Massage Therapy Body of Knowledge

Comment

Comment by Keith Eric Grant on October 23, 2009 at 8:44am

By the way, to add to Kim Goral's note, Chis Moyer is both the research editor of the International Journal of Therapeutic Massage & Bodywork (IJTMB) and a regular author. In my own estimation, having such a peer-reviewed journal is both a necessary step and likely the most effective means of obtaining greater health care system credibility. the dismissive statements I've seen on some parts are about as inappropriate as you can get -- period. I second Kim's statement on Chris's ongoing contributions to the massage profession.If you want massage to have credibility as a profession, start acting like professionals and showing professional civility and respect.

Comment by Keith Eric Grant on October 23, 2009 at 8:24am

Don and Bert,

By synchronicity, I commented on Canadian regulation yesterday in a thread on massage regulation started by Ivy Hultquist. That included links to the page with links to the BC competency profile and profile review, a review of regulation/deregulation done for Ontario's HPRAC, and a September 2009 Fraser Institute report on regulation/over-regulation of CAM substances and practices. I'll also note that the Canadian regulation is in the form of title acts specific to inclusion in the Canadian health care system and, as noted in my other post, both Ontario and BC use quite short centralized lists of "reserved acts" not including massage practices.

On the positive note, the BC competency profiles includes a list of specific competencies including competencies in the presence of co-morbidites. On the flip side of that, they don't have granularity, i.e. the concept of specialties -- it's all or nothing. As I've noted previously, technology is changing competency management to a more granular approach involving specific job descriptions and individual competency profile management and learning gap analysis (see MedBiquitous. The massage industry is behind the times in awareness of these developments. Part of the purpose of the guidelines paper that I co-authored was to bring awareness of such larger world efforts into the massage literature so that we could share a common background and awareness on which to base further discussions. In orther words, the Best Practices Committee deliberately made the paper a review paper as well as describing our own on going work on creating a process for massage therapy guidelines. We also reference another Fraser Institute report on the use of CAM practices in Canada.

Comment by Bert Davich on October 23, 2009 at 7:24am

Hello Don,
Thank you for your input. I would like to second Stephen's question.

I also understand that there is an ongoing debate in Canada regarding the entry level requirements that vary drastically from one province to another, as well as introduction of "practice" level requirements in those provinces that do have the 3000 hour requirement to allow Therapist's to practice basic Swedish to with a lower educational requirement.

Could you provide some sources to follow this debate for this group so we can see what the current picture is in Canada regarding educational (and continuing education) requirements.

I am aware of some of the great work that has come from Canada and early in my career I began using a Canadian Clinical Massage Therapy manual and have studied Doug Alexander's brilliant work. I'm just not sure that this level of requirement would be beneficial.

Thanks again for your input

Comment by Gloria Coppola on October 23, 2009 at 5:35am

Thank you Keith, I was not speaking of this Federation of alliance for massage therapy.. I get emails and invites for all separate people trying to start an alliance for something rather than joining forces.

I appreciate your input and knowledge.

I am excited to to know and hear that a structure is being formed to obtain a higher level of standards and professionalism.

I would love to see us all come together and advance our industry. Thank you!

Thank you Darcy and all the others that have emailed me with support. Please take your opportunity to share your ideas and comments here too.

Comment by Stephen Jeffrey on October 23, 2009 at 5:24am

Hi Don, why so many regulations in canada? what was the evidence of harm done by canadian massage therapists prior to 1948/63 introduction.What does it cost the MT re insurance,licencing ect in Canada (sorry for going off topic)

Comment by Don Solomon on October 23, 2009 at 2:07am

Dear Group
It is great to hear that there is such a strong movment toward unifying standards. In British Columbia, Canada we have be a regulated health care profession since 1948 and an active component of our socialized health care program since 1963. Currently the BC standard is 3000 hours in 3 years. Over the years we have done extensive work in core curriculum development, bilaw and minimum standards. I would strongly suggest that you contact our regulatory body The College of Massage Therapists' of British Columbia (CMTBC) www.cmtbc.bc.ca and see if they could help. Why re-invent the wheel!! The registrar, Doug McRae is very helpful (and knowledgeable). PLease let me know if I can help facilitate contact in any way...
Your truly,
Don Solomon, RMT (Vancouver, BC, Canada)

Comment by Darcy Neibaur on October 23, 2009 at 1:33am

Thank you Gloria for your comments. I support you 100% I have read most of the comments here and also almost all of the first draft of the document.

