Nurse Massage Therapy

[nurseyperson]

Hello! This new forum is for anyone interested in massage, nursing and the combination. I am an RN working mostly ICU, Neo ICU and ER (all prn), a former

travel nurse and wife and Mom. I am currently taking classes for Medical Massage Therapy. Anyone who is a massage therapist, nurse interested in it, or wanting information to benefit you patients is invited to post.

There are different types of massage therapy. There is the mostly widely known Swedish massage with oils. The kind I do is with clothes on, no oils and is medially based. It is a combination of trigger point therapy, neuromuscular reeducation, myofascial release, soft tissue mobilization, manual lymph drainage, acupressure, to name a few aspects of it. Add in nutritional support, and a nurse's knowledge and common sense and I can help most people in some way or another. The whole idea is to balance the systems and regions of the body, especially effective with neuromuscularskeletal dysfunctions. I use the GUT Method, which was developed by Elena Goetzel after years of "putting it all together". Very interesting!!! and effective!!

So.... let's talk!!!

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nurseyperson

[jazzy163]

Hi! I have a license in massage. Although, I too incorporate massages to preemies/infants that I take care of, I really want to be able to do my own business. What do you mean by GUT?

Thanks,

Jazzy

[myga]

Hello nurseyperson, I am the president of the National Association of Nurse Massage therapists and would like to let you and other nurses and massage therapists be aware that there are many others practicing this recognized nursing specialty. At present, we are working to receive a grant from the ANA and the Hartford Foundation to educate fellow nurse massage therapists on the skills to assess and treat geriatric patients. Our January conference will bring together nurse massage therapists to educate NMT's in this subspecialty. I would love to hear the ideas and experiences you have had. SpencerRN,LMT

I have a question on nurse massage therapy for the state of California.

First, i went to the website it states that this field is recognized nursing specialty, so my question. is it within a scope of nursing practice in California? The reason I am asking is that in California in general, massage therapy is not regulated and it is left to each city and town to regulate and enforce their own so called massage ordinance. In some cities, if you are a RN you do not need the police permission to practice, while other towns/cities they require you even as an RN to go through humiliating experience of getting a massage permit to practice. So the nurse practice act is regulated at the state level, while massage therapy is regulated at city and town level. I know that the AMTA (american massage therapy assoc.) are working on a bill which is in state legislature regarding statewide regulation of massage. So my next question is, are there nurses who are in NANMT who are aware or working with AMTA to address this issues? As a president of NANMT, you might be interested to know about this because it does affect RN(registered nurses) who might think they are licensed to practice nursing massage as part of nursing scope of practice at the state level but they may get in trouble practicing in town and city level.

According to the bill presently in the legislature, one component of the bill addresses the issue of massage therapy regulation at statewide and how it will be enforced or regulated(non-regulated) at cities and towns. AMTA wants regulation of massage similar to other health professions.

Problem with current massage therapy is the way each cities and towns set up to regulate this field. In a city of campbell, california, it will cost you

close to $700 annually to have your massage establishment permit and a massage permit. You will also required to do live-scan, take a test in anatomy and physiology, obtain 300 hours, and have this ridiculous health exam that states that you do not have STDs. Note in the eyes of police who are enforcing this, massage therapy is still considered sex entertainment industry. On top of that, police can come in inspect your clients/patients records. Even if you are nurse(RN), coming into town will require you to go this process like any other massage therapists. The chiropractors, medical doctors and licenses PT DO NOT have to go through this. SO why is a nurse who is licensed statewide have to succumb to some silly ordinance. It does not make sense.

I can name so many cities and town in California who are doing this similar ordinance.

Please do what you can as president of NANMT to influence and change this policy. It has big impacts on nurses as a profession and massage as part of nursing care. thank you.

[healingtouchRN]

So glad that AL has licensure. One step towards professional practice is licensure, even though it is an expensive process. Our neighbors in GA are getting there but not there yet.

[marchbaby]

Hi,

I'm an RN in Missouri & am thinking of becoming a massage therapist. Insurance doesn't cover massage therapy here that I am aware of. If I start my own business will I be able to bill as an RN?? Anyone aware of the need for massage therapy in St. Charles County? o

I hope someone is reading these messages. The ones I see are pretty OLD!

[healingtouchRN]

Personally, I do not accept insurance although I was trained in school to chart & give the client the paperwork for reimbursement. I find it too much hassle, as do the other therapists in my practice. We take cash or check. Makes it simple for us. We have referals from a local chiropractor & health food stores. We provide a fair discount to hospital employees as well as state employees & police/fire personnel. We found it so time consuming to even consider it. I would probably make $15 hour if I took insurance at best. NO thanks. I charge $60+ an hour for swedish and more for ortho/deep tissue/spa therapies. About 1/3 to 1/2 goes to my overhead depending on the month but I can control the type of client I want to see (peds, geri, adult, sports, general...) and the time of day & amount of clients I want to see. It works for my life now. I really enjoy it.

