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State proposal requires a license to massage
In 1983, Wilhelmina Blank was one of the first massage therapists in the area.
Now, Blank, the founder of the Pennsylvania Myotherapy Institute, says she sees massage therapists and day spas popping up all over the place.
That growth over the years has prompted State Rep. Keith McCall, of Carbon County, to sponsor a bill that will regulate the profession in Pennsylvania, one of 11 states that does not regulate massage.
State Massage Licensing Requirements
As an unregulated industry, people with little to no training are able to call themselves massage therapists. That also allows some people to practice the stereotypical parlor massage that trained therapists have worked to overcome.
The bill, however, would require massage therapists to obtain a
license under a newly established State Board of Massage Therapy. The license would require applicants to have 600 hours of training.
The bill was approved by the state House of Representatives and is currently under consideration by the Senate.
Bob Caton, McCall’s press secretary, said that this bill will go a long way in improving the massage therapy industry.
He said that untrained people are able to act as health-care professionals when they have no training, therefore giving reputable therapists a bad name.
Before there was “nowhere for the therapist or clients to turn,” but now they will be protected.
“The therapists will be given peace of mind and the client will have protection because they know they’re getting well-trained professionals,” Caton said.
Blank said complaints sometimes come from clients that go to a massage therapist expecting relief from pain and just end up getting more pain because the therapist is not properly trained.
She hopes that the bill will make schools raise the standards of their training.
At PMI, students take a total of 725 hours in classes, 100 of which are clinical hours where students practice with clients.
PMI, runs his own massage therapy practice from Meadowview Family Practice in Hanover.
Rhodes said some therapists have a little knowledge of the practice, but pretend that they have a lot.
“A little knowledge is more dangerous than no knowledge,” Rhodes said.
He said the problem with a lot of therapists is that they get into a routine and perform the same massage on every client.
Jody Phillips has been in the health-care industry for 17 years and is an instructor at PMI.
Phillips believes that if someone is practicing “true wellness and true therapy and pain relief,” they cater to each client’s needs. Every person’s body is different and everything in their lifestyle, from their profession to recreation, has an effect on their bodies. Phillips said that even a person’s right and left arms need different therapy from one another, and to practice the same massage would not be effective.
“We want to produce excellent therapists with a higher level of training that are out there making a difference,” Phillips said. “If they’re not making a difference in a client’s pain, then its pointless.”
But as for the idea that licensing would do away with unethical massage therapists, Blank is curious to see if it will work.
“I think it will depend on whether local authorities choose to enforce it,” Blank said. She has had her fair share of experience, from reporting a spa in the area, she knows that they are out there.
She encountered one spa where the therapists were dressed in lingerie. She could only guess what was going on inside the massage rooms.
She has also had clients that expect more because they received a “happy ending” massage from another therapist.
“As a therapist you have to know where to draw the line,” Blank said “It’s just unethical.”
Blank said that the massage industry isn’t just for relaxation anymore. Spas have been and always will be popular, but massage is moving toward “corporate wellness” and medical use.
According to the National Massage Therapy Institute, consumers spend between $4 billion and $6 billion a year on massage therapy. It is one of the fastest-growing industries in the U.S.
Many employers are beginning to take their employees’ health and wellness into consideration. It is common now for companies to have incentive programs including campaigns to quit smoking, exercise programs and now corporations are recognizing massage as a way to improve health, Blank said.
Blank also said that massage is becoming more prominent in the medical industry. There is a growing need for relief from pain for medical conditions ranging from cancer to geriatrics.
She believes that the licensing program will give therapists validity in the medical field and with insurance companies.
“The credibility is now there,” Blank said. “It will also boost recognition and credibility among people that had their doubts about massage therapy.”
Phillips also believes that the license program will make massage more accepted in the medical field. She stresses that massage isn’t an alternative form of medicine but complimentary to doctors.
“We want to work together,” Phillips said. She has many doctors and chiropractors who recommend their clients for massage therapy.
Although Blank said the bill will help massage therapists, she did say it has a few drawbacks.
If the testing method is consistent with the federal method, it will be a 600-question computerized test, which she believes measures a therapist’s knowledge but “doesn’t truly measure their skill.”
She also said that some states with licensing programs have high fees for those licenses and hopes that won’t be the case in Pennsylvania. Caton said whether there is a cost and what that might be would be determined by the
State Board of Massage.
Sherry Chenault, practices massage therapy in Westminster, Md. A 2006 graduate of PMI, she has gone through both a state and federal license program and feels that a license makes a therapist worth more.
In Maryland, massage therapists are required to complete 700 hours of training. Chenault said that the application process took her six months, but it was well worth it.
Massage therapists in Pennsylvania have been waiting a long time as well for this legislation.
The bill has been in the works for more than a decade.
“It’s been a long journey, but it’s worth it.” Caton said.
AT A GLANCE
A bill that would regulate massage therapists has passed the state House of Representatives and is under consideration by the Senate. If the bill passes, newer massage therapists would need to do the following steps before getting a license:
Complete 600 hours training approved by state Department of Education
Pass a state exam
Complete 24 hours of further education every two years.
Therapists are grandfathered in if:
They have practiced for more than five years
They have passed a national certification test
They have passed a licensing exam or have completed 500 hours of instruction approved by the Department of Education.
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