If you’re considering becoming a massage therapist, then you’ve probably also looked into the occupational data for the profession. In the United States, official employment statistics are provided by the US Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). Because several numbers provided by the BLS look good on paper, many massage therapy schools will incorporate statistics into their marketing materials as a means to incite prospective students to enroll in their massage program. However, even if the source for the statistic is legitimate, the number cited may not give a complete picture. For example, some states may have a lower average wage than the national average, so they will only cite the national average, but not the state average, which would be considered a more relevant number to the prospective student. When reading marketing materials from any massage school, always be sure to double-check the sources that they cite of their information and make sure that they are not intentionally hiding anything. … Read More

Over the past several weeks, we have discussed Swedish Massage in great detail on the Acupuncture and Massage College Massage School blog. … Read More

Recently, we did an extensive post on the History of Massage Therapy. In it, we mentioned some of the famous Western massage modalities that you may already be familiar with, such as Deep Tissue and Swedish massage. As an Oriental Medicine college, our articles tend to focus on Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) and it's related healing modalities, such as Shiatsu Massage. However, our Massage Therapy program extensively covers many Western massage modalities and as such, we wanted to do a follow up to the history article that shows the significance of Western modalities. … Read More

Acupuncture has been around for over 2,000 years. As such, acupuncture schools will often teach the mechanisms behind acupuncture's effectiveness from a Traditional Chinese Medical point of view. According to Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), health is determined by the proper flow of qi or non-physical life force in the body. Illness arises when the body’s qi is stopped from performing its cardinal functions, which includes the nutrient conversion, temperature regulation, and defense against foreign pathogens. … Read More

They teach what?! at acupuncture school: Yin-yang, Wu-Xing, and Qi. If you’ve ever received an acupuncture treatment, then you may have seen a particular poster or anatomical model of the human body somewhere in the acupuncturist’s office. What is this model and how is this different than anatomical models you studied in biology class? The model you saw is a representation of the Traditional Chinese Medical (TCM) view of the body. … Read More

What is Tuina? What can it treat? | AMC Acupuncture School Blog | Miami, FL In the last article, we discussed that tuina was a form of Asian Bodywork Therapy (ABT) that originated in China several thousand years ago and is the oldest codified system of medicine in the world. Like the other Traditional Chinese Medicine modalities, it utilizes a TCM view of the body and uses an acupoint model to locate the points of healing. However, unlike acupuncture and Shiatsu, Tuina includes a variety of techniques that are similar to the ones found in Swedish Massage, including rolling, kneading, and pinching. Tuina plays an important role as part of our acupuncture school program and while tuina sounds great in theory, is there any evidence that it is an effective treatment? In this article, we will evaluate tuina as medical treatment in a clinical setting. … Read More

What are the benefits of Acupressure? | AMC Massage School Blog | Miami, FL Recently, we discussed the meridian system in Traditional Chinese Medicine and how Asian Bodywork Therapy (ABT) utilizes these principles for healing. Like acupuncture, acupressure stimulates the flow of qi by applying manual stimulation at the acupoints. However, rather than inserting needles, acupressure uses pressure to massage the acupoints. Because it is non-invasive, acupressure can potentially be used as a low-risk complementary treatment for medical issues where traditional acupuncture has already proven to be effective. … Read More

Asian Bodywork Therapy (ABT) is the official term used by the National Certification Commission for Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine (NCCAOM) to designate the different touch and manual therapy modalities that incorporate the medical theories and principles of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM). Currently, there are 17 recognized forms or styles of ABT. Before we go onto discuss these different forms, we need to briefly cover a small matter of technical jargon. … Read More

Massage Therapy is a holistic health practice that involves the manual manipulation of the body’s musculoskeletal tissues. While massage treatments have long been a part of medical history, some of the most popular modalities or styles were not invented until fairly recently. For example, the most popular modality, Swedish Massage, was invented around 1870 by Johann George Mezger, who codified the modality into the five techniques that are still used today. The five techniques of Swedish Massage, are: … Read More

Massage Therapy as a Career | AMC-Miami Massage Therapy and Shiatsu School If you’re considering becoming a massage therapist, then you’ve probably also looked into related health and medical occupations. The US Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) lists four related occupations with similar job duty descriptions to massage therapy. They are: … Read More

In a previous article, we discussed the history and origins of Swedish Massage. In it, we explained that the name Swedish was misnomer that arose due to translation mix-ups. Per Henrik Ling, a Swedish medical pioneer and founder of the Swedish Gymnastics system, often gets credited with inventing the modality. However, the actual inventor of Swedish Massage is Johann Georg Mezger, a Dutch physician who was noted for studying French massage techniques and their effects on physical healing. It was Mezger, not Ling, who codified the five massage techniques that form the foundation for Swedish Massage. In this article, we will discuss the five techniques of Swedish Massage. … Read More

If you’re considering becoming a massage therapist, then you’ve probably also looked into related health and medical occupations. The US Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) lists two related occupations with similar job duty descriptions to massage therapy. They are: … Read More

Massage Therapy Career: An Overview | AMC- Miami Massage Therapy School The healthcare industry is booming. It is booming so much that it is considered one of the largest financial sectors in the U.S., which includes the entire cost of treating and managing diseases and illness. While modern medicine includes a wide range of diagnostic tools, fancy machines, and expensive instruments, one of the simplest forms of healing medicine can simply come from the touch of your hands. … Read More

Going Dutch: The Story behind Swedish Massage's Confusing Name | AMC Miami Massage Therapy School Recently, we did an extensive post on the History of Massage Therapy. In it, we covered many of the significant massage modalities that have contributed to our modern understanding of Massage Therapy as a holistic medical practice. These massage modalities can be roughly be divided into two major categories: Eastern and Western. … Read More

Massage: The Oldest Medical Practice | AMC-Miami Massage Therapy School Massage Therapy is one of the most commonly practiced forms of holistic medicine. Massage Therapists heal patients by using their touch to manipulate the muscles and other soft tissues of the body. This therapeutic touch is used to relieve pain, help heal injuries, improve circulation, relieve stress, increase relaxation, and aid with general health and wellness. According to the most recent data published by the National Center for Health Statistics (CDC-NCHS), approximately 7% of the US adult population received a massage treatment in 2012. That’s approximately 15.4 million people! And it only appears to be growing in popularity. As a profession (in the US), Massage Therapy jobs are predicted to increase by 24 percent between 2016 and 2026. While the numbers are impressive, it should not be particularly surprising that massage therapy is a popular practice. Massage Therapy has many health benefits, including improved sleep quality, enhanced relaxation, pain relief, decreased stress and inflammation, decreased blood pressure, improvements in injuries and sports injuries, as well as improved mental health. … Read More