imstandinghere

2009-07-16T11:25:00.000-07:00

Please Decriminalize Massage and Touch In Berkeley

An open letter to the Berkeley City Council and the Chief of Police

Dear Berkeley City Council Members and Chief of Police Hambleton,

First, I want to thank Berkeley's Chief of Police, Douglas Hambleton, for bringing the issue of the licensing of massage back to the table. Doing so has opened the door for setting things straight so many who are working off the radar, in Berkeley, could be given a chance to come in out of the cold. I know what that is like, having done it for so many years myself. Being licensed not only feels better, but allows me to truly become active from within the system without the fear of being chastised for not being in compliance with the law.

There is a lot more to touch than sex, violence and massage therapy. By this I am suggesting Berkeley become the bellwether citystate for creating a licensing system that is accepting of all folk providing touch for income, no matter the level their training, so long as they are in a training leading to at least the old standard set, in Berkeley, of 70 hours. (Let's not forget CA is unique in the State surrendered the power for the licensing of massage to cities and counties in the 1970's)

The permit would be available to all looking to do touch anywhere, at any time with any consenting adult, in Berkeley, FOR INCOME. Those with permanent structures (aka parlors or offices using massage as part of their operation) are to be held accountable that a person has that license or the permit being put forth by the state level CAMTC noted in the newly proposed ordinance. Hitting here will take you to a letter I wrote to Senator Oropeza (via fax) and the Assembly Committee on Business and Professions with a similar suggestion for the state level.

This link will take you to an ongoing public discussion related to the politics of massage. The list reflects the varied opinions hardly heard because of their being only one truly organized lobbying group in the massage profession, the 501(c)6 AMTA, with the expressed goal of "fair and consistent" licensing throughout the land. Unfortunately the fair and consistent licensing much more benifits schools and other industry players and not those receiving or giving the work.

This link will take you to a blog discussing some of the potential problems for the organization you are looking to institute as the only way of entry for providing touch, for income, in the City of Berkeley.

In closing I ask you merely tweak the existing ordinance especially removing the following:

B. "Bona fide massage therapy school" means an institution, school, or training center providing a course of training in bodywork, healing arts, massage, or touch therapy and issuing a diploma or certificate upon completion of at least five hundred (500) hours of classroom instruction.

C. "Massage" means any method of pressure on or friction against, or stroking, kneading, rubbing, tapping, pounding, vibrating or stimulating of the exterior of the body with or without the aid of any devices, appliances, tools, or topical preparations such as lotions, rubbing alcohol, or creams.

Removing those two items would make it much more inclusive for those who have very adequate trainings of less than 500 hours from different arenas able to provide touch for income, in Berkeley, legally. The upcoming CAMTC governance would make it much easier for those who choose to be employees of chain operations requiring working in different municipalites.

If the links in this mailing do not work, working links may be found at http://iscaaty.blogspot.com/

Sincerely,

Robert Flammia

Berkeley LMT

2008-10-10T19:14:00.000-07:00

Many thanks to Steve Eabry for being a mentor, friend, and editor and contributor to the defunct 'The Rub'. This piece, for the most part could have been written yesterday.

Beware the Robes of Science

Steve Eabry

We are a peculiar people, we European/North Americans. We often demand to know why and how something works before we ask if it does. It isn't enough for us to experience something and to accept it. We can't accept something of value until we are convinced that it is logical, that the system fits within some preconceived mechanism or that it has been "proven" (by someone else) to work. We have even developed a unique system, the scientific method, to prove things. Science has become one of the special religions of our culture: it both regulates and comforts us.

Our adherence to the religion of science contrasts with the attitude of most of the world's peoples, who are generally content to know that what they do works and are not interested in the how or why. Bodywork, both here and throughout the world, has been accepted and utilized because it works. People know that. Now, with the desire to be eligible for third party reimbursement, our profession is being challenged to scientifically prove the how and why of what we do, as well as that it works.

In many ways, this is good for us and for our consumers. Not only will it help to support and refine what we do, and give comfort to the people who don't now know the benefits of massage and bodywork, but it will help to establish our niche within the religion. I criticize and poke fun at science, but belief in it is a fact of life in our society. Also, I have worked within the profession of science for the past 35 years. Perhaps it is this experience which allows me to see through the incense and beyond the altar and the robes and to be concerned about the imposition of science upon bodywork.

Don't get me wrong. I am very happy that the National Institutes of Health has gotten involved in the study of alternative forms of health care, including the sponsoring of research. I also am very happy with the recent report that Americans utilize alternative therapies (including massage) to a greater extent than Western medicine, and spend more on it than hospital care.

However, I am bothered when Chinese medicine and ayurvedic techniques (both thousands of years old) and the various forms of bodywork are labeled as "unconventional," "non-traditional," "unorthodox" (isn't that a religious word!), and "alternative," in contrast to modern medicine, which is less than 200 years old. This is only a game of semantics being imposed upon us by the high priests.

