Massage Therapy for Pain Management

Most lifestyles lead people to spend a great deal of their hours sitting. As a result, it has become common for individuals to complain about lower back pain. Thankfully, you can seek professional help from well-trained massage therapists. Besides that, what if you want to become a professional in this field? The obvious answer to that is that you will need specialized training, which will enable you to know how to handle muscles and soft tissues to ensure your clients relax and have improved health.

How Can Massage Therapy Help in Pain Management?

Based on different reports, it is clear that massage has a big role in pain management. Actually, the procedure has proved effective in providing long-lasting relief to problems like low back pain. Another area that has attracted the need for massage therapy in pain management is in cancer centers. When cancer patients receive therapeutic massage, they tend to relax as the process reduces the pain intensity.

Professional massage therapists can also opt for muscle-specific massage therapy. This approach best suits patients suffering from headaches. This method works by relaxing head muscles hence reducing chronic tension headaches. It is also worth noting that pain can result from multiple incisions on the body. Through massage, therapists apply their skills in attending to the affected patients. In other cases, reports have shown that the need for medication drastically reduces when using massage therapy during pain management.

The Benefits of Pursuing a Degree in Massage Therapy

As an individual who just enrolled or want to enroll for a massage therapy degree, rest assured that the training will be beneficial. Just like in other professions, qualified individuals always have the upper hand in many aspects. Some of the common aspects include having higher chances of getting employed or appealing to clients as a trusted professional.

Pursuing a massage therapy degree will also expose one to the different specialties that exist within it. The availability of such specialization areas will further give an individual the chance to focus on one area and become exceptionally good at it. Examples of the specialization areas include sports massage, acupressure, deep-tissue, and orthopedic.

Armed with such specific techniques and skills, a person who has pursued the degree under discussion can go ahead and become experts through much practice and experience. In the next few years, there is a projected increase in the need for massage therapists. Several factors lead the Bureau of Labor Statistics to project a 22% increase in the field between 2014 and 2024.

Things to Know Before Pursuing Massage Therapy Degree

What you would do after completing your degree depends on your mindset and goals. That is, you could decide to work for an employer or go the self-employment route. The employment environment will expose you to places like hospitals and spas. Despite the options in where one can work, you will always have to observe the existing principals, professional integrity, and safe practices.

Established and recognized institutions that offer massage therapy degree emphasize on various key aspects during the training period. Students have to learn about the science and art of therapy. That is not all. Students should also be prepared to learn about business practices to be better placed for success in the real world.

You should also know that an externship will be part of the training to give students the chance to apply their skills in practical situations. After completing all the training steps, the other two important things that graduates have to consider are:

• Take the National Certification Exam after applying to the National Certification Board for Therapeutic Massage and Bodywork (NCBTMB)
• Get a license from the North Carolina Board of Massage & Bodywork Therapy

Career Outlook

Immediately after completing a massage therapy degree program, you should focus on acquiring the necessary experience. As you try to find entry-level employment opportunities, the most common areas you should consider include:

• Wellness Centers
• Spas
• Professional Sports Teams
• Private Practice
• Fitness Institutions
• Healthcare environments like rehabilitation centers, pain management centers, and physical therapists’ offices.

Are you interested in helping people manage their pain through massage therapy? If you would like to learn more about earning an Associate of Applied Science in Massage Therapy, feel free to contact an ECPI University admissions advisor. With ECPI University's accelerated schedule and year-round classes, you could find yourself earning your degree sooner and graduating faster. Don't hesitate, contact an admissions advisor today!

It could be the Best Decision You Ever Make!

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Gainful Employment Information – Massage Therapy - Associate’s

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