting students to stay longer. Keith Grant in his white paper on “Issues in Massage Governance” which he wrote in 2002 described this situation exactly. I have spoken about it here and really recommend that anyone who is interested in the future of the massage profession read it. It is quite lengthy and I have summarized this before on the blog.
Basically what he says is the same thing – that 100 hours of massage school is enough training to do massage and become a massage therapist.
People who think differently seem to have such an extreme reaction to this statement but don’t seem to have any proof or references to back themselves up other than statements like:
- People can’t do medical massage with only 100 hours of training
- People can’t give a good massage with only 100 hours of training
- People need much more anatomy and physiology than could be fit into a 100 hour training class
There is a whole other controversy over the issue of medical massage. Does medical massage require extra training or is it just the ability to be able to bill an insurance company for massage services which only requires knowing what paperwork is needed and how to show improvement in a massage session. Anyone who can do basic massage and can create a change in a muscle can show improvement in a condition.
I guess I must have my own personal definition of medical massage because I have been doing it since 1989 when I started my practice with 250 hours of massage school. From the very beginning I was able to bill insurance companies and be paid and was also very successful in working with clients. That doesn’t mean I didn’t get more training through the 20 years of being a massage therapist.
I am not saying that having more training is not good and that all of those years and thousands of dollars that are spent are not worthwhile. I am not saying that more education can improve your chances of being successful.
What I am saying that anyone can be taught to do a basic massage in 100 hours of training. How successful they will be depends on them, just as it does with someone with 1000 hours of training. There are so many massage therapists that do have training and still are not successful. ABMP reports that about 50,000 massage therapists leave the field each year and though they don’t say why, I would guess that most are due to being unable to make a living whether that involves getting injured or sick or what.
The thing is that we really don’t know what is required as far as education in creating a massage therapist who can be effective and successful. As a profession we have not created any studies that show that 100 hours or that 1000 hours is the best.
I don’t really know what the answer is to the issue but am really open to hearing about solutions such as studies that could help create more successful massage therapists. Keith Grant’s solution is apprenticeship programs which seem to be put on the wayside to make room for the big massage school conglomerates such as Cortiva, Corinthian Colleges and the like. And with the increase in massage franchises that only pay massage therapists $15 an hour, I just have to wonder what exactly is going on.
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