Of real concern to me, however, is the imposition of standards by which we must demonstrate the efficacy of our work, particularly when these standards are not equally applied to Western medicine. There is a call now for scientific studies of alternative therapies. While I support this concept, I caution our profession to be vigilant, to keep science as a tool, not a religion. Let's prevent another AMA witchhunt of the 1930s and 1940s that resulted in the outlawing of many important therapies labeled as "quackery," only because they threatened the ruling priests. Many of these have only recently become available again, e.g., ultrasound, the many color and magnetic therapies, and many disease-fighting nutritional systems. Now, however, they are available only underthe robes of mainstream medicine and at very high cost.

While "modern" medicine parades under the religion of science, for the most part it is not scientific. Most therapies applied daily in doctors' offices and hospitals throughout the country have never been tested by the scientific method; their efficacy is unknown. Dr. Richard Smith, editor of the British Medical Journal, recently published an article in the Journal of Medical Ethics challenging the science of medicine. Dr. Smith says, "I want to argue here that the scientific base of medicine is weak and that it would be better for everyone is that fact were more widely recognized." He reviewed the medical literature, concluding that the scientific evidence in it is poor. He cites a Canadian study which evaluated 4,000 recent medical papers. The study applied 28 basic criteria that should be met in scientific studies to these papers. The authors of that survey concluded that only one percent of the papers met all the criteria. They found that only one in 10 papers published on internal medicine were scientifically reliable, one in 20 for general medicine and only one in 25 in the specialty journals were scientifically reliable. Dr. Smith cites other studies which find that only "about 15 percent of medical interventions are supported by solid scientific evidence.....Often statements were notsupported by any evidence at all -- recommendations were grossly oversimplified; the rationale contained logical errors; and some recommendations were actually refuted by this very evidence." Dr. Smith concludes that "doctors wanttobelieve that they know more than they do, both because it feels good andbecause knowledge is power. And the public likes the idea that doctors will cure them or even keep them from death."

The scientific method involves posing a question and designing a protocol within which we collect data to answer the question. We have libraries full of"scientific" studies which ask the wrong question and/or have a faulty protocol. In fact, science often intentionally asks inappropriate questions because we can't design an economical study to address our real concerns. Even when the scientific method is applied appropriately, we must be very cautious. While science assumes that the whole of reality can be analyzed in terms of data points, each with a separate existence, the space between the points if often ofequal or greater importance than the point measured. Additionally, anything that can be seen or heard or measured or handled by scientific instruments is in itself an abstraction, unfolding and isolated from the system or process.

All this is not so much to argue against the science of medicine, or to restrict the scientific testing of the efficacy of bodywork. It is, however,intended to erect a large warning sign for our profession to be very wary of the people approaching us now, wearing the robes of science. We must not accept a standard which isn't applied to the therapies with which we are being compared. Let us understand science well enough so that we can learn what we would like to know about our work and not what others would like to say about us. Let us use science as appropriate and for our needs. Let's not allow our profession to be used by science.

2008-10-01T15:36:00.000-07:00

Comments #1 : This piece appeared first, in the November/December 1996 issue of Massage Magazine and then a 1997 issue of The Rub, my defunct hard copy newsletter. There really is nothing new under the sun. April 2005, and the battles still rage with Amta beating up on the trade with one successful licensing drive after another.

Comments #2: With the passing of CA-SB731, on September 27, 2008, California has once again avoided the yoke of licensing. The voluntary system and the length of time it will be in place will, hopefully, give rise and incentive to those opposed to licensing ala the Amta machine to organize and pave a different way for California.

I have moved from being opposed to the exclusionary licensing suggested by Amta and her allies to inclusive licensing as suggested here: http://massage.meetup.com/307/about/ Massage and touch are art forms worthy of payment that can be taught outside of massage schools.

The Tragedy of Skilled Touch and Movement in the United States
Don Schwartz, Ph.D.

I am deeply troubled by what is happening overall in the field of skilled touch and movement. There is endless strife in the area of professional regulation which has been, is, and will continue to divide the field. The divisions created make it difficult--if not impossible--to create authentic, broad-based coalitions that can truly support the field in actualizing its potential of service to the people of the United States.

Our field is roughly split into two camps: those who identify skilled touch and movement as therapy/treatment to be conducted within the context of our established health care system; and those who hold other models of the> function, purpose and values of skilled touch and movement -- such as educational, recreational personal service or art.

Those who hold the therapeutic model are furthering their agenda by working toward state licensure of skilled touch and movement. They are well-organized, and have recently accelerated their efforts. Even with their best intentions, the right to practice is being threatened by legislative actions. Those who hold other models are mostly unorganized, and are not working toward any one agenda. Some are concerned, speaking, up, acting up; others are passive.

Author/lawyer/reflexologist Raymond Beck gave us the answer in his groundbreaking article on the Florida state massage laws (MASSAGE Magazine,"What's in a Name -- Title Registration vs. Practice Act," Issue #57, Sept./Oct. 1995). There are two categories of legislative acts: practice and title registration. Practice acts state who can practice what, and title registration acts govern who may use what title.

