* The CMTA( Canadian Massage Therapy Alliance), a nationwide organization established in 1991, has been hard at work in trying to make massage therapy a key component of the Canadian healthcare system. Their goals in the next years include advancing the massage therapy profession in the area, encouraging the regulation of the practice and collaborating with more industry partners to make it available, affordable and accessible to Canadians suffering from a range of conditions. In order to do so, however, there is a need for a clear distinction between a registered massage therapist and an individual who performs massage techniques without having the proper, required training to do so.
* In Ontario for instance, this therapy is deemed to be a regulated health profession and requires professionals to be registered with the body who oversees professionals and establishes guidelines and best practices. As opposed to someone who followed a month long course or even worse, did not follow any sort of training at all, a registered massage therapist has to have successfully completed at least 150 hours of clinical hours, a competency-based curricula at a Government accredited institution which includes studying anatomy, pathology, neurology and more, and participate in continuous education and skill honing.