Alaska is a
state which does not now have—and never should have—any state
licensing regulations for massage. I agree
with the article by Melody Hall, "Massage Regulation:
Another Way to Pay More for Less" (Alaska Wellness, Jan/Feb 2008, p 35-36) in which she explains that
legislation being considered by two legislators to regulate the
business of massage is “expensive and unnecessary.” Hall notes
that regulation in Florida, for example, “simply creates new markets
for unlicensed body rubs.”
In Native
American Alaskan communities, massage has been practiced for
thousands of years. This practice has been handed down from our
elders, generation to generation. For many, massage is a part of
our heritage and traditional medical practice. For a central
government thousands of miles away to, all of a sudden, require us all
to take 500 hours of formal training in a school thousands of miles
away from our homes and villages would be highly insulting to the
elders. Is their careful and loving teaching worth nothing?
Furthermore,
this is an unfair proposition for us economically. Licensing
regulations serve the profit motive of private massage schools and
other special interest groups—not the interest of our people or of
patients. Many states (as well as the municipalities of
Anchorage and Fairbanks) require a GED just to study massage, let
alone secure the required license to practice massage therapy.
Fortunately, most of the state of Alaska does not require these
things. What does having a high school diploma or GED have to do with
massage except throw up a fabricated hurdle to prevent competition in
the market?
Some argue
that government regulation brings respect to a profession, but respect
must be earned, individually, by each practitioner on the merits
of his or her practice. No patient has ever asked to examine my
National Certification in Therapeutic Massage and Bodywork (NCTMB), or
to scrutinize my diploma and transcripts to determine how
many hours I’ve paid for in formal training. Although the
municipalities of Anchorage and Fairbanks are unique in Alaska for
having minimum licensure requirements, they allow an apprenticeship in
place of formal training. However, these municipalities are under
intense pressure from special interest lobbyists to reverse this
alternative.
I have taught
hundreds of students in two schools to practice massage therapy. I can
easily teach basic Swedish massage techniques (along with all the
contraindications to massage) in a few afternoons. Of
course, more advanced techniques require more intensive training.
Even so, schools routinely pad their 500-hour curriculum with things
(such as which heart chamber contracts first) that do not constitute
required knowledge to give a great basic massage!
An
apprenticeship in a hands-on profession such as massage therapy is the best
way to gain the skill and knowledge actually required to do the job.
No hour-based requirements on apprenticeships need be imposed, since
the signature of an elder qualified teacher guarantees that the
student is ready to practice.
Lobbyists for
special interests—such as private massage schools, the NCBTMB, the
AMTA, and continuing education unit (CEU) providers—stand in the way
of such sensible alternatives. Profit is also a motive for some
massage therapists who support state licensure of massage. Why?
Because they believe that government regulations will make it hard
for people to get a massage license, and thus they will make more
money per hour. This anti-competitive behavior prevents many
skillful and talented massage therapists trained by elders from
competing in a fair marketplace.
One way to
counter this lobby from these special interest groups is for us to
write to our state representatives, asking them not to support state
licensure of massage therapy in states where this has not yet
been imposed, and to reverse state licensure in licensed states. Special
interests will argue that we need state licensure regulation to
"protect the public from harm". Have you ever heard of
a case of an unlicensed massage therapist who has injured the
public? That malpractice insurance is available to massage
therapists for less than $100 per year is a testament to the very low
risk of injury in the practice of massage. Clearly, the
public does not need any protection by the government from massage
practitioners.
Our
government relies on a free market to solve problems. It offers
us the choice to select the best practitioners in every business.
I support education and national certification, but it need not
be required by state law. The best massage therapists will naturally
seek education, and put those who do not provide the best results
out of business. Let's allow our free market to work to provide
us with the best massage therapy, rather than support superfluous
state licensure bureaucracies.
Daniel
N. Russell,
M.S., NCTMB, is a biophysicist, massage therapist, the owner of
Massage + Toning (907-373-4112), and a libertarian in the still free
and unregulated Matanuska-Susitna borough.