If the field of skilled touch and movement came to a consensus on the positive value of title registration, we could move toward a credentialing system that would offer a credential to those who want it, but not restrict the right to practice for those who don't. It is possible, under this system, that "professionals" and "non-professionals" could begin to recognize and support each other, and all would benefit from this mutual support. The benefit I'm looking forward to the most, in addition to a reduction of strife, is the possibility that the field of skilled touch and movement can begin to address issues other than professional regulation.

I think the move toward licensure is regrettable. I believe licensure creates state-sanctioned monopolies with the explicit goal of "protecting the public,' but with the real effect of protecting those who hold the monopolies' respective entitlements, reducing information to the public, and restricting competition.

Licensure is associated with our health care system, which is rife with incompetency, corruption, abuse and carelessness. The United States is the only nation in the world that allows profiteering from health care products and services. To the objective observer it appears that the motives and actions of the field of skilled touch and movement are self-serving.

Just because I prefer forms of professional regulation other than licensure does not mean that I do not stand for high educational and practice standards. I would like to see a solid 3,000-hour educational standard for those who choose to be in our established health care system.

With that standard in place I would more confidently know that our peers are able to communicate well with physicians, nurses, physical therapists, administrators, public and private insurance organizations. These high standards will enable us to be more a part of the solution rather than a part of the problem.

Licensure is the dominant form of professional regulation in our health care> system. The steam-rolling nature of skilled touch and movement's initiatives toward licensure are deeply entrenched. Do we recognize that we are jumping into an arena characterized by deep, constant conflict regarding who gets how much money, with what credentials, for what kind of sessions, for what length of sessions, for what diagnoses, for what frequency of sessions, and under which plans? Those who want to play this endless game know its nature, and simply will go for all they can get. Our field has become conflicted in its approach to the health care system, and we will find ourselves in more and greater conflicts as we enter the morass of the health care system.

To reduce conflict within our field, we need to develop mutual recognition, respect and support. The tone of communication on the topic of professional regulation tends to be absolute; disagreement is met with anger and entrenchment. We all need to consider each others' perspectives much more than we are doing now. We need to really consider the impact of our actions on our peers in the field. With respect to entering the health care world, we do know that when someone is ill, the more skilled (and nurturing) touch and movement they receive, the better their recovery. The potential is that as skilled touch and movement practitioners enter into our health care system, positive change in that system can be accomplished.

I believe skilled touch and movement deserves to be virtually everywhere in our world, and that ultimately includes the health care system. While I would like those who are going for licensure to stop, look and listen, I want to support them in achieving a positive impact in our health care system. And I want to support those who practice under different models, in different contexts, and who do not want health care credentialing. Imagine what would happen in, instead of ignoring or fighting with each other, we found ways of supporting each other in being where we each want to be with our work!

Public education is the key to the field's realization of its potential of service to the world. Rather than depend on private and public health plans to market our work, we could pool our resources and develop a comprehensive plan to reach out and promote the value of touch to all Americans. Not just our touch, but touch as a natural part of life, as a human value. Whatever we do in the way of public educations, it is critical that we be accurately perceived as promoting positive values independent of our interests.

Most of us have seen and heard the phrase, "Got Milk?" countless times. It is the keynote of a wildly successful campaign by the Milk Advisory Board to promote the consumption of milk. Skilled touch also needs promotion, and there are those who have the expertise to develop graceful and effective public education campaign. As people begin to appreciate the value of touch, they will begin to ask more questions, to look around, and to take steps in maximizing touch in their lives. Our presence as practitioners will be recognized, valued and utilized.

Until we really begin to connect with each other, to find our commonalities, to respectfully explore our differences, and to find ways we can work together that most benefit all of us, our energies will be focused on conflict--between peers within the field, and between the field and the worlds of professional health care and prostitution. I call on everyone in our field to soften their views on professional regulations, to consider what all sides are saying, and to be open to creative, unanticipated ways we can address regulation while developing a community spirit based not on shared strategies,but shared values and visions.

Don Schwartz, Ph.D.,was the administrative director for The Trager Institute> for 17 years, and was a founding representative to The Federation of Therapeutic Massage, Bodywork and Somatic Practice Organizations. He has been receiving skilled touch and movement sessions since 1972.

2007-08-15T19:01:00.000-07:00

People have always known massage "works". As noted in the first introduction to Massage, Manipulation and Traction by Dr. Sidney Licht, even MD's did massage in the past. Massage was put aside by the medicos in favor of pharmaceuticals.

Massage, Manipulation and Traction, edited by Sidney Licht, M.D.

Preface to 1976 Reprint

In the second half of the twentieth century most books on therapy of such age are considered obsolescent, and often, justifiably so. This book claims exception because the methods described have not changed during the life of this book, and in many cases for much longer.

