Massage Therapist
Many doctors recommend massage therapy to patients who need to ease painful ailments, reduce overall stress, decompress overworked muscles, or rehabilitate sports injuries. Massage therapists manipulate their clients' soft tissue to improve circulation and remove waste products from their muscles. Massages can be performed for relaxation purposes, but massage therapy provides medical benefits and should only be practiced by trained professionals.Massage therapists can specialize in several different types of massage, which are referred to as modalities. There are over 80 modalities, including Swedish massage, deep tissue massage, reflexology, sports massage, and acupressure. Each modality requires a different technique with distinctive strokes, which is why training in this field is so important. Therapists must take into account a client's ailments, medical history, and stress-related areas before beginning treatment.
Depending on whether or not a massage therapist is self-employed, they may supply their own massage table, blankets, pillows, massage oils, and creams. Many massage clients will seek regular appointments, so it is important for therapists to build good relationships with the people that they treat if they want to maintain a solid customer base. Massage therapists can work in private offices, hospitals, nursing homes, fitness centers, and sports medicine facilities, as well as in a client's home or office.
Because of the physical demands of the occupation, massage therapists who spend between 15 and 30 hours a week giving massages are generally considered full-time workers. Many states will require you to obtain formal training and/or a national certificate before you begin practicing massage therapy. In May of 2006, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that the median 50 percent of massage therapists in the country earned between $10.98 and $24.22 an hour. Therapists who work outside of clinical settings will usually earn tips as well. [Figures including job projections, reported median incomes, and salary estimates were revised to reflect data from 2006 on 2/20/08.]