November/December 2022

Scholarships and Grants for Massage Education Massage Envy School Grant

AMTA and Massage Envy are excited to announce a new grant opportunity for massage schools to help support the future of the profession. Five $10,000 grants, funded by Massage Envy, will be awarded to massage schools in the month of December.

Rick Boden-Healer at Heart-$10,000 Student Scholarship

Applications are still being accepted! $10,000 can make a big impact – on your career, on your life, on you! Tell us how you plan to incorporate self-care into your massage therapy practice and how will this help you promote the health of others. Application deadline is November 30th.

Pivotal Health Solutions Acquires Armedica Manufacturing Corp.

Pivotal Health Solutions, a manufacturer and supplier of health and wellness furniture and equipment, has reached a tentative agreement to acquire the assets of Armedica Manufacturing Corp, LLC.

Founded by Claude McCormick in 1998, Armedica Manufacturing was started with the goal of building durable Hi-Lo Treatment Tables for the physical medicine market. “Our strategic partnership with Pivotal Health Solutions will provide additional manufacturing resources for increasing production and give our high-quality treatment table lines a much broader distribution network, allowing us to more effectively reach health care professionals,” McCormick said of the deal. Jim Engels, CEO of Pivotal Health Solutions, added: “This new combination of employees, capabilities, and facilities will further enhance our market position.”

AMTA Receives Several Awards for COVID-19 Advocacy Campaign Focused on Support for Members

Throughout the pandemic, the American Massage Therapy Association (AMTA) was committed to helping members and massage therapists as they navigated the new normal of practicing massage in the era of COVID-19. To do so, AMTA launched a multi-year COVID-19 Advocacy campaign that focused on supporting members with legislative advocacy efforts, state-targeted outreach and information campaigns, free high-quality continuing education, and virtual training programs and information sessions. For its efforts, AMTA received the Platinum Hermes Award, the Apex Award of Excellence, and the Communicator Award of Distinction.

Dolly Wallace Receives 2022 Humanitarian Award

Dolly Wallace LMT, BCTMB, President of NCBTMB, was presented with the 2022 Massage Therapy Foundation/Stopain Clinical Humanitarian Award at the AMTA National Convention in Cleveland, OH. Wallace was honored for her efforts in improving the welfare of the massage therapy profession and demonstrating selfless devotion to others. “Dolly demonstrates calm and thoughtful leadership providing guidance for all the organizations she has served or led,” said award presenter Teresa Matthews-Perry, representing Stopain Clinical. “One of her greatest strengths is her willingness to always look at issues from a variety of perspectives. She's an amazing friend and supporter of the entire massage therapy profession.”

September/October 2022

Survey Available for MTF-Supported PBRN

MassageNet was established in 2009 with funding assistance from the Massage Therapy Foundation (MTF) and was run for a number of years by massage therapy research staff at National University of Health Sciences in Lombard, IL. In 2020, the Foundation Board of Trustees expressed renewed interest in the network and its revitalization as it had become dormant over a number of years. The management of MassageNet transferred over to MTF and plans were made for its re-launch during the International Massage Therapy Research Conference (IMTRC) last May by opening the initial survey that you can fill out here.

What makes MassageNet unique is that it is a Practice-based Research Network (PBRN). This type of network utilizes a research method in which data is collected in clinical practice, rather than in a research environment. This method offers researchers the ability to better understand what actually happens in the field, rather than what happens in the tightly controlled research setting. The MTF is devoted to understanding the effectiveness of client care, as well as the health care process that occurs within individual practices. PBRNs have not traditionally focused on complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) practitioners, leaving a gap in the field of health care knowledge. MTF hopes to fill this gap through a focus on how massage therapy contributes to the health of today’s client and and its mission to develop and maintain communication between professional massage therapists, students, educators, and researchers.

For more information, visit www.massagenet.org

Interstate Compact Draft Posted for Comment

The Interstate Massage Therapy Compact (IMpact) would be an interstate occupational licensure compact that is designed to enable licensed massage therapists to practice in all states that join the compact as opposed to requiring they get an individual license in every state in which they want to practice. With IMpact, each compact member state agrees to mutually recognize the practitioner licenses issued by every other member state.

