Massage Therapy - Delta College Inc

Massage Therapy from Delta College Inc is a Campus Certificate Massage Therapy degree that prepares you for a Healthcare career. NATURE OF THE WORK: Many physicians have been recommending massage therapy for nearly 2,400 years. The medical benefits of ?friction? were first documented in Western culture by Greek physician Hippocrates around 400 B.C. Today, massage therapy is being used as a means of treating painful ailments, decompressing tired and overworked muscles, reducing stress, rehabilitating sports injuries, and promoting genera l health. This is accomplished by manipulating a client's soft tissues in order to improve the body's circulation and move waste product from the muscles. While massage therapy is done for medical benefit, a massage can be given to simply relax or rejuvenate the person being massaged. It is important to note that this type of massage is not intended for a medical purpose and provides medical value only through general stress reduction and increased energy levels. Message therapy, on the other hand, is practiced by thoroughly trained individuals who provide specialized care with their client's medical health in mind. Massage therapists can specialize in over 80 different types of massage, called modalities. Swedish massage , deep tissue massage, reflexology, acupressure, sports massage , and neuromuscular massage are just a few of the many approaches to massage therapy. Most massage therapists specialize in several modalities, which require different techniques. Some use exaggerated strokes ranging the length of a body part, while others use quick, percussion-like strokes with a cupped or closed hand. A massage can be as long as two hours or as short as five or ten minutes. Usually, the type of massage therapists give depends on the client's needs and the client's physical condition. For example, they use special techniques for elderly clients that would not use for athletes, and they would use approaches for clients with injuries that would not be appropriate for clients seeking relaxation. There are also some forms of massage that are given solely to one type of client (for example, prenatal message and infant massage). WORKING CONDITIONS: Massage therapist work in an array of settings both private and public: private offices, studios, hospitals, nursing homes, fitness centers, sports medicine facilities, airports, and shopping malls, for example. Some massage therapist also travel to clients' homes or offices to provide a massage. It is not uncommon for full-time massage therapists to divide their time among several different settings, depending on the clients and locations scheduled. EMPLOYMENT: Massage therapist held about 97,000 jobs in 2004. About two-thirds were self-employed. Of those self-employed, most owned their own business, and the rest worked as independent contractors. Others found employment in salons and spas, the offices of physicians and chiropractors, fitness and recreational sports centers, and hotels. About three-quarters of all massage therapists worked part time or had variable schedules, although many massage therapists who work 15-30 hours per week consider themselves to be full-time workers. JOB OUTLOOK: Employment for massage therapists is expected to increase faster than average over the period from 2004 to 2014 as more people learn about the benefits of massage therapy Massage is an increasingly popular technique for relaxation and reduction of stress. As workplaces try to distinguish themselves as employee-friendly, providing professional in-office, seated massages for employees is becoming a popular on-the-j9ob benefit. Increased interest in alternative medicine and holistic healing will mean increased opportunities for those skilled in massage therapy. Health care providers and medical insurance companies are beginning to recognize massage therapy as a legitimate treatment and preventative measure for several types of injuries and illnesses. View more details on Delta College Inc . Ask your questions and apply online for this program or find other related Massage Therapy courses.