During this period there has been such a renewed interest in the subject of pain, that journals and societies dedicated to the control of pain have appeared. Pain has become a specialty and although new surgical, pharmaceutical and electrical approaches have claimed success, massage, manipulation and traction still enjoy the gratitude OF those who suffer from certain musculoskeletal complaints.

Of greatest interest to readers of this book is the recent development of theories concerning the cause and relief of pain. Much of this has been summarized in a book which we recommend: Pain Relief by Dr. John G. Hannington-Kiff (William Heinemann Medical Books, Ltd., London, 1974). Most of what we discuss in this addendum is discussed and documented in the Hannington-Kiff book.

In 1959, a Dutch surgeon, W. Noordenbos, advanced a concept of pain mechanisms based on the properties of peripheral nerve sensory fibers. He suggested that there were at least two different kinds of fibers: small diameter, which conduct skin and visceral pain impulses to the spinal cord at slow conduction rates and large-diameter fibers which inhibit transmission of impulses travelling the fast route to the brain.

Six years later, Ronald Melzack, a Montreal psychologist and Patrick D. Wall, a London surgeon, proposed the Gate-Control Theory of Pain which has since been faulted by a few reviewers but which remains attractive and useful, especially to those of us who believe empirically that massage can and does offer relief to some patients for whom other approaches are less satisfying. The Melzack-Wall gate-control theory proposes that there is a "gate" or monitor in the substantia gelatinosa of the dorsal horn of the spinal cord in the form of transmission (T) cells. There are thick and thin fibers from the periphery along which impulses travel at different speeds; fast for the thick, slow for the thin. Pleasant stimulus impulses travel faster along the thick fibers than do pain stimuli along the thin. when the pleasant stimuli reach the T cells they influence them to "close the gate" against pain stimuli which may arrive later. If the pain stimuli arrive in great abundance or intensity they can "crash" the gate, and the pain impulses will continue cephalad to cerebral pain centers.

There are also, fibers from the brain which send messages to the T cells from above which may modulate the flow of impulses, inhibition or facilitation. The thin fibers (called A-delta and C) may have a strong influence on the T cells and "open the gate" to pain stimuli allowing impulses to continue upward individually or by summation, or, by permitting spread of pain impulses involving larger areas than subserved by the original site of pain. This is a simplified view of the important contribution of Melzack and Wall, first enunciated in the journal Science in 1965.

This unifying theory of pain is applicable to massage. The stroking of the skin can initiate different stimuli which run the gamut from sensual pleasure (gentle stroking) to pain (hacking, connective tissue massage). Gentle striking is so pleasant that the stimuli it sends along large-diameter fibers arrive at the T cells in the spinal cord before the painful stimuli. The T cells often respond by "closing the gate". Thus effleurage can inhibit the transmission of painful stimuli to higher centers for varying periods of time. Of course, eventually, painful stimuli by their intensity or cumulative effect may "crash the gate". This is one reason the sedating effect of massage may last only an hour or two. Even relief of short duration may break the "vicious cycle" of pain and thus offer longer relief.

What is important about the new theory is that there is now an explanation which lends respectability to the likely reasons why in so many instances massage "works". Of course, previous theories about massage are still viable, for example, improved circulation and thus evacuation of local accumulation in painful tissues of katabolites, and so on.

Sidney Licht, M.D. June, 1976

2007-08-15T13:03:00.001-07:00

From one of my favorite bibles(4), Massage, Manipulation and Traction, a compilation of physical medicine techniques by Sidney Licht, MD, comes this preface. I believe the preface to be one of the best explanations as to why massage fell by the wayside until the Human Potential Movement. The HPM contributed to the resurrection of many of the healing arts long pooh-poohed by western medicine.

Preface

The subjects treated in this book share several things in common. Each concerns the application of mechanical forms of treatment, and all rank high on the list of therapeutic procedures that have occasioned extravagant claims, assault, and rejection.

Virtually anyone can give massage, and almost everyone has. the mother who rubs the bumped head of her child is giving massage; the dog who licks his broken leg is massaging himself. There is probably no older analgesic than massage; yet, massage, which was lauded by Hippocrates and applauded by Galen, was ignored by physicians for centuries. Since its medical reacceptance in the middle of the nineteenth century, there have been as many detractors as enthusiasts. During the early years of the twentieth century, medical educators, particularly in the United States, refused even to condemn it lest by mouthing the word massage they might give it even a negative recognition. Most physicians are not against massage; in fact, they may be found among those who make appointments for a "rubdown" at a club (beach, country, or "health"). Many physicians who are against massage are opposed to certain operators rather than to the method, for there have always been and will probably always be masseurs who will continue to "prescribe" and make claims for massage that are not in accord with established medical practice.