On June 8, an initial draft of IMpact was completed and made available for review and public comment.

For project updates, see the Council of State Governments’ information page.

Massage Envy Launches National Scholarship Program

Massage Envy has announced the launch of a new national program to award 96 scholarships for future massage professionals over the next 12 months. The program, dubbed the Massage Envy National Scholarship Sweepstakes for Massage Therapists, will give each awardee a $2,500 scholarship that can be used to attend any massage school of their choice. Eight scholarships will be awarded each month from October 2022 through September 2023, with the first recipients being announced in November 2022."

July/August 2022

Adrienne Asta Elected as the Next President of the Massage Therapy Foundation

Robin Anderson has resigned from her role as the Massage Therapy Foundation’s President. Citing personal reasons, Anderson’s resignation was effective June 1, 2022. “I am proud of what we have accomplished in creating and beginning to implement for ergonomic strategies to support the MT profession,” Anderson said in a statement. “It has been an honor to lead this Foundation with such a strong peer-driven history and help further MTF’s initiatives.”

The MTF Board of Trustees has elected Adrienne Asta, BA, LMT, as the next President. Asta has served as an MTF Vice President for just over a year and Trustee for the past five years. Asta’s term began on Wednesday, June 1, 2022. She will fill the remaining time on the open term, which is scheduled to end Feb. 28, 2023. “It is a privilege to serve the industry through this new role—a privilege I do not take lightly,”

Asta said in a statement. “I look forward to working with our brilliant and talented Board, volunteers, and staff to move the industry collaboratively forward.”

Additionally, MTF has elected John Combe to fill in the remaining portion of the Vice President post left by Asta's becoming president.

The Number of Medicare Plans Offering Therapeutic Massage Continue to Grow

In 2018, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) announced many Advantage plans would begin covering massage therapy for pain provided by a state-licensed massage therapist. CMS said, beginning in 2019, plans would begin providing nearly enrollees with access to expanded health-related supplemental benefits, which included therapeutic massage.

For Plan year 2020, the total number of plans offering therapeutic massage grew to 243 (this includes plans offering as Expanded Primarily Health-Related Benefits, offering through Uniformity Flexibility, and offering through Supplemental Benefits for the Chronically Ill). Plan Year 2021 saw that number grow to 266 and the number increased again to 323 for Plan Year 2022. The enrollment for these total plans was 932,000, 999,000, and 1,419,000 respectively.

The benefit is intended to improve an injury or illness such as pain, stiffness, or loss of range of motion, and must be recommended by a qualified health professional. The plans have a combined limit of 24 visits and only cover the massage when provided by a state-licensed practitioner.

Spa Industry Revenues Rebound from 2020 Lows

The International SPA Association (ISPA) recently released its findings of the 2022 ISPA U.S. Spa Industry Study. Despite the persistence of staffing challenges, the study shows a return to near pre-pandemic industry revenue levels.

The U.S. Industry Study presents the “Big Five” spa industry statistics: total revenue, total spa visits, spa locations, revenue per visit, and total number of U.S. spa industry employees. The study revealed U.S. Spa Industry revenues grew from $12.1 billion in 2020 to $18.1 billion, an increase of over 49% and just below the industry’s all-time high of $19.1 billion in 2019. The number of spa visits also grew from 124 million in 2020 to 173 million. The total number of U.S. spas fell slightly from 21,560 in 2020 to 21,510 in 2021. Revenue per spa visit grew from $97.5 in 2020 to $104.5 in 2021, which played a crucial role in elevating industry revenues. The number of employees also rose from 304,800 in 2020 to 345,000 in 2021.

Alliance for Massage Therapy Education to Host 2022 Educational Conference Virtually

The Alliance for Massage Therapy Education will host its 2022 Educational Conference virtually on Aug. 5 and 6. The event theme for this year is “It all Starts in the Classroom.” The conference will begin Friday, Aug. 5 at 11:00 am EST and wrap up on Saturday, Aug 6 at 7:00 pm EST.

March/April 2022

“Massage Parlor” Eliminated From NAICS Classification

In what is considered a huge win for the massage profession, the North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) eliminated the term “massage parlor” in its 2022 update, which took effect January 1, 2022.

