Tips And Steps In Becoming A Massage Therapist

By Christa Jarvis

As early as 2330 BC, a painting in the Tomb of the Physician depicts what is presumed to be a massage session, with two men appearing to have their hands and feet worked on by two other people. The Chinese compilation of medical wisdom and information, the Nei Jing, contains rubbing techniques and uses in thirty various chapters, and was composed in 722 BC. In 700 BC, the earliest known Chinese doctor Bian Que practiced medicinal massage.

In the modern world, in spite of a millenium of practice, massage has not yet earned the gold standard of scientific research as it is difficult to make clinical trials out of it. However, we know by heart that rubbing indeed relieves stress, anxiety, pain, and even depression, which is why we seek for a qualified massage therapist Dover NH. For those who are aspiring to be professional therapists, here are a few nuggets you have to dig into.

Skilled hands are not sufficient in becoming a successful therapist. First you must have the heart for empathy, listening, sensitivity, and patience. You should care about the well being of your client. Massaging is an intimate experience, so you have to be both physically and emotionally capable.

Pick a specialization you want to focus on. Different techniques have different ends, like some kinds of rubbing are for reducing pain, some are for stress relief, some are for muscle healing. When you are still a starting therapist, try specializing in one or two fields.

The most common types are sports, clinical, and Swedish. If you are going for healing and relief or relaxation, you may want to specialize in the Swedish form. If you have a thorough understanding of the human body and anatomy, you could master the clinical form, design to treat physical ailments. If you are up to assisting athletes in recovering from their injuries and improving their physical fitness, you can opt for the sports technique.

Find a great training program that will suit your needs. Complete your training program, which would usually be five hundred to six hundred hours. How many classes you are planning to take simultaneously will determine how long you will be able to finish the program.

Enroll in a school that offers the programs you are most interested in. After completing your training, you will be taking an exam to get you certified and licensed. Not all states require licensing, and not all states legalize practice without a license, so better check the requirements of your jurisdiction.

Finally, decide whether you want to look for a job or go self employed. You can usually make more money by starting your own business if you are willing to take the challenge that it will be difficult to find clients at first. Make sure that you got your business papers and items taken care of such as your business name and registration, and set up a comfortable space for your clients with reliable equipment.

There are hypotheses that state that rubbing can do more than its purported benefits. It is possible that it could hinder nociception according to the gate control theory. It is probable that serotonin and endorphins can be deliberately released through the activation of the parasympathetic nervous system via massage. Although these things should still have to be proven, you can help boost the credibility of the science of massaging by supporting peer reviewed medical journals that publish randomized controlled trials of the practice.

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