Massage is more than the laying on of hands or bodily contact; it is personal contact. Each masseur uses, in addition to his hands, his voice, his assessment of the person massaged (sometimes called "psychology" by masseur and subject), and a knowledge or supposition of fold medicine. We may group masseurs into three classes: the untrained, the trained, and the educated. the untrained are those who may be found in vacation resorts or attached to athletic teams. They learn massage by watching other "rubbers" give massage. They work hard at looking industrious; they make extravagant sweeps of the hand and slapping noises. they use generous amounts of lubricants, sometimes of a "secret formula". These people are often likable extroverts who radiate health-imparting confidence. They are frequently consulted for opinions on health and disease, especially of the muscoloskeletal system. In general, they do no harm medically since they recognize their limitations and will not venture opinions beyond that of folklore medicine (admittedly an occasional danger).

In the second classification are those persons who have taken a few weeks or months of training, during which they have been taught all about massage, anatomy, physiology, disease--in short (very short)--medicine. These people are usually awarded a certificate, sometimes a very impressive-appearing certificate. They usually set up a private practice to fill the prescriptions of referring physicians. Many states now require licensure for private (and even public) massage administration, but such licensure may be based on an inadequate examination given to persons with an inadequate education. In other words,state licensure in itself may not guarantee ethical conduct since, in addition to liberal requirements, inspection and enforcement are too costly to be carried out fully. For example, a masseur who is questioned closely and asked to produce a prescription for a patient may say that he was given the order over the telephone as an emergency and the physician died before he was able to send it. Many of the referrals received by these masseurs are from grateful patients, but a large number are from accredited physicians who for personal reasons, or because they are not well informed on the subject, persist in this practice.

The third class of persons who give massage is limited to qualified physical therapists who have been graduated from schools of physical therapy approved by a national medical association or health ministry. In the United States, such persons are "registered' by the American Registry of Physical Therapy founded by the American congress of Physical Medicine; in Great Britain they are "chartered" by the Chartered Society of Physiotherapists. In the United States, membership in the American Physical Therapy Association is as acceptable as registration since the standards of that association are desirably high. For the most part, registered or chartered physical therapists (as differentiated from licensed) are educated at hospital schools or universities where the program, or a great part of it, is under the direction of a physician. Most qualified therapists work in hospitals, clinics, or the offices of physicians. We have yet to meet a registered therapist in private practice who has gained such complete cooperation from all referring physicians that he is able to prove that each patient admitted to treatment came to him with a written prescription, but this remains a theoretical possibility. Nevertheless, such therapists have had prolonged drill in medical ethics and have remained under the close ethical supervision of other therapists and physicians for two or more years; very few of them breach the ethical code.

Why does massage thrive if, as some physicians content, it does no good? There are several reasons, among which we may cite (a) it feels good, especially when given skillfully, (b) it is a more tangible treatment than advice, and (c) it is a positive and immediate approach in an attempt to relieve symptoms--usually the first concern of many patients.

There was a time--less than a century ago--when some physicians personally massaged their patients. When massage is limited to a five-minute session, this is practicable, but, since many patients asked for longer sessions, physicians employed masseurs or trained their own. The physician who has not himself been massaged and has not learned enough about massage to administer it himself has neglected the art. We question whether such a physician has the right to prescribe massage, for he can assess the technique of his masseurs only by knowing as much about massage as it is possible for him to learn.

Many books and articles have been written about massage; perhaps more than half of these have been by physicians. These writings have seldom been sufficiently objective to be classified as scientific; massage is largely not scientific. In this book, we do not pretend to treat massage from the scientific viewpoint alone since the result would be inadequate for clinical purposes. We do feel that we have presented the subject in a more informative and restrained fashion than is customary. In this book, the history of massage is treated more fully than elsewhere in the English language. The physiologic effects and classic techniques re discussed by physicians who have had long and broad experience in these fields. All chapters in this book have been written by physicians--a distinct departure from recent practice.

There are several forms of massage that are very popular in the countries of their recent origin yet are scarcely known in America. We present these as fully as possible and, in most cases, by the physicians who introduced them or are currently considered leaders in that aspect of massage. Dr. Irmgard Seeberger Bischof has become the editor of the Dicke book on connective tissue massage since the latter's death. This book has been reprinted three times in four years. Dr. Maurice Fuchs introduced syncardial massage, and Dr. W. Ritchie Russell restored vibration to a medially acceptable level. The name of Cyriax is probably more closely associated with medically prescribed massage than that of any other living physician. The inclusion in this book of newer forms of massage does not imply an endorsement upon the part of the editor or any contributors to this or previous volumes of Physical Medicine Library. Some people will question the propriety of including such discussions in a medical book since they have not been proven scientifically, that is, accepted by organized American medicine. What could be less scientific than to deny American physicians the opportunity to learn the rationale and methods advocated? The decision to try or to reject without trial is up to the reader. Surely, methods that are widely used with claimed success should not be condemned before they are examined. The way of liberals is to place the pain of patients above prejudice. In editing each contribution we have tried to emphasize methods, not results.

Manipulation remains an ugly word in many medical and surgical clinics. When applied improperly it may be dangerous, conceivably fatal when dealing with rotation of cervical vertebrae. If manipulation is performed by an informed physician, the hazard should be no greater than with most valuable therapeutic agents.

