Email: "Massage therapy business, education is booming"
*To:		<--TO Email REQUIRED!
*From:		<--FROM Email REQUIRED!

By ANGELA BURCH, Messenger staff writer

Massage is no longer just an indulgence.

“People are stepping away from looking at it as a luxury,” said JoAnn Wilson, owner of Health-Wise Concepts and licensed massage therapist. “It’s becoming a part of their natural health care. It’s a need now and that’s why I think it’s growing so rapidly.”

According to the American Massage Therapy Association, the profession has grown 25 percent in the last two years.

“More people are becoming aware of massage,” Wilson said. “It’s not about a fad or a trend, it’s an eye-opening need that’s turning about the way we eat, exercise, sleep among other aspects in our lives. It’s the self-care awareness that shows how the simple choices affect our overall wellness.”

Massage therapy has turned to a more therapeutic medical technique.

The benefits to massage not only include the physical aspects such as relaxing muscle tension, increasing circulation and joint flexibility but offers emotional and physiological benefits as well.

“In today’s hectic world, massage therapy can reduce anxiety and mental stress was well as offer mental clarification and a more clear thought process,” Wilson said.

There are four massage therapists on staff at Health-Wise Concepts, 110 N. 12th St. Wilson said her business sees an average of 16 to 20 clients each week.

“Most of our clients are seeking deep tissue massage,” she said. “It’s more of a corrective style of massage where you’re penetrating deep into the muscle layers and breaking up adhesions.”

There is not necessarily one time of year that is sees more demand for massage therapists.

“In the wintertime, you have people who are shoveling snow who strain their muscles, but in the summer, people are obviously more active whether it’s on the water or just doing more activities.”

Professionals agree massage therapy can help people in all walks of life.

Tanya Asklund, an LMT at McColley Chiropractic, 216 S. Eighth St., said people of all ages and lifestyles are coming in. She sees a lot of athletes seeking help with recuperating muscles or loosening up muscles to get ready for an event.

“We don’t have more women than men, or more younger than older,” Asklund said. “It’s just people who have figured out massage can really help them.”

With increased demand for massage therapy by clients, the demand for educating future massage therapists has increased as well.

Kim Burgett, corporate administrator for La’ James International College and an LMT, said although massage therapy has been around for a very long time, the school continues to see increased interest in the program. Every other month the accredited college begins a new massage therapy programs. In the seven La’ James locations throughout Iowa, Illinois and Nebraska, 74 students are enrolled in this massage therapy program. The curriculum focuses heavily on anatomy and physiology, in addition to marketing techniques and public relations courses to help people run a successful business.

“In the last five years, we have seen a huge increase in demand from the public,” Burgett said. “The reason for the increase in demand is that people are seeking alternative ways — rather than medication — of healing themselves.”

Completing the massage therapy program at La’ James is no small feat. The school requires 625 hours of combined classroom and practical training. The state of Iowa requires a minimum of 500 hours to become licensed, Burgett said. The school offers training in massage therapy from the basics to the modern techniques — such as hydrotherapy.

“The hydrotherapy tub uses 172 jets with 72 gallons of water and the hose is able to manipulate the muscle and drain toxins from the body,” she said. “The client has more energy, the muscles will heal faster and it is an overall great massage.”

Burgett said there is not just one single demographic that seeks out the program.

“We’ve seen a lot more students who went to school for athletic training, or are EMTs, are nursing students or people who want to go on to chiropractic programs who are looking to add additional training in this field,” she said. “A lot of people recognize the value of this education and use it as they go further into health and medical fields.”

As far as the future of massage therapy, Burgett said to only watch for it to get brighter.

“The merge is increasing between the medical and cosmetology professions now,” she said. “The merge has already happened on the East and West coasts and is coming to the Midwest. That trend is ‘medispas’ — a one-stop shop — where you can get adjusted, massaged, hydrotubbed, pedicured, get your hair done and Botoxed all in one place.”

Contact Angela Burch at (515) 573-2141 or aburch@messengernews.net

 

Subscribe to Messenger News

Share: