Statistics from the American Massage Therapy Association tell us that 143 million massages were performed in the United States in 2005. And this number is nearly double what it was 10 years ago. Close to 20 million adults received massage therapy in 2005. The AMTA Council of Schools had 45 member schools 10 years ago and in 2006 there are 387 affiliate massage schools. Clearly our profession is experiencing an unprecedented expansion.
As professional massage therapists passionate about the healing benefits of massage, we celebrate the upside of this trend. More people discovering relief from stress, pain, and limited mobility… more people learning to nurture their health and support their bodies’ own healing process… more people enjoying the restorative power of caring human touch… there are indeed many reasons for celebration.
As professionals passionate about the quality of the entire massage experience, it is our responsibility to examine the complexities of this trend and to address the downside. Allow me to relate a personal story that reflects some of the challenges today.
There is a lovely historic hotel in New England where I have stayed every year since 1991. Recently, the hotel health club was upgraded to The Spa, billed as “an oasis of well being and comfort” for hotel guests. There were now numerous body treatments to choose from. The spa menu included a Black Baltic Mud Wrap and an Apricot Body Buff, but I opted for a $95 deep tissue massage. A pleasant, uniformed young lady, whom I will call Ashley, entered the room, and the session began. Twice within the first 10 minutes I asked for deeper tissue engagement. Finally, after 20 minutes of “fluff and buff” I turned over and asked her if she had any training in deep tissue massage. She informed me that her massage education was “a few weeks at the cosmetology school” she had attended. Then she added that I was “the third big guy of the day” and frankly she was getting tired.
Speaking on behalf of “big guys” everywhere, I tried to explain the difference between straining and good biomechanics, but she didn’t appear interested. I later complained at the front desk of the hotel, and the customer service representative seemed surprised claiming, “she made a good impression during the interview” the previous month.
I learned later that during the past year, the massage staff had been changed. Competent professionals are now employed there. Ashley was out of the bodywork field within six months, the casualty of a bad education.
As professional leaders, associations, and schools, we need to recognize that Ashley is not an isolated example. Many newly graduated, poorly trained practitioners have experienced similar frustration and disappointment after coming from schools that lack an unwavering commitment to quality and without the understanding or know how to achieve it. Graduates like Ashley are entering the field with little anatomical grounding, no clear sense of boundaries, and a non-existent level of how to engage myofascial structures. They are ill prepared by their schools. They don’t even know it until they confront their professional inadequacy, when venturing beyond the “routine” learned in school, or when their thumbs begin to ache, or when an unpleasant boundary violation occurs. On a good day, they offer a mediocre experience to their clients. On a bad day, they can permanently end their own or their client’s appreciation for the healing power of massage.
Clients will not continue paying $80 and more to have oil spread on their skin, when what they really seek is skillful manipulation of soft tissues by a compassionate and confident professional, who has an expert knowledge of musculoskeletal anatomy, relaxation therapy, and the physiology of tissue repair. These are the basic skills of our profession and should be rightfully expected of each of us.
Furthermore, descriptive labels do nothing to ensure accurate expectations by prospective students or clients of massage therapy either. Terms such as clinical, therapeutic, orthopedic or medical massage have become virtually meaningless because of major discrepancies in standards of competency. Even spa massage, once considered a luxury of the rich, has changed with the times. “Pampering has a different definition these days,” asserts Diane Trieste, who was the former Director of Spa and Product Development at Canyon Ranch for thirteen years. “And the average recipient has a much deeper knowledge of touch therapy.”
The hopeful anticipation of better-educated clients seeking high quality, skilled professional touch indicates a deep need that our over-busy culture does not meet. As more individuals seeking a meaningful career enroll in massage therapy education programs, it is our responsibility to address and communicate the standards and values of our profession. One way to view these times and this great expansion in our field is through the lens of a renaissance – a rebirth or renewal of deeply held values.
It all begins with a respect for the client – the recipient of all our skills and training. A sense of service and respect must be instilled in every massage therapy student and in every practicing professional. We must hold professional schools and continuing education programs accountable for instilling competence and professionalism. To flourish and evolve as a profession, we need to earn and maintain the trust of an increasingly educated consumer.
— by Bob King, founder of massage school in Chicago (Chicago School of Massage Therapy, now Cortiva Institute – Chicago)
