When I was asked to write an article on Russian massage I won’t lie, I was a little taken aback.  Why? Well because Russian massage isn’t really a thing…let me explain.

If you went to Russia and asked for a Russian massage at any massage therapy practice you would probably get a blank face, because even though there are places in the United States that practice “Russian massage”, it isn’t really a dedicated style.

The result of this is that if you go to all the places in the United States that offers this type of massage you are going to experience many different things, so much so that if no one told you what you were receiving you might have guessed they were all different types of massage.

So What Does “Russian Massage” Consist of?

Russians are known for being very tough, strong, hardworking people, so it might surprise you a bit when you find out that a fairly large portion of Russia really believes in massage therapy as treatment for not only muscular injuries, but for diseases of all kind, including things like asthma.

Now a few decades ago the Russians invested a lot of effort and money into developing massage therapy in their country.  Many of the techniques they studied became the basis of their practices in the future, and are still used even today.  In theory, if you got a Russian massage in the United States it would be based on these techniques, and for sure some of them will, but others will be less accurate on this basis.

So if you have a chance to get one it might be an interesting experience, but do your background on your massage therapist first to determine how capable they are.  On the flip side if you are a therapist looking to learn Russian Massage and add it to your arsenal make sure you are getting taught from a credible source.

How to Become a Massage Therapist

The first thing you need to do, just like most careers is get training.  Now the exact amount of training will depend on the licensing standards in your state, which you can find using the map on our homepage.

The most common things required are to first go to a massage therapy school where you have typically at least 500 hours of training (some theory, some practical) and then pass a massage therapy exam like the NCETM or MBLEx.

After you have become licensed you have to maintain it usually with some continuing education every 2 years, but usually nothing too difficult.  So all in all you’re looking at some post-secondary education, but typically it only takes a year or two to complete.

Massage Therapy as a Career

Let’s get this first thing out of the way as it’s always everyone’s first question, how much does a massage therapist get paid? You can read that article we wrote on it for complete details, but basically massage therapists get paid around the average of the country, but salaries are expected to rise as the baby boomers retire.

To expand on that point we will likely see better than average employment numbers for massage therapy in the short and long future.  This is a very important factor these days with concerns about jobs in the manufacturing industry.

What Does Massage Therapy Consist of?

Just to get you thinking here are some of the biggest positives of the job in my opinion:

• Get to help people stay and get healthy: especially if you specialize in something like sports massage therapy, you have no idea how much injured athletes appreciate a good massage therapist to aid in recovery
• Stay fit just by working: Ever see a fat massage therapist? They are not common, you will burn a lot of calories just by working and develop some killer arm strength
• Enjoyable: You can usually set the tone of your office and the process is typically very relaxing and smoothing, which may align well with your personality

And to counter that some of the main concerns of the job:

• Weird Hours: Honestly sometimes the flexibility may be good, but you have to realize that you’ll be working around other people’s schedules and be dealing with people cancelling or not showing up from time to time.  If a set schedule is important to you this might be frustrating.
• Exhausting: Over time you’ll develop stamina but there will be days where you’re just tired and have no choice but to keep going performing the physically challenging massages.
• Hygiene: While most people are good in this regard you will come across certain clients, who for hygiene or other reasons are tough to deal with.  In my opinion the good outweighs the bad, but this depends on what you can suffer through.

To sum it up, is massage therapy a good career for you? This is for you to decide, try and figure out how you feel about all the things we’ve discussed in this article and compare it to alternative careers you might be interested in.

General Comments on Making a Massage Therapists Resume

Objective Statement

It used to be a common thing to have an objective statement on your resume, but that doesn’t mean that it is still relevant today.  If you want to include an objective on your resume, you’re probably better off writing a cover letter instead.  The purpose is to explain your situation or skills in situations that may not be obvious for the potential employer to see where you fit.  Nowadays objective statements simply take up your most valuable real estate on your resume and make whoever is reviewing it spend more time on it, which typically they don’t like.

References

Similar to the objective statement, having a line at the bottom saying “references available upon request” is not needed.  If the employer is interested in references they will ask you when the time comes.  Note that if you want to include the references in more detail on your resume that is OK, but still probably not needed.