The NAICS is part of the US Census Bureau and the standard used by Federal statistical agencies in classifying business establishments for the purpose of collecting, analyzing, and publishing statistical data related to the U.S. business economy.

These updates also included maintaining massage therapy that is provided as an integrative health therapy under the large umbrella rubric of “Other Health Practitioners.”

AMTA, the largest nonprofit association serving massage therapists, took an active role in sharing feedback on behalf of the massage therapy profession.

Massage Therapy Foundation Introduces #RunningForResearch Boston Marathon Team, Student Case Report Contest Now Open

The Massage Therapy Foundation announced its 2022 Boston Marathon Team MTF—Running for Research team members, including Nancy Anderson Dollinger, Stacey Breslin, Lauren Hirsch and Sarah Lau-Melby.

Team MTF—Running for Research will be raising money and creating awareness for the Massage Therapy Foundation. Over the past nine years, this program has raised a total of $481,015 for MTF. This year, the MTF Running for Research Team has a goal of raising $54,000.

Get more information on the runners.

Are you a current massage therapy student with a case report to share?

Case reports play an important role in scientific and professional literature, and writing a case report helps massage therapy students develop communication and critical thinking skills.

Students must submit application before their graduation date, but applications are accepted year-round.

Get more information now.

NCBTMB Announces Certification Board Election Results

The National Certification Board for Therapeutic Massage & Bodywork (NCBTMB) announced that Crista De la Garza, LMT, BCTMB, and Dolly Wallace, LMT, BCTMB, were positively voted through by certificants to join the NCBTMB Certification Board as practitioner members, effective March 1, 2022.

Wallace, was also re-elected president.

“On behalf of NCBTMB, I would like to thank the board certificants for doing their due diligence,” said NCBTMB chief executive officer Shelly Johnson. “We are excited to welcome Crista to the Certification Board and to welcome Dolly back for another term.”

Both De la Garza and Wallace’s terms are for three years through February 28, 2025.  

For more information, visit NCBTMB's website.

November/December 2021

Ohio State Medical Board Fills Massage Therapy Advisory Board Seats

The State Medical Board of Ohio has begun to fill seats on the Massage Therapy Advisory Board as part of House Bill 110, which was signed into law on June 30, 2021.

The Massage Therapy Advisory Council will advise the board on issues related to the practice of massage therapy.

For more information, visit their website.

FSMTB Announces 2021 Election Results

The Federation of State Massage Therapy Boards (FSMTB) conducted its 16^th annual meeting online and voted on three positions for their Board of Directors and three positions on the 2022 nominating committee.

Craig Knowles, chair of the Georgia Board of Massage Therapy; Victoria Drago, of the Florida Board of Massage Therapy; and Foad Araiinejad, chair of the Alabama Board of Massage Therapy, were elected to serve a three-year term on the board of directors.

Carla Hedtke, Wisconsin Massage Therapy and Bodywork Therapy Affiliated Credentialing Board; Kimberly Hodge, Tennessee Massage Licensure Board; and Megan Maxey, Washington State Board of Massage, were elected to serve a one-year term on the 2022 Nominating Committee.

Officers were also elected at the board of directors meeting, which followed the annual meeting.

President, Craig Knowles–Georgia Board of Massage Therapy

Vice President, Charlene Russell–Mississippi

Treasurer, Sandy Anderson–Nevada State Board of Massage Therapy

Director, Robin Alexander–Texas

Director, Foad Araiinejad–Alabama Board of Massage Therapy

Director, David Cox–Maryland State Board of Massage Therapy Examiners

Director, Victoria Drago–Florida Board of Massage Therapy

Ex Officio, Dr. Debra Persinger–FSMTB Executive Director

For more information on FSMTB, visit their website.

September/October 2021

Hand & Stone Massage and Facial Spa Names New CEO

John Teza has been named CEO of Hand & Stone. Teza has worked with Hand & Stone for a little over a year as president and chief development officer. He replaces Todd Leff, who will remain as chairman of the board.

For more information on Hand & Stone, visit their website. 

International Massage Therapy Research Conference

The Massage Therapy Foundation’s (MTF) International Massage Therapy Research Conference (IMTRC) will be held on May 12-13, 2022, in Alexandria, Virginia. MTF hosts this conference every three years to bring together massage therapists, educators, and thought leaders to discuss massage therapy research and innovations. 