Manipulations and most other operations requiring the use of the hands are difficult to teach by the printed word or even the printed picture. This book does not presume to make a masseur or a manipulator of anyone without previous knowledge or ability to acquire training from an experienced operator; however, for those who have had or may have the opportunity to watch a skilled worker, this book should serve as a useful reference.

Many physicians prescribe stretching. There are some conditions for which there is no other rewarding approach at the time of this writing; yet, there is little written about the subject. We believe a discussion of stretching belongs in this book since it is performed largely by manually applied forces. We have placed stretching in the section on manipulation since it is probably more closely related to it than to massage or traction. We have reserved methods that employ apparatus for the section on traction. We might say it another way: stretching is manual traction.

Traction is almost as old as massage, yet it is a word which is seldom encountered in ancient writings. The subject was usually discussed in writings on fractures and dislocations. The word traction is lost among description of pulleys, ropes, axles and winches. The traction which is of ancient origin has been used continuously throughout the ages for traumatic bony pathology. As used in this book, traction is concerned largely with minor displacements or pathology not visible on X-ray and in this sense is relatively new--a product of the twentieth century.

For the chapters on manipulation and traction we invited physical medicine specialists rather than orthopedic surgeons. We did this to differentiate surgical from physiatric procedures to the extent feasible and to present to physical medicine specialists the experience of other physical medicine specialists in these ares.

No volume of Physical Medicine Library would have reached book form without the help of many persons, and this volume is no exception. Drs. Michael Carpendale of the University of Alberta in Canada and Roland Harris of Buxton, England must be mentioned first since their help was of the highest order in reviewing parts of the manuscript. Miss Mildred Elson of New York City is mentioned next because of her valued assistance with the chapter on connective tissue massage, not only as a student of the subject, but as an editor of long and appreciated experience.

Portions of the text were critically appraised by our good and able friends, Dr. Alfred Ebel of New York, Drs. Lewis L. Levy and Donald B. Alderman of New Haven, and Professor Michael MacConaill of Cork, Ireland. Ideas and figures of historical interest were graciously offered by Dr. P. Hume Kendall of London and Mr. Frederick G. Kilgour, Librarian of the Yale Medical Library. As has been the custom, Physical Medicine Library material is used in the teaching of residents at the Yale university School of Medicine, and many improvements are suggested during seminars, especially by my colleagues, Dr. Thomas F. Hines, Dr. Robcliff V. Jones, Jr., Lee Greene and Frederick E. Dugdale. Gratitude is also due Miss Edith Nyman of New Haven for editorial assistance. To Mr. Norvell E. Miller, III, and his associates at the Waverly Press, we extend thanks for all their help in the mechanical details of structuring a book. We ask forgiveness of those who helped but whose names are beyond our aging memory.

Sidney Licht, M.D.
New Haven, Connecticut
December 1, 1959

2007-06-27T11:01:00.000-07:00

We need a lobbyist to serve OUR interests. My letter to the Business and Professions Committee may be falling on deaf or shut off ears.

Dear Senator Oropeza (via fax) and Assembly Committee on Business and Professions:

SB731, as it is written, is not good for consumers or future providers of touch.

I have written extensively (see links below) in opposition to the state level licensing or certification of massage aka massage therapy. Now I want to suggest a licensing program that would be good for all, rather than for the benefit of those providing programs of 250 hours or more of training in a state approved program.

Albeit reluctantly, I agree ALL those providing massage or touch for income should be licensed by the state for the following reasons:

It is too easy in an unlicensed environment for activity outside of straightforward massage to be provided by folk involved in illegal activities. Fingerprinting and an application would immediately criminalize those not willing to go through a simple process.
A very large pool of folk from all levels of training would reduce the expense of the basic requirements of licensing which I believe should be comparable to those for operating a motor vehicle.
It would be beneficial to legitimate professionals because of having an easily acquired ID they could use on a statewide basis.
It would be beneficial to employers who could use the system for background checks. Hospitals, insurance providers, Chiros and other licensed healthcare providers could be mandated to employ only those with certain levels of training.
Licensing would be beneficial to cities and counties because of having a resource for a background check for those looking to work in their community. It would be beneficial to consumers who bother to ask for credentials.

An online resource comparable to that of the Ohio massage board could be a resource for the public. http://www.med.ohio.gov/MTlicexam.htm Rather than being only medical, the board would be broader.

Following are opening suggestions for state licensing:

First, one needs to acquire a learners permit... Fingerprinting, background check and proof one has agreed to learn from a Registered Class A license holder for at least one hour of formal training or is registering at an approved institution. A test could be created that would test a persons knowledge of the law, very much like the test given to folk wanting to drive a motor vehicle:

1-99 hours of formal training gets a Class C license... Holder is free to market themselves as a Class C provider of touch.
100-499 hours of formal training at a state approved institution gets a Class B license... Holder is free to market themselves as a Class B provider of touch
500 hours of training or more at a state approved institution gets a Class A license... Holder is free to market themselves as a Massage Therapist

I choose the word provider as opposed to practitioner because I do not believe many practice doing massage. One provides massage at all kinds of levels of expertise. Medical folk practice medicine.

