Welcome to 2017! I cannot believe that it another year has come and gone, but I guess time does fly when you're having fun!
Being a health care provider in a regulated profession has given me the opportunity to do some pretty awesome and powerful things! In my years of experience, I have seen a wide variety of conditions, and have helped many clients to feel better weather it be reducing pain or simply just taking a break from the day-to-day stress. Whenever I meet a new client, I always want to have a little chat beforehand, this allows me the opportunity to get a glimpse as to what's going on, which helps shape your treatment so that you receive the best care. I've had a few comments like "Oh, it's just a massage. You can skip that part and I'll just get on the table". I wanted to use my blog as a platform to help get the message out there as to WHY the interview process is so critical to your health so that when you have your next massage, you'll know what to expect.
Firstly, being a regulated health practitioner, we are bound to a set of rules and regulations as a part of our practice. The College of Massage Therapists of Ontario (you may have heard me discuss the CMTO before) sets all different kinds of rules, regulations and standards for us to follow. After completing the training program and being successful at the registration exams, we are held accountable for following these regulations. The training program prepares students well who are entering this field. Certain regulations includes advertising, record keeping and abuse policies (just to name a few). There are several standards that we as Registered Massage Therapist must comply with. Here are just a few:
Communication/Public Health Standard 4 - Interview the Client to Obtain His/Her Treatment Goals (to discuss limitations of daily living and areas the client wishes to focus on. This helps to formulate a solid treatment plan).
Communication/Public Health Standard 8 - Determine the Client's Condition by Conducting an Assessment/Reassessment (allowing us to see what areas are affected by performing a through assessment and reassessing progress so that treatment outcomes and progress can be measured).
Communication/Public Health Standard 9 - Determine if Massage Therapy is Indicated(Sometimes massage therapy may not be the best form of care for you. If it is not, we are required to refer you to someone who we believe is qualified to take care of you).
These are some very basic examples of what we as massage therapists are required to do to help provide high quality care for you.
Another thing to consider would be if massage therapy is safe for you to receive. For example, you may have read my other posts about massage therapy and high blood pressure and when you're sick. There are times when a massage can do more harm than good. By having a discussion about your health, we can determine what the best course of action would be for your care. That might be having a specific type of massage, postponing the treatment or referring you to another health care practitioner that would be better suited to your needs.
That is basically why when you go for a massage appointment with an RMT, you will always have a discussion with your therapist about your health and treatment goals. Not only are we required to do so, but we also have your safety on the top of our priority list.
I hope this article provided some insight to you as to what Registered Massage Therapists do to help take care of you!
Until next time, stay well (and warm)!
If you'd like to learn more about the Standards of Practice, please visit:
https://www.cmto.com/about-the-profession/standards-of-practice/
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