Sample Massage Therapist Resume

Below is an image of a resume for massage therapist.  Use it to get some ideas on how to structure yours, but remember that there is no one right way, go with what you think is best.  The most important thing you can take from this sample massage therapist resume is that most of the bullet points have action verbs, which help demonstrate that you can actually DO something, rather than just having ‘helped out’ or read about in a textbook.  Secondly, the design is very clean; make sure you have a good amount of ‘white space’ on the page so that it doesn’t get cluttered, but at the same time keep it concise enough not to have a really lengthy resume, it should be 1.5 – 2 pages maximum.

Ways to Stand Out

LinkedIn

If you aren’t on LinkedIn GET ON! In the past few years the popularity of LinkedIn among business owners has exploded.  You can make valuable connections with people in the industry and even apply to jobs on the site now.  Make sure to complete your profile with all your work experience and education.

Personal Website

If you are tech savvy you could build a personal website to stand out; this will do a couple of really good things for you.

1 – You can fully customize your online ‘profile’ to look exactly how you want.  You can make your site into an online resume and add your link to your email signature, LinkedIn profile, and any forums you visit, you never know who will see it.

2- It gives you the opportunity to get creative.  There are no limits other than your creativity.  You could even post up videos on your site showing you applying different techniques.

3-It’s nice to have a place you can refer your clients to.  It can make communication easier and can help you branch into a private or self-employed situation down the road.

Here are the most common areas of massage etiquette that I feel should be addressed:

• Hygiene:  If you talk with massage therapists about the best and worst things a client can do, showering is almost always #1 on that list.  Having good hygiene can make you a pleasure to work with, and on the flip side having bad hygiene can make it a grueling session.  Before you go to your appointment just take a quick 5 minute shower and put on some deodorant and you’ll be good to go.

• Punctuality:  A massage therapist often has a tight schedule, with several sessions scheduled close together.  If you show up late they either have to rush your session, finish early, or finish late which will affect all the other clients afterwards.  On your first appointment you’ll have to fill out some paperwork most likely, so be courteous and show up 10 minutes earlier; your masseuse will appreciate it.

• Cancellations:  It happens, we all know it, and sometimes you have to cancel for whatever reason or are going to be a bit late.  Give them a call and as much notice as possible, because in many cases they can fill the spot with someone else; doing this will make your masseuse much happier and willing to be flexible on re-scheduling.

• Clothing: This is only borderline etiquette, but something many first time massage-goers are confused about so I thought I’d include it.  Most, if not all masseuses you ever have will give you the option of having the massage with clothes on or off.  It is much easier for them to work on you if they have skin to skin contact, but if you are really uncomfortable not being clothed that’s ok.  Remember that if you are naked you will always be covered by several towels, masseuses know to be professional about the session.

• Cell Phones: Turn them off!! Unless it is absolutely necessary to keep them on, all they are are interruptions.

• Talking: This is all up to you, the masseuse will accommodate either way in most cases.  If you relax better when talking, then go for it.  At the same time, if you just want to relax and zone out, your masseuse will understand, although you could still give them a heads up if you want.  By all means, you should be giving feedback if you feel like the massage could be better (i.e. too hard, too soft, tender/ticklish areas etc.)

For The Women

• Hair: If you have long hair (applies to men as well), it is nice if you put your hair up.  I don’t think it really needs to be said, but long hair can get in the way, especially during an upper body massage.

• Shaving:  If you’re feeling self-conscious about being freshly shaved don’t worry about it.  Masseuses are used to working through hair, and like mentioned earlier as long as you’ve had a shower somewhat recently your masseuse will have no problems with your hygiene.

For The Men

• Err…Bloodflow:  This is less of a problem than you probably think it is, so don’t worry about it.  You may think that having someone, most likely a woman, rubbing you could cause certain reactions, but just remember that your masseuse has seen it all and is trained to be very professional about everything.  If you do react, just relax and it will pass, no need to worry or panic.

A Final Note

Tipping: This will vary substantially depending on where you get the massage.  Most places will have a sign somewhere in the lobby saying tips are welcomed or not accepted.  Typically most massage places do not require tips, but you can tip if you would like.  If you go to a vacation spa then for good service the expected tip is 15-20%, so budget that in.

