what are the differences between medical ,clinical and sports massage therapy?

by JBJon

Question by Tom: what are the differences between medical ,clinical and sports massage therapy?
i want to become a massage therapist and ive looked at massage therapy programs and most say they teach u a little of all three types and i think i have to choose one to follow through with as a “major” for lack of a better term. what im curious to know is : what is the difference in the three “majors” ? forinstance is there a difference in work invironment? and what a massage therapist would do in each of those catagories.

Best answer:

Answer by Holloway Pt
Do not let the names confuse you as the names (medical and clinical) were only given to raise the standard or presumed standard of massage to a medical level and in turn be held at a higher regard by others.
Being a Sports Massause myself i know in depth how to treat injuries by manipulation and varying other massage techniques superficially and deep into the muscles. This caters for the majority of the population.
Those who take on and try and treat people with more structural problems such as sciatica should really liase with other professions (physiotherapist/doctors etc) to compliment treatments rather than stating you are a ‘medical masseuse,’ and trying to deal with the entire problem. Firstly because they are not specifically qualified (not like a doctor or physio etc) in that area and secondly if you treat an ailment wrong you have no fall back, and will probably get into alot of trouble as your medical massage qualification is not suitable to independently deal with these problems.

My best advice would be to specifically look at Sports Massage as there is a massive market for that. You gain a good indepth knowledge of the body and are able to administer relaxation massage as well as more aggressive massage strokes to deal with injuries (ligaments, tendons and muscles) and other muscular problems.

Liase with other health care professionals and build up strong relationships. Your clients will appreciate the expert advice and more importantly will have confidence in that you know what you are doing and will be able to solve, aid or refer, to fix what ever problem they come to you with. Remember referals work both ways and as soon as other Health care professionals gain confidence in you, referals will start to come to you as you would have built up a strong trusting relationship.

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