Friday, May 14, 2010

What are the physical requirements for a massage therapist?

Hi, I am thinking about pursuing the career of a massage therapist. However, I am still learning about what the career entails in all aspects, but I have a specific question regarding the physical requirements of a job. What are those? Must you be a certain height, weight, etc.? This is a funny question, but what about the size of your hands? Any information regarding this question and the career of a massage therapist, in general, would be greatly appreciated! = )What are the physical requirements for a massage therapist?
There are no height or weight requirements that I am aware of associated with massage therapy. Also, hand size is not an issue that I'm aware of. I will tell you that most massage therapy schools, your nails must be neat and trimmed and you must maintain a professional appearance while in school.





Word to the wise: Be very careful as to which Massage Therapy program you attend, some are rip offs! Good luck!What are the physical requirements for a massage therapist?
I have been a Massage Therapist for 12 years now. I also helped write the curriculum for a Massage Therapy Certification Program at a local trade school and served as Program Supervisor and Instructor.








Please, Please take the advice of a previous poster and research all your training options carefully, cross reference with your State's licensing requirements, check out ones that may qualify for pell grants vs. student loans or in-house financing, and see how they run their student clinic.... when do they start you in it, how much do they make you do in one day?





I know Massage Therapists of all shapes, sizes and gender... including one that is blind.





I will add that clients can often tell when you don't love your job,


so check yourself to see if you can wrap your spirit around the emotional or psychological side of the profession as well.





It is very important to take care of yourself and build up your stamina for working as a Massage Therapist. I have seen newbies go out and try to do insurance work or rehab all day and make that $60-80,000 in the first years and just burn out and injure themselves to the point of not be able to do much massage at all.





I took it slow like I was taught and it has now been 12 great years....


I work at a Medical Day Spa and love the flexibility of scheduling, relaxed atmosphere, a little exercise for me and decent money.
I am a practicing licensed massage therapist and to my knowledge there are no physical requirements anywhere to become one. In fact, I believe it would be discrimination. Should you have some physical attributes? Yes, You should have good stamina and relatively healthy lifestyle habits. As a provider in the health care field; it's important to ';walk your talk'; as well as have the physical ability to do bodywork.





As for the size of your hands; it doesn't matter. As you learn to work smarter doing massage, you find that you include the use of forearms and elbows too, which lessens the potential strain on hands and fingers.

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