Massages and terms

Welcome to Wondercafe2!

A community where we discuss, share, and have some fun together. Join today and become a part of it!

ChemGal

One with keen eye
Pronouns
She/Her/Her
The city is looking at possibly banning massage parlours the types of places that offer 'the rub and tug'.

I know many RMTs here who have had issues with men treating them the same as the masseuses.
When signing off on policies of a company I have had to agree about jokes of such a nature being inappropriate, that the correct term for the professional is a registered massage therapist and that being inappropriate will result in the immediate end of the massage and being required to leave (no refund) and not being able to return.

My current RMT (who used to work in clinics and a hospital, but she currently works out of her home, so it's an additional level of vulnerability) wants it even a step further. That massage becomes a restricted term , that it could only be applied to getting a message from a therapist (or one in training).

Doing that would affect more than just the happy ending types of places, some of the massages done at spas are done by RMTs, but not all of them are qualified. That brings up some other issues too. RMTs are trained with proper draping techniques and could lose their certification if they do not follow it. The term massage is pretty broad though - hair stylists often will include a head massage with a shampoo, a foot massage or hand massage can be a part of a pedicure/manicure.

So multiple questions come up:

Should doing a therapeutic massage be restricted only to RMTs (ie. if getting a massage in spa, it must be done by an RMT)?
Should the term massage be restricted and if so how much wiggle room?
Should massage parlours be permitted to exist?
 
"Massage" is simply too widely used to be restricted that way. Can a husband still give his wife a "massage" under her terms? I think requiring non-qualified practitioners to use a qualifier like "relaxational" or "leisure" before"massage" is more realistic.

As for "rub and tug" parlours, I am in favour of regulated, legal sex trade but current parlours are often using trafficked women, which I am not in favour of. So either they should be closed down or subject to tight scrutiny around the staff and their conditions of work to try to get the traffickers out of the business.
 
"Massage" is simply too widely used to be restricted that way. Can a husband still give his wife a "massage" under her terms? I think requiring non-qualified practitioners to use a qualifier like "relaxational" or "leisure" before"massage" is more realistic.
I agree, although I should specify she meant in a business-sense. Personal life is separate.
The other option would be to go the opposite way - therapeutic massage or a term like that becomes restricted.

I do certainly understand wanting to get rid of any connection with the parlours. If wouldn't really expect them to respect a bylaw though if they had to drop using the term massage in any of their information about what they do.
 
I doubt "massage" can be regulated. RMT is a label and profession that is well regulated in places like BC and Ontario. When I moved to AB I was afraid of finding a massage therapist because the regulations are much different there. I now know there are levels and thankfully found a couple good ones. I also know there's a movement to regulate the profession better in Alberta.
 
Had an interesting conversation with my husband.
He was in pain for a while and I had suggested - and then nagged - multiple times that he should get a massage. Finally it got quite bad where I said if I can get you in to see my RMT tomorrow, will you go? Yes.
That was about a year ago, he now goes regularly.

He thinks the profession is strange though, even if he appreciates the medical aspect of it. Who wants to get paid to touch people is his thinking. With the suggested ban though, I asked him if he would have similar feelings about physio - nope. He agreed that some of that difference is likely due to the association between massage and sexual services.
 
I doubt "massage" can be regulated. RMT is a label and profession that is well regulated in places like BC and Ontario. When I moved to AB I was afraid of finding a massage therapist because the regulations are much different there. I now know there are levels and thankfully found a couple good ones. I also know there's a movement to regulate the profession better in Alberta.
Yes, one clear regulating body would be nice. I can't remember the year, but it occurred sometime after I was getting massages semi-regularly - most insurance companies changed what they would cover. That helped a fair bit, it became much easier to see who met a decent standard based on if insurance would cover their services or not - that first year there were many RMTs out there who did not qualify. Even now though, the standards between schools vary greatly even for what will end up qualifying under insurance. Some schools basically double count - the instruction counts as practical experience, whereas with others there's much more work that needs to go on in gaining experience outside of the classroom to get the certificate. It's confusing to figure out as it's not something that's easy to search. When Chemguy started going elsewhere (basically across the street from work), I had asked my friend and she told me which schools were good and which had lower standards.
 
I went to a clinic that had therapists who qualified to be claimed under insurance. I had a massage by one of them that scared the crap out of me. She flipped my neck back and forth as she talked and talked. I asked what made her become a massage therapist. She said she decided to take the weekend course in town. It seemed like she did it as a lark and that she did not take it seriously. I wish I had complained about her. I didn't go back.

As I typed this, I realize "massage therapist" is a regulated term in at least BC.
 
I went to a clinic that had therapists who qualified to be claimed under insurance. I had a massage by one of them that scared the crap out of me. She flipped my neck back and forth as she talked and talked. I asked what made her become a massage therapist. She said she decided to take the weekend course in town. It seemed like she did it as a lark and that she did not take it seriously. I wish I had complained about her. I didn't go back.

As I typed this, I realize "massage therapist" is a regulated term in at least BC.
Do you know if that occurred after the insurance changes? I know that happened before I moved so 2012-ish?

But yeah, even with someone who meets those criteria it doesn't mean they are good. I would guess the same happens in ON and BC, but maybe at a lower frequency.
 
It absolutely happened after the changes. It was between 2015 and 2017.
The requirement is for 2200 hours of training, I'm surprised she would qualify.
I looked it up, seems to have occurred in 2013, but different insurance companies adopted that at different times, 2 big ones began that May 2013.
 
I agree. There is a possibility she was earning her hours under the clinic licence. I doubt it. I think she was just unsuited and no one caught it. Or something.
 
She said she decided to take the weekend course in town. It seemed like she did it as a lark and that she did not take it seriously.

And is that much different than a doctor or other health care professional who is in it for the money rather than because they actually care about people's health? It may not be a "lark" but does suggest they aren't going to take their patients' problems or concerns seriously unless it generates billable visits.
 
Actually @Mendalla most professionals take their work seriously regardless of their motivation for being there. She seemed to have little regard for the fact that she could further injure my neck. That's a problem.
 
Back
Top