The goal of massage therapy is to alleviate pain, improve circulation and relax muscles. The daily chores of a massage therapist revolve mostly around working one-on-one with their clients.
Depending on how you decide to practise massage therapy, a few business-related tasks may need to be taken care of as well.
Day-to-Day Duties of a Massage Therapist
The main duty of a massage therapist involves helping to heal their clients through touch. A wide variety of illnesses and ailments respond to touch therapy, in particular muscle and circulation issues.
For the most part, a massage therapist will provide treatment using their fingers, hands and other parts of their arms. Sometimes, feet are used to administer massage treatments.
The length of each client’s stay varies according to their needs. Some clients only need a quick 10-minute massage while others may require an hour or above.
As a massage therapist, before beginning treatment, you will need to at least chat with your client to learn about what she or he needs to accomplish during the session. In addition to treatment, massage therapists may also teach their patients various techniques that will help them relax their minds and bodies.
Massage therapists can specialize in many different types of massage, called modalities. Swedish massage, deep-tissue massage, and sports massage are just a few of the many modalities of massage therapy. Most massage therapists specialize in several modalities, which require different techniques.
If you run your own massage therapy business, part of your daily routine involves performing accounting, marketing, maintenance of records and other business-related work.
After the day, you may need to perform cleaning duties and check to ensure that you have enough inventory for items such as massage oil.
Massage Therapy Training
Typically, most massage therapists receive hundreds of hours of training in order to prepare for this career. After finishing high school, many massage therapists proceed to post-secondary colleges and educational institutes to develop the skills necessary to perform this type of work.
Massage therapists need to be able to administer a variety of treatments that depend on what the patient requires. Performing a massage for an athlete requires a different technique than a massage for an elderly patient.
According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the demand for massage therapy will remain high over the next decade, with a 23% rise in demand for therapists. Part of the reason for this demand has to do with the aging population, more of whom will benefit from this type of therapy.
Check out Avenue Five Institute’s courses on massage therapy to learn more about this growth industry.
Want to Become a Massage Therapist?
Now that you’re more familiar with a day in the life of a massage therapist, are you ready to learn more? Great! At Avenue Five Institute, we offer a 900-hour advanced massage therapy program that provides comprehensive training across a broad spectrum of massage modalities.
Contact us today for more information about our massage therapy program or to schedule a tour of our campus.