Professional Boundaries: Practical Applications for Preventing Compassion Fatigue
Ethics are so fundamental to massage therapy that new LMTs must pass a jurisprudence exam on the legal boundaries of the profession. Moreover, to maintain their licensure, massage therapists must take ongoing massage therapy CE classes on ethics. Therapists rely on boundaries to create safety for all involved. Without strong boundaries, massage therapists may find themselves exhausted due to taking on their clients’ problems. [...]
The Mechanics of Sports Massage: How Massage Promotes Recovery from Athletic Training
Post-exercise recovery is critical for athletes at all levels. Sports massage is a powerful tool for athletic recovery, as professional and amateur athletes know well. Dozens of professional athletes prioritize sports massage as a critical component of their recovery regime. Many athletes report increased muscular flexibility and agility post-massage. Recovering from hard workouts is another commonly-cited reason to include massage in recovery rituals. But [...]
Careers in Massage: Skyrocketing Projected Job Outlook for Medical Massage Therapists
As we discussed in a previous post, job outlook predictions are extremely rosy for massage therapists. What’s driving such strong numbers for employment growth in massage therapy? Today we’re unpacking the numbers by examining one subset of massage therapy: medical massage. What is Medical Massage? Medical massage is massage therapy targeting health issues diagnosed by a doctor. (Mayo Clinic, n.d.). A medical LMT is [...]
Fungal Infections 101 for LMTs: How to Protect Yourself and Prevent the Spread of Disease
There are certain truths about life as a massage therapist that the public may not recognize, such as just how much of the job is doing laundry! Reducing the risk of disease transmission requires clean sheets for each client. Fungal diseases mandate that LMTs pay such attention to hygiene. Let’s define fungal diseases, understand how they are transmitted, review symptoms to watch out for, [...]
Demand for Massage Therapists Projected to Boom in the Next Decade
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) anticipates that the demand for massage therapists will increase by 18% in the next decade. That rate is considered “much higher than the average” job growth for all careers (2025, Job Outlook). According to the bureau’s statistics, roughly 22,800 new positions for massage therapists will be created every year in the decade between 2023 and 2033. To [...]
Triggerpoints vs “Knots”: Understanding Adhesions and How Massage Helps
Have you ever complained to your massage therapist about a knot, only to have them reply with words like adhesion or triggerpoint? Are all three words truly synonymous? Understanding such definitions can help us appreciate how these stuck spots are formed in the body, namely through muscular overload. Muscles can be overloaded through acute, sustained, and repetitive movements. After a primer on each, we’ll [...]
Professional Boundaries: Practical Applications for Preventing Compassion Fatigue
Ethics are so fundamental to massage therapy that new LMTs must pass a jurisprudence exam on the legal boundaries of the profession. Moreover, to maintain their licensure, massage therapists must take ongoing massage therapy CE classes on ethics. Therapists rely on boundaries to create safety for all involved. Without strong boundaries, massage therapists may find themselves exhausted due to taking on their clients’ problems. [...]
The Mechanics of Sports Massage: How Massage Promotes Recovery from Athletic Training
Post-exercise recovery is critical for athletes at all levels. Sports massage is a powerful tool for athletic recovery, as professional and amateur athletes know well. Dozens of professional athletes prioritize sports massage as a critical component of their recovery regime. Many athletes report increased muscular flexibility and agility post-massage. Recovering from hard workouts is another commonly-cited reason to include massage in recovery rituals. But [...]
Careers in Massage: Skyrocketing Projected Job Outlook for Medical Massage Therapists
As we discussed in a previous post, job outlook predictions are extremely rosy for massage therapists. What’s driving such strong numbers for employment growth in massage therapy? Today we’re unpacking the numbers by examining one subset of massage therapy: medical massage. What is Medical Massage? Medical massage is massage therapy targeting health issues diagnosed by a doctor. (Mayo Clinic, n.d.). A medical LMT is [...]
Fungal Infections 101 for LMTs: How to Protect Yourself and Prevent the Spread of Disease
There are certain truths about life as a massage therapist that the public may not recognize, such as just how much of the job is doing laundry! Reducing the risk of disease transmission requires clean sheets for each client. Fungal diseases mandate that LMTs pay such attention to hygiene. Let’s define fungal diseases, understand how they are transmitted, review symptoms to watch out for, [...]
Demand for Massage Therapists Projected to Boom in the Next Decade
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) anticipates that the demand for massage therapists will increase by 18% in the next decade. That rate is considered “much higher than the average” job growth for all careers (2025, Job Outlook). According to the bureau’s statistics, roughly 22,800 new positions for massage therapists will be created every year in the decade between 2023 and 2033. To [...]
Triggerpoints vs “Knots”: Understanding Adhesions and How Massage Helps
Have you ever complained to your massage therapist about a knot, only to have them reply with words like adhesion or triggerpoint? Are all three words truly synonymous? Understanding such definitions can help us appreciate how these stuck spots are formed in the body, namely through muscular overload. Muscles can be overloaded through acute, sustained, and repetitive movements. After a primer on each, we’ll [...]