[MassagetoRN]

marchbaby,

i've been a massage therapist for 4+ years, and on my way to becoming an rn. i am in az so i can't help you regionally. from what i know about insurance billing, most states don't mandate that insurance cover massage. in fact, florida and washington are the only states that i know of the require massage be a covered therapy. however, many therapists bill insurance using cpt codes for manual therapy that are commonly used by chiropractors. i don't thinking the rn factors into it. unfortuately, these codes pay less than massage codes, but still pay well. i know in metro phoenix, it pays $30-$45 per 15 min increment. again, getting the managed care to pay is another story. you would mostly get reimbursed by worker's comp (check your individual state or county) and pip (personal injury property) which is usually auto accidents. i would recommend getting an insurance billing manual, particularly "manipulating your future" by vivan madison mahoney. no i don't work for her, but have read this book and learned alot! she is also super great at answering questions and you can email her at [email protected] and don't worry, her email and solicitation for questions is straight from her website www.massageinsurancebilling.com we massage therapists are really open and willing to help! good wishes!

[marchbaby]

I live in Missouri & am considering going to massage therapy school. I'm concerned about several things though. With the economy in sad shape are there enough people out there willing to spend money on non-necessities such as massage?

The other thing I am concerned about is my age and arthritis. I have arthritis in my hands, mostly my thumbs & I believe I must be getting it in my feet also. Will I be able to actually give a good massage?

I really don't like nursing & would love to do something different that pays well. Any suggestions?

Thanks!

[massageRN]

As a nurse massage therapist , I do a lot of massages! Even with the economy the way it is. There are many benefits health wise to massage therapy so many people use it as a complementary alternative in conjunction with their physicians treatments. In order to do those massages however one of the criteria when I was in school is you have to be in good physical condition. Giving a massage is very demanding on you as a therapist. It is enlikened to doing Tai Chi exercises with an added muscle pressure to the person receiving the massage. Proper body mechanics is one of the secrets to longevity at this profession. Most masssage therapists I work with limit their massages to 4 per day. Try being in a "fencing " or lunging position and using upper body strength while walking around a table doing massage on muscle tissue using arms, hands and thumbs. The average length of a massage therapist in the profession is 10 years according to AMTA. However I know therapists who are in it for a long time. My suggestion to anyone who is considering a change in profession from nursing to this is to take a Massage 101 course at your local college, also get a dvd and try doing a massage for an hour on a friend or relative. Your heart has to be really into understanding the energy exchange and doing the "dance" to efficiently relax someone. It is also beneficial to the giver of the massage....meditative , relaxing and rewarding, and watch out all your friends love you even the ones you just met.....There are also many modalities in massage therapy that may be more suited to each individual person. Ashiatsu massage using your feet, Reiki , cranio-sacral therapy and healing touch all focus on energy therapies while even certification in infant massage may be a good focus with less physical needs. Also may I suggest a wonderful book for the nurses who are interested in massage it is made just for us it is called HEALING MASSAGE by Marsha Jelonek Walker and takes you through a wonderful explanation of all modalities and even energy bodywork. Amazon.com has it! http://www.amazon.com/Healing-Massage-Simple-Approach-Healer/dp/0766806928/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1222664992&sr=8-1 Enjoy the power of touch!

[sylvanis]

Hello

It's so funny I found this message. I have been interested in massage therapy for a while, and am going in the direction of becoming a nurse...I've been thinking wouldn't it be interesting to combine the two. I didn't know if anyone else has done it, and low and behold I find that there are people doing it, how interesting!!

I'm in a work-and-earn program to become a certifide continuing care assistant. Not sure if in the states if they have CCA's which are PCW's and HSW's and everything else in between combined into one.

It's a foundation for me, and I have planned to either take the RN program or maybe LPN.

I'm very interested in holistic health and would like to focus in that direction, more than just the traditional route.

I'll definatley have some more questions, just wanted to introduce myself.

Cheers!

Angela

[massageRN]

Also being recognized is a specialty area called holistic health nurse. This may be even more to your advantage.

[sylvanis]

Also being recognized is a specialty area called holistic health nurse. This may be even more to your advantage.

Wow didn't realize how old this thread was, way back in 2001 it started!

Thanks for the response, I'll google any schools they may have in holistic health. My problem is...I'm starting from scratch and am a little overwhelmed.

I'm living in Canada, in Nova Scotia.

To become a Registered Nurse is 6 years and the Massage therapy school I have chosen to go to (if I choose) is a two year program. I'd like to learn medical massage therapy, but also swedish massage, so I can have a broader range in skill.

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As a RN whom is a massage therapist, what is an average day like for you?

-Angela

[lizzy257]

wow,i am interested i want to do medical massage too how do i start and where do i go to train?