We all have long days and stressful jobs from time to time, and it can be hard to find a way to relax when we leave the office. However, one excellent way to let worries and stresses disappear is to get massotherapy. A great deal of science and knowledge of how the body works needs to be applied so that the massage is effective, and safe, for the patient. Depending on where an individual lives, they will face varying regulation and rules governing how they can massage, who they can massage and where they can massage. Typically, most will operate under the umbrella of United States use the National Certification Board for Therapeutic Massage and Bodywork’s guidelines to provide a valued service that is becoming increasingly important in our current age of stress. Stress can be a precursor to cancer and heart disease, so it is important that services like massotherapy exist to make everyone feel a bit more relaxed.
Essentially, massotherapy, or massage, is the treatment of the soft body tissues through the manipulation of a person’s body with pressure, tension and motion. The word itself, massage, comes from the French word meaning ‘friction of kneading’, as well as the Arabic word massa, which means ‘to touch, feel, handle’.
In the process of massotherapy, the target tissues in the effort to relieve tension in the body are muscles, tendons, ligaments, skin, joints and other types of tissues and organs, including the gastrointestinal system.
Currently, there are over 90,000 massage therapists operating in the United States, which equates to one masseuse to every 3,333 people.
Typical, massage therapy schools run at about 500 to 1,000 hours in length, and will award either a certificate, diploma or degree. In the United States alone, there are over 1,300 massage therapy school programs that those interested in massotherapy can enroll in to learn everything from anatomy and physiology to first aid and CPR. There are also programs that teach ethical and legal issues related to massage therapy as well as the business side of the industry.
Massage therapy schools offer a great service to the country in that they make sure those who perform massotherapy on someone’s body, are full qualified to do so. Typically, most states in the United States use the National Certification Board for Therapeutic Massage and Bodywork’s certification program as a basis for awarding licenses to massotherapy clinics and businesses.
Once an individual is qualified to practice massotherapy, they will be able to either open up their own massage clinic, or join one that already exists in this area. Depending on how regulated the industry is in their community, some forbid opposite sex massages, they will be able to operate under the usual guidelines that govern ethics and legality. However, typically, only ten to 20 percent of all communities regulate massages to a large degree beyond requiring masseuses to be certified.
Source: http://www.ArticlePros.com/author.php?Brinda Whitman
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