If you are just looking for a simple answer to the basic question “how much do massage therapists make?“,  here it is: the average annual salary of a massage therapist in 2011 was $39,920.  If you want to learn more about what might affect this number for you then please read on.

Massage Therapists Hours

One of the benefits of being a Massage Therapist is the freedom you get from the job.  Your schedule is only limited by your client’s availability and how much you want to work.  What this means is that you can work as much, or as little as you would like.

In 2010, approximately 3 out of 4 massage therapists worked part time (under 40 hours a week).  One thing to keep in mind, that if you practice on your own and do not have a secretary, which is probable, then you need to spend a few hours doing general things like talking to clients, organizing notes/information, getting new clients, and cleaning equipment among other things, which will obviously cut into your time massaging, thereby potentially reducing your massage therapy salary.

Being a Massage Therapist in the Future

I know that one thing you’re probably concerned about is the future of the field and how bright the career looks down the road.  There are two things that are considered most important: massage therapy salary and job availability.

Job Availability

This is the most important aspect of any field when looking into the future and making predictions.  The demand for massage therapy is expected to grow substantially over the next 10 years.  From 2010 to 2012 the demand is expected to increase 20%! The average growth for all jobs is only 14%, and while 6% seems like a small difference, think of how many people there are in North America and you’ll quickly see why the field of massage therapy is considered so hot right now.

Massage Therapy Jobs Available:

2008

• 52,000

2009

• 55,920

2011

• 63,810

We can break down the reason for this predicted increase and it makes perfect sense.  First of all, the population is aging rapidly as the ‘baby boomers’ begin to reach old age.  Massage therapy is a great service to these people, which can help them with the increased body troubles that people face in old age.  If you are interested in this you might even be able to secure a position at a large retirement home, which would cut out any marketing you would have to do.

Secondly, the practice is becoming more regulated as more states adopt licensing rules.  What this does is add to the legitimacy of the profession and more people will realize that it is a very beneficial practice and can help them.

The third factor relates in part to the second, which is that massage therapy is becoming more popular, which means people are investing effort and money into making it more accessible to the general public.  Through spas and massage clinics, there are more outlets than ever that are being put into place which will make it easier for people to get treatment.

Massage Therapist Salary in the Future

If you have ever studied or heard about economics you have probably heard about supply and demand.  The principle is simple: when the demand increase outpaces supply increase, prices will rise.  This is the situation that is happening right now because of that enormous growth noted above.  Looking at the average salary of a massage therapist’s graph, you can see that there is an upward trend, which is expected to continue for the foreseeable future.

Keep in mind that this still includes massage therapists working part time!  Not only are the massage therapist salaries here are only just below the average American salary (41,673.83 in 2010), but if we converted to hourly rates a massage therapist salary would make far more in comparison to most professions.   So in response to how much do massage therapists make it will vary depending on the hours worked, and if you work a lot you will make much more than the average salary.

Types of Jobs for a Massage Therapist

I briefly mentioned before that spas are very popular places for massage therapists to work.  As of 2008, 42% of massage therapists worked in salons or spas, 25% somewhere in the healthcare industry (this covers a wide variety of places), and 33% are self-employed.  This should make it clear that there are several options open to a massage therapist, but which one is best for you?

Salons/Spas:

• Offers the highest massage therapist salary on average
• Lots of clients provided
• Not as flexible as self-employment

Healthcare Industry:

• More job variety available: You wouldn’t necessarily just be a massage therapist, you could get into physical therapy or rehab work, using massage as your main tool or a variety of other related jobs
• You will get to work with a lot of very intelligent people which will benefit your growth, especially if you are new to working
• The average massage therapist salary in this industry is among the lowest, for reasons discussed later

Self-Employed

• The most risky option, but possibly the greatest reward.  If you are extremely motivated and good at what you do you can make a lot of money and have a lot of freedom, however, there is substantially more work you must do
• Must get clients, do bookwork, rent space

Keep in mind that you don’t necessarily have to pick one avenue for your whole career, you can switch your place or type of employment multiple times.

