MASSAGE CAREER DEVELOPMENT

THE MASSAGE THERAPIST’S SURVIVAL GUIDE

BY ROBERT GRANTER, MASSAGE THERAPIST

INTRODUCTION Massage therapy is an exciting, rewarding and stimulating profession to be in, every day the evidence-base grows supporting the mental and physical benefits of massage. However many massage practitioners due to the nature of the job, spend a lot of time working predominantly for themselves, leaving them without the support structure provided by a team of colleagues. This can mean it’s hard to develop yourself professionally, it can leave you feeling isolated and motivation can dwindle. The job is also a very physically demanding one which puts you at increased risk of injury which in turn may end up compromising the business that you have worked so hard to develop. The purpose of my book is to try and provide you with some ideas on how to make sure this doesn’t happen to you. In spite of not being a physically imposing stature, I have had a successful career for more than 20 years in soft tissue therapy and during this time I have developed a whole host of techniques for keeping myself motivated, finding ways of developing myself as a professional and most importantly keeping myself happy and healthy. The article below is an extract of the book which has been slightly modified in order to publish as a standalone article and focuses on the reasons why getting therapy from other practitioners can be so positive to your own career.

GET REGULAR THERAPY YOURSELF This is such an important component of your survival that it deserves a great deal of attention. You will benefit so much, in many different ways, if you get a regular treatment from other therapists. Below we discuss some reasons why.

It establishes and reinforces your belief We have mentioned before that having your own dysfunctions resolved by physical therapy will help to reinforce your belief in the effectiveness of that therapy.

It allows you to be exposed to and develop new physical skill competencies There are issues with respect to working within your scope of practice when you see a wide range of other modalities for treatment within, and additional to, massage therapy. You may not be able to legally or morally use some of the modalities used on your condition e.g. joint manipulation. Remember and respect this limitation. But you can still learn and gain competency in a host of new physical treatment

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sportEX is proud to announce that we have teamed up with one of Australia’s most experienced soft tissue practitioners, Rob Granter, to promote a new eBook he has published specifically for soft tissue therapists called the Massage Therapist’s Survival Guide. The book provides practical hands-on advice on how to create a happy, successful and sustainable career in massage therapy. More information on buying the eBook is included at the end of the article.