In closing, California is the home of the Human Potential Movement which began in the 1960's at Esalen. California has been a bellwether state in many arenas. Make California a bellwether state keeping the field of touch/massage wide open to all that wish to indulge rather than just to those laying out large amounts of money that would benefit the coffers of schools and other industry segments. I have been providing touch since 1986.

My initial training was 100 hours. The training has yet to end.

2007-06-03T11:23:00.000-07:00

POLITICS: Only two individuals oppose licensing or certification in CA.

There has been a bit of activity on the bodywork politics list. The writings are public and can be read at http://tinyurl.com/25qfqo To post you must join the group.

To fully understand the context of the excerpts, start with http://tinyurl.com/yof83f. The following excerpts come from http://tinyurl.com/3yy48h

I wrote, "It is pretty evil for the Amta, against all the resistance and pleas for compromise to have gone to the government in so many states imposing unnecessary regulations on those who would touch for income. The analogy of Shreks evil brother fits, especially when one considers the innocence and niavete of many that get into this line of work."

Amta-CA law and legislation co-chair Beverly May Shultz wrote, "Beyond you & Carl (Brown), there has been very little pleas and resistance in CA -mostly increasing expressions of support. Why do you think ABMP is fullyinvolved? And only a couple of schools do not support the bill - eitherbecause they want more hours or less. Meanwhile, cities and counties arepassing new ordinances all over on their own, and none of them are pretty."

Unfortunately, because of the lack of an organized resistance, it sometimes feels that way. CA is a lobbyist state and those working with lobbyists have the power. The only way to overwhelm that power is too inundate the legislators with an incredibly large number of letters of oppostion. Now is the time to start doing that. To find your CA state assembly person or senate member, go too: http://www.leginfo.ca.gov/yourleg.html

Also, in an effort to create an organized opposition to Amta efforts in CA, I have set up a site where you can put your money where your mouth is if in opposition. Check it out at: http://massage.meetup.com/307/?gj=sj6 All proceeds beyond $72 will be donated to the Florida Touch Institute if the effort fails. Stating that does not imply any connection to the FTI.

Following is a post from James Nally, ND regarding SB731. James is one of the school owners alluded to by Beverly May Shultz.

SB 731

SB 731 passed the State Senate yesterday with 29 votes in favor and 4 votes opposed. It is now going to the State Assembly to be heard by various Assembly committees then by the entire Assembly. It looks like it is on a fast track to passing this year. I think the best opportunity to make any changes to the bill will be when it comes before the Assembly Business and Professions Committee.

SB 731 is the reincarnation of SB 412 which died in the last legislative session. While statewide registration of massage practitioners may have some benefits, there are problems with some of the provisions in SB 731. The biggest concern is with the phasing out of the 250 hour massage practitioner tier in 2013. This will require that anyone entering the profession after that will need a minimum of 500 hours of education to get started.

Phasing out the 250 hour tier would greatly increase the cost of entering the massage profession. This would effectively close the door to people who want to do massage avocationally, part -time, or just to help family and friends. The increased cost of training would also have a negative impact on the number of therapists who would do volunteer work with hospice organizations, etc.

Phasing out the 250 hour tier would negatively affect the smaller massage schools. The larger career schools would be better situated to offer 500 hour programs, but because they are not focused on massage therapy they will not have the diverse selection of classes that a massage school would. Without financial aid programs and the economy of scale it will be very hard for the massage schools to compete. The net result will be a lower quality of education, less diversity of training, and fewer continuing education choices for therapists.

Around 60% of California massage schools offer programs of less than 500 hours. These schools serve the needs of a highly diverse California population, including those transferring from other professions, those learning while meeting family and community responsibilities, and those of ethnic, non-English, or poor backgrounds working hard to fulfill their potential. For these groups, the 250 hour tiers meets an important and continuing economic need for rapid entry to massage practice so that their career dreams can continue.

Low-income students need to begin earning an income as soon as possible, and those who have other responsibilities such as family and job but who want to take advantage of this educational and economic opportunity might not even be able to even enter the field if required to begin with 500 hours. Many don't qualify for education grants, and student loans simply increase their economic burden. The national trend toward requiring a minimum of 500 hours of training would close the door of opportunity for these disadvantaged people if it became the standard in California.

Senate Bill 731, on the face, creates a voluntary certification. However, when combined with local regulations, it can be anticipated to have the effect of a practice act in that it would be mandatory in many urban regions. Where the state leads, the cities and counties will follow. It is likely that any standard set by the state will be adopted by the cities and counties, which means that a one-size fits all law could mean the beginning of the end of the great diversity of massage practice in California.

To see the language of the bill please go to: http://tinyurl.com/2htqbd

2007-04-17T13:46:00.000-07:00

All politics are based on the indifference of the majority.
~ James Reston

Come join the minority!!!

