Soma Massage Blog

Medicine Massage Therapist

Day in the Life of a Integrative Medicine Massage Therapist

Massage Magazine recently profiled UCSF Osher Center for Integrative Medicine’s full-time massage therapist, Marcia Degelman. Integrative medicine addresses patients from a whole-person perspective, rather than individual, separate parts. Cancer patients, trauma survivors, and even infants in the intensive care unit have all benefited from Integrative Medicine—and in particular, from massage therapy.

According to the National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health, integrative medicine is growing significantly in the United States. Therapies included in this growing field are homeopathy, yoga, meditation, and massage therapy, among others.

On a typical day, Degelman sees several patients suffering from varying illnesses. She uses a range of techniques from deep tissue to light touch depending on the patient’s specific circumstance. “I see all kinds of patients, from 90-year-olds who are having their first massage ever to doctors with pancreatic cancer to people with fibromyalgia, MS, scoliosis,” said Degelman,

The Osher Center conducted studies with patients undergoing a variety of treatments, from cancer related surgery to marrow transplantation, and found that the patients who received massage therapy as part of their integrative medicine had less pain and depression, and found relief from stress and anxiety. “We believe that massage can bring patients out of their worried minds into a more relaxed body, where they feel they have—and can tap into—resources in their body to help its healing process.”

Student loan debt or a rewarding career? You decide.

Which of these scenarios would you prefer?

1. You've struggled for four years to earn a college degree only to find there are no jobs applicable to that degree. But doesn't a degree in Communications apply to everyone? And isn't Anthropology everywhere? Perhaps, but not in the want ads. On top of that, you now have to start paying back those student loans, and let's generously call that a soul-crushing debt. So now you're living in your parent's basement, because your old room is now a yoga studio/knitting den, you have no money, no job, and just to make this the perfect country song, your girlfriend left you for your best friend.

Or, how about this:

2. You've gotten a degree from a certified training program, and after graduating in a mere 11 months, you find that there are good paying jobs just waiting for you to fill them. You've got your own apartment, your friends are all jealous, and now your best friend's girlfriend is leaving him for you!

Simply Hired has recently compiled a list of the Top Ten Best Jobs you can get without a college degree. Not surprisingly to us, Massage is number seven on that list.

Massage Fights Heart Disease

Top 3 Risk Factors for Heart Disease

February is recognized as American Heart Month—a time to recognize heart disease as the number one killer among Americans.  The American Heart Association has published the top 3 risk factors for the disease and what you can do to minimize your risk:

1. High Cholesterol
2. High Blood Pressure
3. Inactivity

There are many way to manage your risks, including a healthy diet, more activity, and massage therapy.  Recent research suggests that including massage therapy into your exercise routine is beneficial to heart health.  The Buck Institute for Research on Aging conducted a study in 2012 that says massage therapy reduces inflammation of skeletal muscle acutely damaged through exercise. Evidence suggests that massage affects inflammation in a similar way anti-inflammatory medications do.

If you’ve ever considered a career in massage therapy, now is a great time to look into it. With more people turning to alternative methods of care, massage therapy is becoming more and more mainstream. Massage therapists are in the unique position of being able to help patients with a myriad of health issues through natural methods—reducing medical costs and trips to the doctor.

If you’d like more information about a career in massage therapy and The Soma Institute’s Clinical Massage Therapy Program, give us a call at 1-800-694-5314.

Sports Massage and Mental Focus

Sports Massage: Focusing on The Task At Hand
There are many theories as to why athletes seem to have improved performances and faster recovery times after receiving massage. Unfortunately we’re still lacking in evidence. Nobody really knows the physical mechanisms that occur when we lay hands on an athlete. Are we improving their circulation, allowing for more oxygen-rich blood chock full of nutrients to reach starved muscles? Are we reducing edema and thereby speeding up recovery following an injury? Are we, with the use of proper stretching, resetting the muscles to their correct lengths for proper functioning?

We’ll give you a solid maybe on all of those.

We’d like to propose that those may not even be the most important things that sports massage can accomplish.

We’d like to propose, in fact, that the mental stimulation given to athletes pre-event can be monumentally more profound than any actual compressions or stretches.

Sound a little new age-y to you? Well, we’ll give you a solid maybe on that, too.