For more information on IMTRC, visit their website. 

July/August 2021

Hand & Stone Acquires Canadian Franchise Massage Experts

Hand & Stone Massage and Facial Spa acquired Massage Experts, a Canadian franchise, adding to Hand & Stone’s existing 32-location footprint in the country.

For more information on Hand & Stone, visit their website.

Massage Heights Names New CEO/President

Susan Boresow has been named Massage Heights’s new CEO and president. Shane Evans, co-founder and most recent CEO of Massage Heights, will continue to serve as vice chairwoman on the board of directors.

For more information on Massage Heights, visit their website.

Massage Therapy Foundation Team to Run Boston Marathon 

Team MTF, the Massage Therapy Foundations’ marathon team, will be running the 125th Boston Marathon on October 11, 2021. The team was given four charity bibs. Follow their journey at #RunningForResearch!

For more information on MTF, visit their website.

NCBTMB Call for Candidates

The National Certification Board for Therapeutic Massage and Bodywork (NCBTMB) is looking to fill two available practitioner member positions on its certification board, both beginning March 1, 2022. Applications may be submitted beginning August 3 through August 31, with both positions elected by the end of this year. Eligibility requirements for the Certification Board Member position, position description, as well as, important agreements and conditions for participation in the application process may be found here.

For more information on NCBTMB, visit their website.

New Massage Therapy Insurance Reimbursement Option In North Carolina 

A trial program has been announced in North Carolina giving massage therapists the ability to work with Carolina Complete Health (CCH) to provide massage therapy for pain relief and help lessen the dependence on opioid medication. At launch, it will be available in 41 counties in the state. The target population is for clients in acute situations to keep from getting to chronic pain, as an option to manage pain before medication starts, or before a second round of medication after injury. For this trial program, a patient will be referred to you by a physician, physician assistant or nurse practitioner. This is North Carolina’s first insurance acceptance program for massage therapy.  

For more information on CCH, visit their website.

May/June 2021

AMTA 2021 National Convention

Registration is now open for the American Massage Therapy Association’s 2021 National Convention, to take place in Tampa, Florida, on August 26-28. 

Michael Phelps, world champion swimmer, has been announced as the keynote speaker for Thursday’s opening session. Other general session speakers on the schedule include W. Mitchell, author and business leader and Mick Ebeling, innovator and founder of Not Impossible Labs. They will be joined by leading massage therapy continuing education presenters from across the country.

For more information, visit AMTA’s website.

BIOTONE’s Edu-Talk Series: Second Quarter Speaker Lineup

The second quarter of BIOTONE’s 2021 Edu-Talk series continues with featured speakers and topics, including:

Tuesday, May 4: “Medical Massage, the What, Why and How” with Shamaya Chah Tuesday, May 18: “Total Body Evaluation” with Kerry D’Ambrogio

Tuesday, June 8: “The Art of Clinical Decision-Making” with Doug Nelson

Tuesday, June 15: “Integrated Manual Therapy for Low Back Pain, Hip Pain, and Sciatica” with James Waslaski

Tuesday, June 22: “Prenatal Massage–Why Specialized Training Matters” with Judy Koch

For more information, visit BIOTONE’s website.

Franchise Gator Names MassageLuxe as 2021's Top Emerging Franchise

MassageLuXe ranked 44 out of 100 on Franchise Gator’s Fastest Growing Franchises list. The list is compiled using metrics like financial stability, growth, transparency, engagement, continuity and sustainability. 

This is the second consecutive year the brand has made the list, which aims to help potential franchise owners identify franchises on the rise.

To view the complete list, visit their website.

Massage Therapist Receives Fifth Third Foundation Grant

The Fifth Third Foundation announced Loose Massage Therapy Plus of Detroit, Michigan, as one of the recipients to receive a portion of its $1.2 million in grant money. The initiative—Innovation Meets Main Street: Boosting Black, Woman-owned Businesses program—was created in September 2020 and focuses on building partnerships between Local Initiatives Support Corporation and the Association for Enterprise Opportunity.

For a full list of recipients, visit their website.

