Massage Therapy in
Modern Medicine: Why Not?
visited British Columbia — again — last September to cover a story about
“edgework” in physiotherapist Cory Blickenstaff's class and checked out a few
massage clinics to see what they are like over there. Not only was I impressed with the way those clinics operated, they also adopted a multi-disciplinary approach, incorporating physiotherapy, exercise, and other manual therapies.
Registered massage therapists in most parts of Canada are a part of their national healthcare system, and the leadership in British Columbia (RMTBC) embraces a science-based approach to move the profession forward into the 21st century. If they can do it, could we do the same in the U.S.?
Are American massage therapists ready to become true healthcare professionals? If not, what does it take to become so?
This issue focuses on some of the problems we have in the U.S. regarding both massage education and legalities that American therapists have to hurdle before moving on as healthcare professionals. It is a tough topic to tackle, and we aren’t able to address everything in detail. BUT we are planting ideas to make American massage therapy to be a better client- or patient-based practice.
Sincerely,
Nick Ng, BA, CMT
Founder of Massage & Fitness Magazine
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