But consider this, during your activities of daily living, when do you perform your best? Let’s use your commute to work as an example. You’re in your car, stuck in traffic, and you need to be at work ten minutes ago. The left lane is going to end soon, and everyone knows that, but for some reason people keep zipping past you, like they didn’t know two miles ago this lane was going to end, like they don’t know what taking cuts means. You’re listening to the news, and it’s not good news, it’s never good news. You could have made that light, but someone on a bicycle cut you off, even though bicycles are vehicles and need to obey all the same laws as you do. And now you’re not in time for the early-bird parking so it’s going to cost you an extra ten bucks just to go to work. You’re already worked up into an angry frothy lather and you haven’t even gotten to your desk yet. Do you think you’re going to be performing at your peak the rest of the morning? Or will you be dwelling on all the insignificant incidences that got in the way of your commute?

Now consider this alternate commute option. What if you had your morning cup of coffee, said goodbye to your loved ones, walked out your front door, and then stepped into a helicopter that would fly you over top of all the traffic? What if the entire ride (which would be considerably shorter than driving, of course) you didn’t listen to the depressing news, but the pilot had just received his copy of Eighties Power Ballads, and you blared that the entire flight? You could see the congestion below, but it no longer affects you, and you find yourself smiling at the banality of it all. You arrive at work with a skip in your step and a song in your heart. Won’t you be more productive if you arrive to work that way?

We don’t offer this as an actual alternative to your morning commute (although, how rad would that be?). We offer this as a metaphor. We believe a pre-event sports massage can be that helicopter ride. Many athletes will tell you that “being in the zone” is just as important, if not more important, than being physically ready for an event. If you’re busy worrying about the economy or some little argument you had with your wife that morning, then your head is not in the game and it will affect your performance. But if you can push all of that nonsense out of your thoughts, if you can concentrate on the task at hand, and if not only are you thinking you’re a big winner but you have a therapist who is telling you that you are a big winner, then that’s going to make a huge impact on your performance.

Sports massage, at its essence, is a way for athletes to reconnect with their bodies, to put aside all other worries, and simply focus on being their best. Whether any actual physical benefits come from massage is yet to be proven (but it will be proven), but it is very clear to anyone who has ever played a sport, run a race, or even just played darts in a bar, that if your mind is distracted, you will not be as competitive. Sports massage is a wonderful way to bring your focus back to the task at hand.

Jason VonGerichten – Instructor

“I love working with students who come from all walks of life, and I love that they have come together with one common goal: to learn how to make a profound impact on the lives of others. I very much believe that only Soma can fully prepare them for that. Here at Soma we delve deeply into the methods needed to work in a clinical setting, where real change can take place. We also teach students how to use their clinical tools and techniques in a therapeutic setting, where change can take place, too. I’m very happy to be a part of this process, and I hope whatever positive influence I have over my students gets paid forward in some small way, from me to my students to their clients and onward.”

Careers in Massage Therapy

Future of Massage Therapy

Massage therapists use touch to treat their clients’ bodies, manipulating soft-tissue to relieve pain, improve circulation, increase relaxation, rehabilitate injuries, and aid in the overall wellness of their clients. Although it was originally considered a luxury for wealthier clients, massage therapy has more recently evolved into the mainstream and is increasingly associated with the healthcare industry. More and more healthcare professionals recognize the benefits of massage as these services become part of medical practitioners’ treatment plans.

In recognition, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics projects massage therapy employment will grow 23 percent from 2012 to 2022—adding close to 30,000 more professionals to this field, more than any other occupational growth. A participating factor in this jump in demand is the baby-boom generation who seek massage as a way to maintain their health as they age. In addition, sports teams and athletes are relying on massage therapy to help rehabilitate injuries and reduce pain. Lastly, the inception of the massage franchise has made massage more affordable and mainstream, opening services to a wider range of customers.

Working Environments & Opportunities: Massage therapists work in a variety of settings

With the increasing demand for massage services, massage therapists have more career options than ever. Besides working in traditional spas & resorts—who offer massage as a form of comfort and relaxation, massage practitioners are now transitioning into private practice. In 2012, 46 percent of massage therapists were self-employed, either traveling to clients’ homes or offices, or opening their own offices. In addition, sports teams and fitness centers are relying on massage therapy to treat their clients.

Expected Pay & Education Required

Massage therapy certification and educational programs usually include classroom and hands-on practice of massage techniques. Depending on the state requirements, educational programs require anywhere from 500 to 1,000 hours to complete certification. Most programs train students through clinical applications of massage techniques, including: hydrotherapy, sports massage, trigger point therapy and lymphatic drainage. Some programs also offer industry support or job placement. In 2012, the average massage therapist could expect to make $35,970 per year working part-time, or about $17.29 per hour.