MTF Names New President, Vice President, And Trustees 

The Massage Therapy Foundation (MTF) announced Robin Anderson, MEd, LMT, CEAS, as its new president and Adrienne F. Asta, BA, LMT, as vice president. MTF also announced new members to its board of trustees: 

Angela Barker, BCTMB, LMT, serving a one year-term.

Lindsay Bodkin, BA, LMT, CPT, serving a two-year term.

Kim Nimmo, LMT, NCBTMB, serving a two-year term.

Portia B. Resnick, PhD, ATC, BCTMB, serving a two-year term.

For more information, visit MTF’s website.

NCBTMB Names New COO

The National Certification Board for Therapeutic Massage and Bodywork (NCBTMB) announced Monica Love as its new chief operating officer. Prior to joining NCBTMB, Love was the senior manager of professional development at the American Massage Therapy Association.

For more information, visit NCBTMB’s website.

Two New Bills Addressing Comprehensive Approaches to Pain Care to be Considered by Congress

The Non-Opioids Prevent Addiction in the Nation (NOPAIN) Act, S. 586, first introduced in the last Congress, was reintroduced on March 4, by a bipartisan group of U.S. Senators. The NOPAIN Act is intended to increase patient and provider access to non-opioid approaches to acute pain management, including massage efforts. Last year, members of the American Massage Therapy Association (AMTA) sent over 8,000 letters of support for NOPAIN to their respective House and Senate Members of Congress and helped garner 62 official bipartisan supporters in the House and 24 cosponsors in the Senate. 

Additionally, a bipartisan group of U.S. Senators has introduced S. 987, the Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act (CARA 3.0) to increase funding authorization levels for certain programs enacted as part of the CARA bill in 2016, and also to build upon earlier efforts to help address the rising opioid epidemic through enhanced access to treatment and prevention. CARA 3.0 is intended to be a comprehensive approach to tackling substance abuse. It provides support for new research into non-opioid pain management alternatives, increases continuing education for physicians and providers about non-opioid alternatives, and includes specific language from the NOPAIN Act that requires HHS to report to Congress on certain identified gaps in Medicare coverage for pain, including massage therapy, and to make recommendations to increase patient access to these therapies.

For more information on how massage therapists can get involved in efforts to support these pieces of legislation, click here.

March/April 2021

BIOTONE Launches Edu-Talk Series

BIOTONE’s newest education program focuses on helping massage therapists with tips for career success. Named “EDU-TALK,” this series features 30-minute ZOOM presentations with massage industry experts sharing their knowledge and expertise.

For more information, visit BIOTONE’s website.

Massage Therapy Research Webinar Series

The Massage Therapy Foundation (MTF) and the National Certification Board for Therapeutic Massage and Bodywork (NCBTMB) are offering a free research webinar series. The series covers the basics of research, the impact research has on the massage profession, and what resources are available to help massage therapists seeking better engagement within the profession.

Massage therapists can earn one free continuing education credit upon completion of the quizzes offered at the end of each webinar video.

Current offerings include:

Research Webinar Part I: Why Research?

Research Webinar Part II: What is Research?

Research Webinar Part III: How to Find Quality Resources

Research Webinar Part IV: Case Reports

Research Webinar Part V: Massage Therapy for Pain Management

Research Webinar Part VI: Massage Therapy and the Immune System

(Coming June) Research Webinar Part VII (Topic TBD)

(Coming September) Research Webinar Part VIII: Sports Massage

(Coming December) Research Webinar Part IX (Topic TBD)

For more information, visit MTF’s website.

NCBTMB Receives Re-Accreditation 

The National Commission for Certifying Agencies (NCCA) has renewed the National Certification Board for Therapeutic Massage and Bodywork’s (NCBTMB) five-year re-accreditation status of Board Certification in Therapeutic Massage and Bodywork (BCTMB). 

NCCA is the accrediting body of the Institute for Credentialing Excellence (formerly the National Organization for Competency Assurance).  Since 1977, the NCCA has been accrediting certifying programs based on the highest quality standards in professional certification to ensure programs adhere to modern standards of practice in the certification industry.

NCBTMB’s re-accreditation status is now active until April 30, 2025.

For more information, visit NCBTMB’s website.

