Among the many benefits of a massage therapy career are flexible hours, growing employment opportunities, and the satisfaction of knowing that you’re helping people. You’ll also have the benefit of a competitive massage therapy salary, which compares favorably with those in other health care fields.
According to a consumer survey by the American Massage Therapy Association (AMTA), a massage therapist working 15 hours per week in 2008 earned an average of $31,500. In comparison, full-time health care support workers and medical assistants earned an average of $28,170 and $27,190, respectively, in 2006. Massage therapy salaries will allow you to work around family obligations or explore your interests in another job field. In fact, many massage therapists—about 58 percent—earn part of their income from a second profession.
There are many factors that influence your massage therapy salary. The number of hours you work is one piece of the puzzle. Other factors include geographic location, type of employer, and your level of education and experience—just to name a few. Although the amount you’ll earn depends on your specific situation, AMTA reports that the 2008 average hourly wage for massage therapists was $41.50 (including tip).
Human resources data from March 2009* shows that the middle 50 percent of massage therapy salaries are between $37,502 and $56,788 per year. The top 10 percent of massage therapists earn $66,323 or higher.
The maximum Pell grant is set to rise to $5,550 for the 2010-11 school year and, under the deal struck Thursday, would increase automatically each year in line with inflation.
Growth in employment of physical therapy aides is expected to grow 29 percent from 2006 to 2016. There are approximately 46,000 physical therapy aides currently employed–71 percent in physical therapy offices and hospitals and the rest in nursing facilities, offices of physicians, home health centers and outpatient care centers. Now is a great time to become a physical therapy aide.
Research in massage therapy has been ongoing for more than 120 years.
Here are some reported benefits of massage:
Medical school students at the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey-New Jersey Medical School who were massaged before an exam showed a significant decrease in anxiety and respiratory rates, as well as a significant increase in white blood cells and natural killer cell activity, suggesting a benefit to the immune system.
Preliminary results suggested cancer patients had less pain and anxiety after receiving therapeutic massage at the James Cancer Hospital and Research Institute in Columbus, Ohio.
Women who had experienced the recent death of a child were less depressed after receiving therapeutic massage, according to preliminary results of a study at the University of South Carolina.
Studies funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) have found massage beneficial in improving weight gain in HIV-exposed infants and facilitating recovery in patients who underwent abdominal surgery. At the University of Miami School of Medicine’s Touch Research Institute, researchers have found that massage is helpful in decreasing blood pressure in people with hypertension, alleviating pain in migraine sufferers and improving alertness and performance in office workers.
An increasing number of research studies show massage reduces heart rate, lowers blood pressure, increases blood circulation and lymph flow, relaxes muscles, improves range of motion, and increases endorphins (enhancing medical treatment). Although therapeutic massage does not increase muscle strength, it can stimulate weak, inactive muscles and, thus, partially compensate for the lack of exercise and inactivity resulting from illness or injury. It also can hasten and lead to a more complete recovery from exercise or injury.
Pain relief: When combined with education and exercises, massage might help sub-acute, chronic, non-specific low back pain. Furthermore, massage has been shown to reduce pain experienced in the days or weeks after treatment.
Trait anxiety: Massage has been shown to reduce trait anxiety; a person’s general susceptibility to anxiety.
Depression: Massage has been shown to reduce subclinical depression.
Diseases: Massage, involving stretching, has been shown to help with spastic diplegia resulting from Cerebral palsy in a small pilot study. The researchers warn that these results should “be viewed with caution until a double-blind controlled trial can be conducted”. Massage has been used in an effort to improve symptoms, disease progression, and quality of life in HIV patients, however, this treatment is not scientifically supported.