How Much Will YOU Earn As a Massage Therapist

These statistics are nice and all, but they are going to vary depending on a lot of factors, so let’s get into some numbers that will be more applicable to your situation.

While we deal with annual amounts, it is important to make the distinction that most massage therapists will be working on an hourly basis, in reality there isn’t really a salary for massage therapists per say.  Currently the rate that is charged varies anywhere from 30 to 90 dollars, but averages nicely on $60/hour.  Now of this amount a part will be allocated to take care of the miscellaneous tasks, or your employer will take a cut for supplying equipment and clients.  All in all expect to take home approximately $40 an hour while you are working.

The great thing about massage therapy as noted before is the flexibility; in most cases you can work as much or little as you want.  Say you made $40 an hour and only worked 20 hours a week, this would be $40,000 in the year, working roughly half of what most people work for a smaller amount.

Remember that these are average amounts for the most part, if you live in an area that has a higher than usually demand, or your skills are highly developed or specialized, these rates can be even higher, especially if you are self-employed.  A typical plan many massage therapists follow is to start off with an employer to meet people and make contacts while gaining experience and skill, so that when you transition to self-employment you will have clients and can potentially charge more.  In the end though, it’s up to you and what you want to do with your life.

Tips and your Massage Therapist Salary?

The numbers that have been presented thus far have included tips in them.  Depending on where you work however you may or may not get tipped often.  For example, when working in a hospital you are very unlikely to get tipped, but in a spa where people go for vacations or just special occasions tips are much more likely, and are often up to 30% of the billed rate.  The average annual income noted before was an average of all places of employment, so tips help explain why some places pay more as discussed earlier.

So there you have it, all the information you should need to know about a massage therapist salary.  Please refer to the homepage or other articles for more information, or leave a comment below if you still have questions on how much do massage therapists make.

Sources:

1 -http://www.bls.gov

2-http://www.indeed.com

3-http://www.glassdoor.com

What can I expect from a Pregnancy Massage?

Your first prenatal massage will involve you answering a few questions to your therapist such as how far along you are in your pregnancy or any particular allergies that you have. These quick details are important because it will help the massage therapist determine what positions are acceptable and to ensure the absolute safety for your baby.

The main barrier to receiving a pregnancy massage is the inability to lie on your stomach – making it quite difficult to actually receive a nice back rub. If you’ve been pregnant before you know back pain is definitely a problem that can occur with those extra pounds weighing you down.

The therapist, keeping you off your stomach, will gently work the muscles in various positions while keeping in mind that you have a new bundle of joy. You’ll notice the massage is definitely more a relaxation orientated one rather than a deep tissue massage – this prevents any unwanted reflex that could cause cramping or affect the baby.

Specific Pregnancy Massage Technique – Massaging the Perineum

Hopefully your pregnancy education classes have taught you a little about the perineum and its implications in childbirth. This area of the body acts as the “floor” for your pregnancy and is exposed to a lot of stress during giving birth, sometimes being permanently damaged and requiring some minor surgery afterwards to repair it.

Receiving a perineal massage as part of your treatment will actively train the area for childbirth. Granted, this is a very gentle massage but your therapist will help work with you to help you “feel” the perineum so that after birth retraining this area will be much easier.

We recommend that a perineal massage be a compulsory part of your prenatal massage, not an “added extra”.

Good Luck Future Mothers with your Pregnancy Massage

Now you know what to expect (and more importantly aren’t worried about harming your baby), try to find a local credentialed pregnancy masseuse. We’re sure you’ll find it an amazing experience leading up to your pregnancy

The Origins of Shiatsu Massage

Shiatsu massage was first invented by Tokujiro Namikosh to treat his mother’s constant joint aches and pains, which had spread to all joints around her body. Namikosh noticed that by applying a certain amount of pressure and rubbing movement to particular points on his mother’s body that it would alleviate her pain much better than randomly pressing the area. In time he perfected his technique until his mother was able to be fully cured and only needed a massage once a week to maintain her renewed health.