Comment by Keith Eric Grant on October 22, 2009 at 9:45pm

A few comments on Gloria's question on why we need to start new alliances.

With the FSMTB it consolidates discussion of requirements and competencies among the state agencies that have both the right and the undelegatable responsibility. It, by the 1889 decision of Dent v. West Virginia a right of the states to restrain commerce, otherwise protected by the 14th amendment, to protect the public from harms of incompetence and mal feasance. The state actions are immune from anti-trust laws as long as the restrictions 1) serve a clearly defined state purpose and 2) the state is actively involved in review and decision making. In other words, a state can hire a private agency to implement it's will, but it cannot, according to Midcal Aluminum v. Wine Growers of California, delegate decision making responsibility for licensing. The concerns don't apply to voluntary certification.

The new Alliance for Massage Therapy Education creates a forum for discussion of massage education independent of any particular member organization. With the advent of the Alliance, the former AMTA Council of Schools went out of existence. ABMP has also had it's own set of school meetings and discussions, which I suspect will get folded into the new alliance.

In both cases, it is a sign of the structure of the profession evolving and maturing. The other aspect of this is having more clout, by having single groups rather than smaller multiple groups advocating in their respective arenas.

Comment by Mike Hinkle on October 22, 2009 at 8:59pm

Hi Kim,

If you started now, you would not come close getting it all beore you pass! Very little over all has been done. You have the Massage Therapy Foundation that may help or guide you as well. The Touch Institute has been at it a while and they say they are only beginning.

You could start with modalities and their affects. You could spend a lifetime studying energy work and it's cause and effects. You could study clients or therapists. Which modalities overlap. Time differences with each modality. Some folks say more than an hour and a half is a waste. Is it true? I did a four hour that people loved. What about pressure? How many Pounds per square in /per modality. Temperature effects. Modalities with specific drugs and conditions.

Or better yet, what studied, will appease those opposing the BOK.

I would think therapists might taint the pool, so I will leave it in your capable hands.

My point is:

100 years ago - the Medical Profession was quakery. Today, it is the most powerful Association in the country. The AMA is considered beyond approach.

The Massage Profession is 5,000 years old, but has had little research and is still trying to gain healthcare status.

We can't go dig dead people up and take them into a University in the middle of the night to study them as the medical industry did. We need live folks. Schools could help in these efforts as they will directly gain from the results.

I wish you well in your efforts and will help as I can, just holler!

Comment by Kim Goral on October 22, 2009 at 8:21pm

I have feedback for the MTBOK, and I was at the meeting in Orlando and voiced it then. I think overall it is very well written and agree with a lot of it. The part I was particularly interested in and excited to see was the part about research and research literacy, and also how MT can relate to psychology and psychophysiology. I think reseearch is important to push our profession further and become more widely accepted (see my blog for a longer version of this rant!).

I am a massage therapist, and I am currently earning my Master's degree in Applied Psychology and also learning how to conduct research in massage therapy. I am loving it and learning a lot.

FWIW, I'm at the Univ. of Wisconsin-Stout and moved here from Massachusetts to work with Chris Moyer who is a great contributor to our profession. I read the discussion below and the disagreeing views, and I myself am unconvinced on either side and therefore at this time am not interested in trying to sway one group or the other, but I will say that Chris IS on our side and doing his best to help promote massage therapy.

Mike- I saw in on of your posts that you say research is behind and needs to catch up. As a budding researcher myself, I'm curious what you (and others!) would like to see done as far as research and massage therapy. Are there any particular ideas that you have? I realize this question is probably more appropriate for a new topic/thread, but I just thought I'd ask real quick since it came up.

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