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Massage therapy service at spa
When booking a massage, how much do you look into your new massage therapist before adding the appointment to your calendar? If you just pick whoever can squeeze you in during your desired time slot and hope for the best, you’re not alone. But if you live in Minnesota, your massage therapist could have little to no professional training, because the state is one of only four in the country that has no legislation regulating massage therapy. So, even if you think your therapist has magic hands, real consequences can pervade if you don’t do your research beforehand, according to Michele Renee, director of Integrative Care at Northwestern Health Sciences University in Bloomington.
Simply wanting someone to work out the knots in your back might seem innocent, but according to Renee, you shouldn’t fully relax unless you know what you’re getting into. If the therapist is not professionally trained, he or she could end up doing more harm than good.
Getting a Timely Referral
“Massage therapists are a vital element in integrative health care,” says Renee. “We see more of the body than pretty much any other type of clinician and are often the first to see or hear something concerning. So our ability to make a timely referral could be a big factor in the client receiving the right type of care.” In some instances, an untrained massage therapist might not be able to recognize when to refer a client to a doctor after a massage. For example, if a therapist finds a suspicious skin lesion, discovers the patient has stiff joints, or suspects unusual types of arthritis, he or she should direct the patient to a doctor. “There are endless scenarios,” says Renee. “And when a patient shows signs of infection, a massage should not be given at all until seen by a doctor.”
The Right Care for the Condition
For current and former cancer patients, therapists should never use the same pressure they would normally use, because too much pressure on areas where an individual has had radiation therapy in the past can cause lymphedema (swelling caused by a build-up of lymph fluid under the skin). “Massage is incredibly helpful both during cancer treatment to relieve symptoms as well as after it is resolved. But therapists need specialized training to do so safely,” says Renee.
Avoiding Endangerment Areas
Not only do therapists need training to treat patients with special medical conditions, they need to be aware of the areas that are too delicate to massage on any patient, says Renee. These are known as endangerment areas and can be found under the arm, in the front of the neck, and behind the knee. Bottom line, the lack of knowledge in untrained therapists can result in a massage that does more harm than good. “We are fond of saying that anything that can help the body can hurt it, so it is important that therapists are trained at first to do no harm,” says Renee.
How Minnesota Compares
Right now, Minnesota is one of four states in the nation where therapists are not required to pass any exams or meet education requirements. In comparison, the state of New York requires 1,000 hours of education before a therapist can practice. Some dedicated massage practitioners in Minnesota do opt to take the national certification exam in order to differentiate themselves. In addition, they can take the MBLEx, which is the exam that many other states require of their massage therapists for entry into the professional world. In medical settings in Minnesota, some certificates are required in order to practice in certain specialty areas, such as oncology, hospital-based massage, and orthopedic care.
What You Can Do
There are a few things you can do to find a trained massage therapist before getting on the books. Renee recommends asking what school the therapist attended and looking it up to ensure it is COMTA (Commission on Massage Therapy Accreditation) accredited. “Therapists are only as good as the institution that trained them,” she says. She also recommends checking to see if they took the national certification exam as another measure.
The good news is, the local massage therapy community is planning to propose a bill in the upcoming legislative session to regulate the industry. “When a bill finally passes, we are working hard to ensure that it will do both and will help to clarify the scope of practice and necessary education required to practice safely, ethically, and professionally,” says Renee.
Located in Bloomington, Northwestern Health Sciences University is a pioneer in integrative natural health care education, offering degree programs in chiropractic, acupuncture, Chinese medicine, massage therapy, medical assisting, medical laboratory programs, post-bac/pre-health, radiation therapy, and B.S. completion. Its Bloomington clinic is open to the public, and provides massage therapy, acupuncture, Chinese medicine, chiropractic treatment, naturopathic medicine, cupping, and physical therapy.
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