After being inspired to continue his work Namikosh founded multiple schools around Japan to teach his technique. Many are still around till today and have even expanded to many overseas nations – why is probably why you’ve come here to find out about Shiatsu

The Shiatsu Massage Way

It’s best not to have any preconceived notions on Shiatsu because that is not the point of this technique. Training in Shiatsu is as much about preparing the person’s mind and spirit as it is using their hands and body – the practitioner has to want to help their patient first and foremost.

A lot of modern day schools are using a hybrid approach with their Shiatsu massage, incorporating modern day anatomy and physiology principles with the eastern methodology that Shiatsu was founded upon. Keep an open mind when getting a massage done and let their healing touch soothe you.

Generally expect a lot of slow and firm touches with the palms and fingers that work not only on areas of discomfort but those surrounding them as well.

Report back after your Shiatsu Massage

We would leave to hear how it goes for you, just pop a quick comment into the box below and tell us how you felt. If you already get a Shiatsu massage then please leave your comments here too.

Sorry, but what’s “lymph” and why does it need to be massaged?

I’m sure you’re aware that you have veins and arteries that carry blood around your body (at least, I hope you’re aware). While this is an amazing system, it has a limited capacity.  The lymphatic system is a similar series of “pipes” that will carry this extra fluid around your body until it returns to circulation, pretty neat right?

Problems occur when damage to the lymph vessels prevent this blood from returning to circulation. Eventually it’ll collect until the area of damaged lymph vessels becomes swollen with extra fluid and it doesn’t take a genius to know that isn’t good. Possible complications that can occur are increased risk of infection, tissue death and mobility problems.

Previously if a person had lymph problems they would be put on a host of diuretic drugs to excrete as much body water as possible. I don’t even need to describe the negative side effects of that approach. Now that lymphatic drainage has gained attention, this has been the go to treatment for many in the prevention of lymph related problems.

What makes a Lymphatic Massage different to a normal massage?

Well the main difference is in the goals of the massage. Usually a massage’s main purpose is to relax the patient or work out the knots in their muscles. Not with a lymphatic drainage massage – the goal is to assist the drainage of the lymph back into circulation.

What you’ll find is the lymph masseuse will gently massage the lymph (fluid) back towards the torso of the body (lymph vessels get larger as you get closer to the heart). In the case of a centrally located lymph massage (such as after a breast removal) the masseuse will gently spread the lymph to other areas that still have a lymph supply. Over the session there will be a slow and gradual decrease in the built up lymph.

How do I find a massage therapist trained in Lymphatic Massage?

We would recommend finding a person specifically trained in Lymphatic massage. Many massage colleges offer a separate certification for this type of massage as it does involve handling patients with medical problems.

Thanks for taking the time to this article on lymphatic massage and if you have any questions feel free to contact us.

Mood Benefits of Massage

It is indisputable that a well-planned massage improves the mental health of those that experience, but don’t take my word for it, the authors of an article published in the prestigious American Psychologist found the same results (Field 1998). It’s hard to put a finger on exactly why this happens but the authors

This also isn’t some sort of voodoo effect with no scientific backing.  There have been brain chemistry studies noting an increase in “positive” brain chemicals and a decrease in “negative” chemicals (Hernandez-Reif, 2005). So next time you get a good rub down remember it’s not just your muscles that love it but your brain as well.

More Benefits of Massage : Muscle Spasms and Knots

You know those hard points that you constantly needle at during the day, those knots in your muscles that never seem to go away? Those are what we in the industry call “trigger points” and are why we even have a job.   A general definition for a trigger point is quite simple; it’s an area of a muscle that is tight and painful.

It has been proven without a doubt that massage therapy is effective at treating these pesky painful areas – your money is not going to waste. The authors in both these articles noticed, across the board, that massage “increased pain tolerance and lowered reported scores on the pain scale to a statistically significant degree” (Simmons 2002, De Le Penas 2003).

Even the occasional once a month or once every two months massage can have a profound effect on your musculoskeletal system and in turn, your health and well being.

 The Benefits of Massage Therapy are used in Medical Cases

Not only do healthy people get large benefits out of a massage but so do the unhealthy. Generally one will find that the main benefits listed above can be used to treat disorders which greatly affect mood or muscle function – depression, muscle spasms, asthma, cystic fibrosis, cancer etc.

