Medical Massage-Curious & Confused!

[Pompal 09.]

Hi all

I was interested in learning what the term 'Medical Massage' means to you guys as MT's in the US & whether you advertise yourselves as one. Or, if there is actually a general consensus on what 'Medical Massage Therapy ' is?

In Australia according to our education standards now we are defined as;
1. Massage Therapists- (Certificate-500-600hrs) Only qualified to perform relaxation/therapeutic massage) OR
2. Remedial Massage Therapists-(Diploma- around 1100-1200hrs) Higher qualification to work with specific conditions, injuries using more advanced techniques ie. trigger point, MET etc).
We don't use the term Medical Massage at all so I'm a little confused :?

Do you need to do a specific post grad course to call yourself a Med MT? Are Med MT's just a group of therapists trying to distinguish themselves apart from other MT's that specialize more in say Swedish, Reiki or energy work for example?

Thanks for sharing
Cheers
Oz

 

[Ben Aqui]

James Waslaski has written an excellent article that addresses your question. It is entitled "Orthopedic Massage vs. Medical Massage: Are We Using the Correct Terminology? (http://www.orthomassage.net/published_articles").

I believe that there are many massage therapists who incorrectly (because they aren't really adequately trained) claim that they do medical massage therapy. As Waslaski points out, a weekend course hardly qualifies one to claim they are certified in medical massage therapy.

 

[dlyle76]

Here, to my knowledge, there is really no specific, seperate certification for medical massage.

The school I went to we learned "clinical" massage therapy, just meaning instead of spending the whole time learning swedish massage, we also studied more in kinesiology and got more in depth in treatments for stuff like whiplash, CTS, and stuff like that. We also had more hours than schools around here.

But I see stuff on TV saying it's "medical" massage, and when I work with people who come from the schools, they don't have a good understanding even in certain muscles! (Most commonly they don't know anything about anterior neck, like scalenes and SCM, or iliopsoas work) so why they call this medical massage, who knows!

 

[Megan N]

Medical massage is a marketing tool, that's all. It has no meaning.

 

[Parachromis]

Medical Massage-curious & confused

"Medical Massage" is a term used by MTs who want to work with insurance clients and doctor's patients. It has caused a split in the massage profession as its backers offer classes and certifications claiming it's the future of massage and a way to make more $. Yet, no one seems to want to define it other than drawing a line seperating relaxation massage and therapeutic massage. There are many conflicts of interest in that the classes offered and the certifications are money-makers only.
The future of healthcare in the US is managed care. Just ask any MD,PT or DC who signed on to a healthcare provider network and is getting their fees capped. The insurance companies will define medical massage not the industry and those offering classes.
Many MTs take weekend classes and say that they are medical massage therapists, few actually have the skill set to do assessment and document their work.
Hope this is helpful,
Rubmyster