The Federation of State Massage Therapy Boards (FSMTB) is creating a national licensure examination to serve the needs of the regulatory community. To ensure the
examination reflects current practice, a Job Task Analysis (JTA) Survey was developed. The Survey was deployed online from October 13, 2006 until February 1, 2007 and responses were received from 7,646 massage, bodywork and somatic professionals.
A large majority of respondents (84%) think licensing should be required across the nation. David Quiring, FSMTB Vice President comments, "It is reassuring to learn that the majority of professionals realize the value that regulation has in advancing the status of both the individual practitioner and the profession in general." Two thirds of respondents think the field should not be separated into more than one licensure category such as relaxation/medical or energetic/hands-on.
The top five modalities/approaches used in practice in the United States are Swedish (87%); Deep Tissue (80%); Trigger Point Therapy (50%); Myofascial (50%); and Reflexology (42%).
The majority of respondents (59%) are aged between 35 and 54 years. Sole practitioners account for 35% of respondents and 26% are independent contractors. Respondents who work with special populations primarily work with the following: pregnancy (63%); geriatric (55%); chronic illness (44%); trauma (34%); and the physically challenged (31%).
The FSMTB will publish detailed results from its job task analysis survey on its Web site at www.fsmtb.org> as data becomes available.
examination reflects current practice, a Job Task Analysis (JTA) Survey was developed. The Survey was deployed online from October 13, 2006 until February 1, 2007 and responses were received from 7,646 massage, bodywork and somatic professionals.
A large majority of respondents (84%) think licensing should be required across the nation. David Quiring, FSMTB Vice President comments, "It is reassuring to learn that the majority of professionals realize the value that regulation has in advancing the status of both the individual practitioner and the profession in general." Two thirds of respondents think the field should not be separated into more than one licensure category such as relaxation/medical or energetic/hands-on.
The top five modalities/approaches used in practice in the United States are Swedish (87%); Deep Tissue (80%); Trigger Point Therapy (50%); Myofascial (50%); and Reflexology (42%).
The majority of respondents (59%) are aged between 35 and 54 years. Sole practitioners account for 35% of respondents and 26% are independent contractors. Respondents who work with special populations primarily work with the following: pregnancy (63%); geriatric (55%); chronic illness (44%); trauma (34%); and the physically challenged (31%).
The FSMTB will publish detailed results from its job task analysis survey on its Web site at www.fsmtb.org> as data becomes available.