massage and bodywork professionals

a community of practitioners

Can you complete a Massage Therapy program in four months?

There is a school that will be offering a Massage Therapy program and they told me the program is for 4 months. Has anyone ever heard of or attended a Massage Therapy program that was four months?

Views: 511

Reply to This

Replies to This Discussion

I noticed that you are from Ohio. In the link below are the requirements for an Ohio state massage license. If the school you are talking about meets those requirements, then yes. A four month course will do it.
http://www.massagetherapylicense.org/state/ohio-massage-license.html

Thanks for your reply I recently relocated to Michigan and the requirement is 500 hours. I just had never heard of a Massage Therapy Program being only 4 months. Most are six months to a year long which is why I asked here. With all there is to learn I didn't think it was possible to complete in such a short amount of time. Have you ever heard of Massage Program being that short?
Gordon J. Wallis said:

I noticed that you are from Ohio. In the link below are the requirements for an Ohio state massage license. If the school you are talking about meets those requirements, then yes. A four month course will do it.
http://www.massagetherapylicense.org/state/ohio-massage-license.html
I have. A lot of the schools have evening classes so people can work while they go to school. A shorter school , you may be in class all day, and a few hours on the weekend. Call the school and see if they meet the required hours for your state?

Really? This is the first time I've ever heard of a school having a short Massage Therapy program. The school offers other classes in the health care field and they will be adding Massage Therapy in October. Just wanted to come here to ask if anyone has ever heard of such a short class I was kind of leery about it.  

It would be very easy to find out if they meet your state requirements. Contact your state massage board. And contact the school as well.

I'll definitely look into it would it be ok if I wanted to wear a back brace in class? Sometimes I suffer from back and neck pain. 

Is it your low back and neck?

It's my upper back and neck I think it's a pinched nerve between my shoulder blades because I'm top heavy. But the back brace really helps a lot which is why I hope I'll be able to wear it in school. Of course I know I can't wear it while other students practice on me and getting massages does help. 


Gordon J. Wallis said:

Is it your low back and neck?

Thanks for your reply I'm not really sure if my back issues would be a problem. Being as though I would be getting Massages often from other students. And Massage do seem to help a lot I'll also be seeing a chiropractor. One school offers the Massage Program which is 22 weeks. And another one offers the program which is for an entire year. I would have to pay out of pocket while attending the school that offers it for 22 weeks. Yet it's only $4500 where as the one that offers it for a year is about $11,00  they do offer financially aid and loans. Which I would have to pay back within 6 months of getting certified. And they do offer electives and this school is more known and a lot of people like it. Yet both schools are accredited. 

Pueppi Texas said:

I completed my massage training in 4 months, which included my internship.  That was back when Texas had something in the range of a 350 hour requirement. We were responsible for getting clients for the internship hours, and the other students in my program were not as bent on getting done in as quick of a manner as I was (I got on the phone and called prior student clinic clients), so they ended up taking another two months to complete the internship.  They actually thought I was crazy.  In the end, only one other student from a class of about 7-10 (very small class) took the State Licensure at the same time I did.  Again, that was back when we travelled to Austin to do the State exam, and we also took a practical in Austin.

If your school does allow you to make phone calls to previous clients, then I highly suggest you begin to make calls at least two weeks prior to internship.  I booked out my schedule with 3 clients per day for the first week in clinic, and then 4 per day for the remainder of the time there (with a few days of 5 to get the swing of a full day) ---  this allowed me to get done and get out.

I have also taught Anatomy & Physiology for two different schools which offered an Intensive Massage Therapy program.  

It can be a lot of information but it definitely can be done!  In my opinion if you are up to it (though I am not sure how your back issues will play out), have intent to complete the program and have can retain moderate amounts of information, it makes a lot of sense to do the program this way.   

Melissa, long term, wearing the back brace is counter productive, will allow the muscles affected to weaken, which will increase your back pain, slowly but certainly.  Instead, work to strengthen.  Key point: most of the chores we do in daily life involve anterior muscles, and this creates muscle tonus imbalance; the weaker posterior muscles lack the strength to withstand the forward pull, which forces them to lengthen.  This in turn leads to shoulder / head stooping you may not be aware of till the problem becomes too painful to ignore.  So, instead of wearing a brace, strengthen the weaker, longer posterior muscles.

What exercises? Be inventive. With the spine straight (never rounded at thoracic spine) bend forward at the waist as deeply as you can do without incurring pain, then straighten.  Repeat as many as comfortable, up to 20 repetitions.  For upper back you will need to engage the arms and shoulders.  Google for how-to.  Definitely do begin exercising.  Massage therapy can be a rewarding profession.  But it can be very hard on the bodies of therapists. 

BTW, there is no reason to wait till instructors get around to teaching a modality, if you become curious about a a technique you read about somewhere, take advantage of the internet-- by exercising your curiosity, you can educate yourself; become a fabulous professional massage therapist very quickly.



Melissa Anderson said:

It's my upper back and neck I think it's a pinched nerve between my shoulder blades because I'm top heavy. But the back brace really helps a lot which is why I hope I'll be able to wear it in school. Of course I know I can't wear it while other students practice on me and getting massages does help. 


Gordon J. Wallis said:

Is it your low back and neck?
It very highly unlikely a pinched nerve. Everybody thinks pinched nerves, from doctors to massage therapists to everyone else. It's very likely a trigger point. Www.triggerpoints.net

Melissa Anderson said:

It's my upper back and neck I think it's a pinched nerve between my shoulder blades because I'm top heavy. But the back brace really helps a lot which is why I hope I'll be able to wear it in school. Of course I know I can't wear it while other students practice on me and getting massages does help. 


Gordon J. Wallis said:

Is it your low back and neck?
Melissa , not denying your pain. I didn't mean that. I'm just pretty sure it's from trigger points and not a pinched nerve. Let us know how everything goes.

Reply to Discussion

RSS

© 2024   Created by ABMP.   Powered by

Badges  |  Report an Issue  |  Terms of Service