Touchpoints: A Massage Therapy Blog

A great career opportunity for massage therapists is working for a chiropractic or integrative medical practice. Chiropractic physicians (DCs) recognize the therapeutic value of massage and want to offer it to their clients. Yet oftentimes a DC can only accommodate a licensed massage therapist on a part-time basis. 

A great way to gain a full-time position, improve your employability and boost your income in this sector is to offer both a license in massage therapy and a chiropractic assistant certificate. 

Chiropractic assistants are trained in office procedures, medical records, and preparing patients for their examination and treatment. This frees up the DC to see more patients, and improves the quality of time that the DC can spend with each patient. Offering these skills, plus the ability to perform a therapeutic massage can make you an important asset to any chiropractic physician. 

National University offers a chiropractic assistant program that weaves seamlessly into its massage therapy programs.  By simply enrolling for a few extra weekend courses, students can graduate in one year with both a massage therapy certificate and a chiropractic assistant certificate. 

In fact, The American Chiropractor magazine recently launched a new publication specifically for chiropractic assistants. Here is an online link to The Chiropractic Assistant magazine's first digital issue, so that you can get a better perspective on what this career credential can offer you in addition to your massage training.

When you choose a career in massage therapy, a world of possibilities is open to you. Massage therapists work in all sorts of interesting places--even the Olympics! Here's an article from a massage therapist who will be traveling to the 2012 London Olympic Games. She explains the steps that led her to this opportunity, and also what's involved in becoming an expert in sports massage. 

» Where Do You Work? Working in Sports Massage

At the beginning of their careers, almost every massage therapist faces the question of how to build their clientele on a meager or non-existent marketing budget. To help get the word out there without breaking the bank, consider the time-tested technique of barter - the exchange of services and goods for the same.

Massage Therapists can broaden their word-of-mouth clients through their barter buddies while cutting back on their own personal expenses.

To start with, you might exchange a massage for a small ad in a local paper, or get your business cards or other printing done by a local printer in dire need of touch therapy. Branching out, the possibilities are endless:  personal training sessions, acupuncture, chiropractic, reflexology, facials, hair care, nail services, gym memberships, oil changes, dry cleaning, and all the while you are adding more and more people to the list of clients who will recommend you.

One drawback, though, is that barter is fully taxable. According to the IRS, income from barter arrangements must be reported as income in the year in which the goods or services are exchanged. Arrangements on a noncommercial basis are exempt and fewer than 100 commercial transactions in a given year do not need to be reported.

If you thought massage therapy is just for self-pampering at resorts and spas, think again! Massage therapists are now part of many integrative health care clinics, nursing and rehabilitation centers, hospitals and other health care venues.

Why? Massage therapy has profound health benefits that continue to be documented by solid clinical research. Massage can lower blood pressure, increase circulation, reduce stress, provide pain relief, and much more. That's why many physicians are now referring patients to massage therapists as part of their overall plan for care.

This spells good news for those working in the field of massage therapy. In addition, the U.S. Department of Labor predicts that jobs in the heath care sector will continue to grow for the foreseeable future. This is because the baby boomer generation is aging and will continue to need and demand more care. As massage therapists become a more valued part of the health care delivery system, their employment prospects are certain to expand as well.

However, to take advantage of massage therapy jobs in medical or therapeutic settings, a massage therapist must be able to function as a professional in a medical environment. That's why National University of Health Sciences offers a Massage Therapy Certification Program anchored in basic sciences and training in the skills a therapist needs to be part of a medical team.

At National, massage students don't just study anatomy from books; they work in a real cadaver lab and examine human musculature and body systems first hand. In other programs, students might "get by" massaging friends and family to earn the internship credits needed for certification. But at NUHS, students spend six months in a real integrative medical clinic, where they work on clients with a variety of health conditions, create charts for each client and work in conjunction with clinical physicians. When massage students graduate from NUHS, they understand medical terminology and clinical protocol in a way that allows them to be valued professionals on an integrative health care team.

The great part about the massage certification program at National is that it only requires a high school diploma or GED to start and can be completed in one year of convenient evening classes. This makes massage therapy a very accessible career option for those seeking an entry into the health care field.

Today's Massage Therapists are…

• Most likely to enter the massage therapy profession as a second career.
• Predominantly female (85%).
• Average age, early 40s.
• Most likely to be members of a professional organization.
• Most likely to be sole practitioners.
• Working an average of 19 hours a week providing massage. (Excluding time spent on other business tasks such as billing, bookkeeping, supplies, maintaining equipment, marketing, scheduling, etc.)
• Charging an average of $63 for one hour of massage.
• Earning an average wage of $41.50 an hour (including tip) for all massage related work.
• Giving an average of 41 massages per month.
• Likely to provide massage therapy in a number of settings, including their own home, spa/salon, their own office, a health care setting, health club/athletic facility, or massage therapy only franchise or chain.
• Eighty-nine percent (89%) of massage therapists provide Swedish massage, followed by 82% who provide deep tissue massage, 52% trigger point, and 49% sports massage.