One of the reasons becoming a massage therapist in 1985 became attractive to me was that the practicing therapists I met had been doing massage for a decade or more and were earning a comfortable living, doing what they loved. The schools in those days were mostly run by master therapists passing on the Lineage.

In 1980, Jack Meagher coined the term “Sports Massage” and it was becoming the “First Wave” of modern massage. Jack was a veteran YMCA therapist, a now lost cadre of Master Therapists; very well trained and knowledgeable, who had long, well-paying careers. Sports Massage elevated the profession, bringing a clinical perspective to the forefront. It became the primary promotional vehicle for bringing massage into the consciousness of the public and the media. Sadly, it started a very bad habit of giving massage away for free, which has gone far beyond its initial useful purpose. Now we give massage away to people who used to pay for it, who then just wait until the next freebie comes around. It cheapens our brand and does not earn us any respect among other professionals. I’m not against charity or helping the needy. I am saying we’ve been relying too long on a promotional strategy of giving away a valuable service and it is no longer serving a productive purpose. At public events, other professions represent their services with educational strategies that produce patients, like posture analysis and assessments that lead to appointments. We need a more productive marketing strategy; but then, do we have enough therapists trained to be able to do effective marketing presentations? Maybe the best we can do is give away free samples. Sad, if that’s the case, isn’t it? Its time to raise the hands-on competency and marketing skills of incoming therapists. That will require teacher standards. We are going to have to have a consistent deliverable if our brand is going to be accepted by the healthcare professions. Research can prove massage reduces back pain, but if the typical therapists cannot duplicate the research results it will quickly discredit us.

The next technique wave hit in 1987, when Paul St. John broke into the national massage education consciousness presenting a system he called Neuromuscular Therapy (NMT). It taught detailed anatomy, very precise palpation, positioning, and applied neurological laws. Properly applied, the outcomes were miraculous. St. John introduced teaching methods that elevated the profession and improved massage education delivery. NMT expanded the potential vision for clinical massage and trained therapists in knowledge of conditions and adjunct wellness concepts that made their services unique and valuable. The therapists who studied NMT in the 1980’s & 90’s commonly had long, successful careers. Most are now in their retirement years, having made a good living over several decades. What did they learn that enabled them to be successful for so long? What did the YMCA therapists know that supported them through decades long careers? They knew how to get people out of pain without hurting themselves.

Now, average career life has become 3- 5 years. Why? Therapists are struggling financially while the public demand for massage is increasing exponentially. We have thousands of openings and no one to fill them, or even in the school pipeline. If a profession has lots of openings and no one wants to fill them, it means it has become perceived as a lousy job.  Our profession has lost its attractiveness. What did those early therapists learn that is not being taught today? I can tell you they had a much broader vision of massage than just learning a relaxation routine and a crash course to pass the MBLEx. They learned anatomy, posture, gait and movement, body-mechanics, and marketing. They viewed massage as a profession, not a trade. A massage was a creative endeavor between patient and therapist, to bring about not just relaxation, but a reduction of symptoms and causes, facilitating patients moving toward wellness. They had a sense of purpose, professionalism, and self-esteem. They got results, results beyond relaxation. They didn’t get burned out giving the same routine over and over. Every massage was different, based on what the patient presented that day. They made a comfortable living because their service was valuable and patients were willing to pay for it.

In 2015, the next technique “Wave” started and it is now rising rapidly. Finally, a better way to combine pain relief with relaxation (the parasympathetic response) has been developed and is being taught internationally by 12 instructors. Developed by Lawrence Woods, a therapist from Indianapolis, it is called Neural Reset Therapy® (NRT). Check it out at http://www.neuralreset.net.

Many traditional pain relief techniques are very hard on the therapist’s body and not all that pleasant to receive. Even if done at “hurts so good” levels, it still hurts. Pain elicits the sympathetic and endorphin responses; not all that beneficial for healing or relaxation. At last there is a system that is quick and easy to learn, based on scientific principles (anatomy, kinesiology, neurology and physiology) that quickly reduces pain - usually by 80% or more in the first session - is pain free to receive, and very easy on the therapist’s body to perform.

The days of massage sold by pounds of pressure are ending. The nervous system responds better to lighter stimuli that activates mechanoreceptors and elicits inhibition. This approach is much faster and more effective in reducing pain and eliciting the parasympathetic response (relaxation) than triggering nociceptors (pain-receptors) and eliciting endorphin highs. This next wave will again teach therapists to get results, prolong their careers, increase their incomes, and has the potential to bring about a renaissance in our profession. Catch this Wave.

I’ll be back in the April issue and again in October. This will be my last year teaching continuing education on the road. This time for sure. So, if you want to study with me, catch one of the eight presentations I’ll be doing in 2020. BE WELL and have a wonderful winter.