Why do we need licensing for massage therapists?
There are really only three reasons:
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- To protect our clients.
- To protect our profession.
- To protect ourselves.
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| It’s as simple as that! |
Protecting our Clients
Why would our clients need protecting from a massage? Nobody’s going to get hurt receiving a massage, right?
A quick use of my devastatingly average Google skills proves otherwise. Nerve damage, hematoma, stent displacement, even hearing loss. Not to mention the bruising, transmission of disease, or plain overwork one might be more likely to expect. Certainly, licensed massage therapists can cause accidental physical harm to clients as well, but an education that requires injury and disease prevention as part of an extensive curriculum, plus a sufficient knowledge of the human body to anticipate other possible contraindications can go a long way towards minimizing these incidents.