Back in the old days (prior to the turn of the century, ‘going for a massage’ was limited to the rich and famous; something you did at ‘the club’ after working out and unwinding in the steam room. Those days are long gone. The massage therapy industry has exploded in the past few years, doubling in revenue from around $6 billion in 2005 to more than $12 billion in 2015, and the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics projects new employment opportunities in the field to grow by a staggering 22 percent between 2014 and 2024.
But just what is massage therapy anyway? Glad you asked! Massage therapy is the manual manipulation of soft body tissues (muscle, connective tissue, tendons and ligaments) to enhance a person’s health and well-being, according to Northwestern Heath Science University. People may seek massage therapy for any number of reasons. Some may pursue relaxation massage, sometimes referred to as Swedish message, in order to reduce stress or increase relaxation. Others may desire rehabilitative massage, sometimes referred to as clinical massage or deep-tissue massage, as a means of injury rehabilitation or to help reduce pain levels.
If you are interested in a second career, you might consider massage therapy. According to the American Massage Therapy Association most massage therapists enter the field as a second career. Statistically, massage therapists are predominantly female (89%), 45 years or older, belong to a professional organization and charge around $70 per hour for their services.