I expect to do more articles on the benefits of massage in the future as new studies become available; there are many claims right now but I’m more interested in the verified benefits, so visit back often!

Sources

Tiffany, Field. " Massage therapy effects." American Psychologist. 53.12 (1998): 1270 - 1281. Print.

Hernandez-Reif, Maria. Miguel, Diego. Schanberg, Saul.“cortisol decreases and serotonin and dopamine 
increase following massage therapy” International Journal of Neuroscience (2005): 115:10, 1397-1413.

Simmons, David. "Understanding effective treatments of myofascial trigger points." Journal of Bodywork and Movement Therapies. 6.2 (2002): 81 - 88. Print.

Fernandez de le Penas, Cesar. Josue, Fernandez. "Manual therapies in myofascial trigger point 
treatment: a systematic review." Journal of Bodywork and Movement Therapies. 9.1 (2003): 27 - 34. Print.

Ironsom, Gail, Tiffany Field, Frank Scafidi, et al. "Massage Therapy is Associated with Enhancement 
of the Immune System." Neurobiology. 84. (1996): 205 - 217.

Vickers, Andrew. "Massage therapy for symptom control: outcome study at a major cancer center."  Journal of Pain and Symptom Management. 28.3 (1998): 244 - 249.

Martinez, Elena. "Children with asthma have improved pulmonary functions after massage therapy." 
Journal of Pediatrics. 132.5 (2006): 854 - 858. Print.

The Area of the Body a Back Massage Should Cover

Just like a restaurant who skimps on the servings, nobody likes a half done back massage. If you’re going to do it right then massage the entire back region starting all the way at the base of the spine and then going up to the neck. Just to be clear this means you’ll be canvassing the entire lower back, middle back, upper back and neck area. Some back massages will include work on the arms/neck, but not necessarily.

Preparing to do a Back Massage

Here are the steps that you need to undertake when getting ready and performing a back massage:

1. Make sure your hands are clean and nails clipped. Nothing annoys a person more than being scratched when they should be soothed
2. Ensure whoever you’re massaging is relaxed. Lay a towel down on a bed, put some music on and dim the lights. If you’re comfortable with the person (if you get what I mean) light some incense and candles for a more romantic mood
3. Whatever oil you use ensure that both you and the client will like it. A quick look on ebay or amazon bring up a huge variety of massage oils that you can purchase
4. Your clothes need to be firm on your body to not constantly rub your client in the wrong way

And now things get interesting…

Performing the Back Massage, Tips and Hints to do it Like a Pro.

Professional masseurs will take a very organized approach to their massage routine rather than jumping from one spot to another. A nice general back massage routine that everyone enjoys can be

1. Start off by warming up the entire back with your hands and some massage oil. Use long yet gentle strokes with your entire palm (hand and fingers) to start getting the person into the mood for relaxation. This also primes the deeper muscle fibres for a firmer touch. You will probably need to do 2-3 different strokes to adequately perform this step (for example, do the neck and upper back in one repeating loop and then the middle and lower back in one repeating loop). Try do this step for at least 10 minutes
2. Now we get into the more intense actions. Rather than using your whole hand over large areas, start fixating on particular regions. Most therapists will begin their back massage at the lower back and finish at the neck. Use the tips of your fingers to start edging deeper into the muscles of the lower back (on either side of the spine – never on the spine). Repeat this process for the lower, middle and upper back and also the neck area.
3. And the final step if your client wants it – begin to really knead into areas that trouble them. Be firm and use your knuckles or elbows (if you use your fingers – be careful as they could slip) to firmly work the area’s that are painful and tight. You can skip this step as some would prefer only to go back to step 1 or a combination of steps 1 and 2
4. Lastly is the cooldown. Go back to step 1 and return to the long and gentle looping massage sweeps that you began with. This will prime the person to return to the real world if they haven’t dozed off already.

Things to Keep in Mind With a Back Massage

It’s hard to go wrong with a back massage but ensure that whoever you’re massaging is not pregnant or has any back problems that could be made worse with a massage. If they complain of significant or spreading pain then stop immediately

You’ve Graduated From Back Massage Academy

Now you know how to give a good massage, get to it. Order that massage oil, light that incense in pronto and have your spouse melt in your hands.