NCBTMB 2021 Board Election Results 

The National Certification Board for Therapeutic Massage & Bodywork (NCBTMB) welcomed Christopher Deery, LMT, BCTMB, to the NCBTMB Certification Board as a Practitioner Member. 

Dolly Wallace, LMT, BCTMB, was named president-elect. 

Both appointments are currently in effect. Wallace will serve for one year and Deery will serve a three-year term.

For more information, visit NCBTMB’s website.

AFMTE Group Mentoring Program 

The Alliance for Massage Therapy Education (AFMTE) launched an eight-week group mentoring program this month that runs through April. The program will match individuals seeking mentorship with mentors. Accepted participants will attend a webinar to launch the program, meet weekly for six weeks as mentor/mentee cohorts, and attend a wrap-up webinar. 

For more information, visit AFMTE’s website.

ISPA 2021 Conference & Expo Canceled

The International Spa Association (ISPA) has canceled its 2021 conference and expo due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Instead of an in-person event that typically draws thousands of attendees, ISPA will hold a virtual event in May called the ISPA Stronger Together Summit, with a focus on education. ISPA’s conference-related preparations have now shifted to the 2022 ISPA Conference & Expo, which will be hosted at the Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada, from May 2–4, 2022.

For more information, visit ISPA’s website.

Successful Hands Grant Winners 

The Successful Hands Grant Program announced the winners of their 2020 grants in January.

THE WINNERS ARE:

•Sara Blackburn, Lourdes Institute of Wholistic Studies, Camden, New Jersey

•Carolyn DeVine, Spa Tech Institute, Westbrook, Maine

•Marisol Meyer, Albuquerque, New Mexico

•Marcel Machado, Hawaii Healing Arts College, Kailua, Hawaii

•Lauren Price, Center for Massage, Asheville, North Carolina

•Cori Kresge, Pacific College of Health and Science, New York, New York

•Cynthia Morrison, Cincinnati School of Medical Massage, Cincinnati, Ohio

•Eleanor Rutledge, Lexington Healing Arts Academy, Lexington, Kentucky

Performance Health and Massage Envy established the Successful Hands Grant Program to help students prepare for a career in massage therapy.

For more information, visit the Successful Hands website.

January/February 2021

Research Studies on Covid-19 and Massage Therapy

Two important research studies are currently being conducted to investigate the connections between massage therapy and COVID-19. 

Indiana University School of Health & Human Sciences launched a survey in mid-November focusing on COVID-19 and massage therapy. The survey hopes to get a better understanding of how COVID-19 has affected both massage therapists and their clients by examining the changing habits of both demographics since March 2020. 

Visit AFMTE’s website for more. 

Additionally, the University of South Carolina School of Medicine Greenville, Prisma Health, Clemson University, and Indiana University are gathering real-life experiences of health care providers during the pandemic. Project COPE, short for chronicling health care provider’s pandemic experiences, includes massage therapists and aims to gather information from the experiences of all health care providers/professionals during and after COVID-19.

For more information, visit MTF's website.

Massage Therapy Foundation Launches Fundraising Program

Round-up your purchase totals and donate to a good cause. The Massage Therapy Foundation 

(MTF) launched a new program called Spare Change with the hopes of encouraging donations to the MTF. Those who opt-in to the program can round up the total of their credit card purchases and their “spare change” will be automatically transferred to MTF’s Spare Change program as a charitable donation. 

Spare Change is made possible by Cheerful Giving, and all participants are encouraged to sign up through the program’s sign-up page to begin donating.

Visit MTF’s website for more information.

AMTA 2021-2022 National Board Announced

AMTA’s FY 2021-22 National Board of Directors will take office on March 1, 2021. The newly elected board members include Cindy Farrar (GA), Patricia (Patty) Phillips (WA), Bob Jantsch (PA), Kimberly Kane-Santos (PA), and LaDonna Ward (AL). They will join five continuing Board Directors: Christine Bailor-Goodlander 

(NY), Michaele Colizza (RI), Pat Collins (NY), Jane Horton Johnson (GA), and Scott Raymond (CT).

On March 1, President-Elect Steve Albertson (IL) will become AMTA President and current President, Angela Barker (WV), will continue on the Board as Immediate-Past President.

Visit AMTA’s website for more information.