A Day in the Life of a Massage Therapist

If you are considering a career as a massage therapist, then perhaps you want to find out what a day working as a massage therapist is like. This way you can find out whether you will enjoy the job, and if you feel like pursuing this career.

Massage therapists can work in spas, with other types of therapists (such as in chiropractic or physical therapy offices), or can have their own practices. If you have your own practice then you will spend a lot of time doing administrative duties, which means you will have less time working with clients. The same goes for massage therapists who travel between clients – they will spend a lot of their time doing things other than working with massage patients.

Assuming that you work in a spa or clinical setting, your day may not start until later in the morning, as most people do not want massages first thing in the morning. If your place of employment does not take walk-in appointments and you have no appointments scheduled then you may have different shifts on different days.

Most massage therapy sessions last 45-60 minutes, and may take longer if it is the first session as you will need time to take a history from the patient. In between clients you will have to clean the room and get ready for the next person, as well as do any laundry that may need to be completed. After a few clients you can take a break and have lunch or coffee.

If you have spare time between clients you may take on other roles, such as scheduling follow-up appointments, managing the client database, or scheduling other massage therapists for their shifts. It all depends on where you work and whether you want to learn the ins and outs of the whole business, not just the massage part. Remember the more you learn, the more successful you will be at running your own massage therapy business, should you choose to do so.

For those therapists who do own their own business there will be many more responsibilities, such as billing, paying rent and utilities, and ensuring that you are well stocked with everything you need. Additionally you may run your own marketing campaigns to get new customers. Overall you can go many places with a job as a massage therapist; it all depends on how much you want to work and what you want to do.

Massage therapists who work for others will likely not work full-time, as the majority of massage therapists work 15-20 hours per week. You can work for more than one employer if permitted, or you can offer your services on an on-call basis to pick up extra shifts when another massage therapist can’t come to work. It is all very flexible, which is the major appeal of the job.

You can also choose to specialize your massage therapy practice to focus on specific elements, such as rehabilitation or sports injuries. In these cases you may work alongside a physiotherapist or other practitioner to provide concentrated therapy sessions.

There are a wide variety of opportunities for massage therapists in the United States, and it only takes a few years of training to become qualified to work in spas and physician’s offices. You can work on your own or in conjunction with other practitioners, and you can decide what hours you want to work. Not many occupations allow this level of flexibility, so if you feel like a career as a massage therapist could work for you then the next step is to find a program in your area.