Following are two letters in opposition to CA-SB731. One is from Will Green, founding President of the International Massage Association and one from yours truly. You too can write the committee with your thoughts and opinions. Go here to find out who to write.

Dear (Committee Members)

I am the founding president of the International Massage Association, based in Washington DC, representing over 72,000 members across America with over 6000 in California. I am writing concerning CA S.B. No.731, this bill does not do much for the people that are members of my organization or the general public but does much to advance a monopoly of schools and other segments of the massage industry.

When states deliberate whether or not to regulate, or how to regulate massage, I strongly recommend thoughtful consideration to the economic impact of doing so. In spite of the licensure requirements that continue to put proficient massage professionals out of business, the industry is worth nearly four-billion dollars a year in taxable income, as reported a while back in the New York Times.

Massage is an ideal career, vocation or avocation that can be practiced by everyone through cost-effective avenues such as apprenticeships, video correspondence courses and internships. It is empowering and adaptable to: segments of the work force that experience periodic furloughs, massive layoffs, displacement through industry decline; to single parents, welfare-to-work candidates, and to occupational therapy programs.

Regulation creates monopolies in the name of “protecting the public”, with no harm ever being proven by those advocating this protection. The public, our clientele, is becoming more savy and discerning as to the types of service and modalities it wants to experience.

Licensing and regulation have never guaranteed competency. Poor performers do not do well in the massage business. Because they cannot sustain a consistent repeat clientele base they would be driven out of the business by the law of supply and demand.

We know many talented and gifted practitioners, who had extremely successful practices, who are prevented from practicing because they do not conform to the definition and requirements of massage therapy licensure. Further there are skilled immigrants – some with 20-40 years of massage experience, some being “Doctors or Nurses of massage” in other countries that cannot practice their trade because they have not attended an “accredited” US school or attained the minimum hours. Thus we have a skilled work force unable to work, constituting restraint of trade, unfair trade practices and discrimination.

Unfortunately, cities and states knowingly or unknowingly are complicit to the monopoly that massage licensure laws have created.

I would be pleased and honored to participate with legislative and law enforcement authorities to promulgate thoughtful laws and ordinances and address problems and challenges to our trade.

Sincerely,

Will Green
President
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Dear Senator.Ridley-Thomas,Please let SB731 die and continue to oppose any bill governing massage or touch, for practitioners, at the state level under the umbrella title of massage therapy. Govern "Massage Therapy," maybe.

Taken directly from materials from an AMTA membership packet is this: Massage Therapy is a "profession" in which the practitioner applies manual techniques and may apply adjunctive therapies, with the intention of positively affecting the health and well-being of the client.

Massage Therapy is a "profession" created by the AMTA. Massage Therapist is a title yet to be completely defined as an occupation. This bill is a foot in the door for the proponents of licensing and a foot in the door for imposing unnecessary requirements on those looking to provide touch or massage as a service.

In the realm of government our country has three distinct branches - the Legislative, Judicial and Executive. In the realm of massage and touch, there are at least three branches. There could be a "profession" which regulation could be placed in the hands of a group such as AMTA, their AMTA Council of Schools or COMTA the AMTA spawned Commission on Massage Therapy Accreditation, accredited by the Federal Department of Education for accrediting schools desiring to teach 'Massage Therapy'. Completing high numbered hours of training at one fell swoop at one of their schools would entitle those desiring to be referred to as a Massage Therapist the right to do so.

Beyond a "profession", there is the 2nd and 3rd branches of trade and service involving people who desire to do massage or touch or integrating a short massage training into other body oriented practices they may already be involved in. The three branches of massage/touch are understood to be "professional" as all are worthy of payment for services rendered.

Any act written without interchanging the words massage or touch with Massage Therapy to satisfy those feeling the need for state recognition could be an option. Words implying a Massage Therapist is anything more than a title in a realm with many optional titles not needing standards set for the title Massage Therapist or Massage Therapy is more damaging than good for the vast majority of givers and those receiving the work.

Licensing CPA's did not kill accountants and bookkeepers, freelance or employees. Skilled touch and massage should remain unscathed. Rubbing is also a profession. Massage Therapists would be allowed to rub. By visiting this site you will be lead to definitions of masseur, masseuse and rubber, long established and connected to massage. These definitions are being drawn from and placed into a "new" occupation of "Massage Therapist."

The major difference between masseur/masseuse and rubber trainings and "massage therapy" trainings is all the responsibilities of the masseur/masseuse and rubber titles are lumped into one very expensive training more beneficial to the schools and industry than for those looking to provide touch as a service for income.

Thank you for listening.

Robert Flammia,
Former Amta member
Holistic Bodywork Therapist and Health Educator and expired NCTMB
Berkeley CA

2007-04-08T17:21:00.000-07:00

Whoever has the money has the power.
-Tagline, The Lookout

The Amta has the money and are wielding their power again, in CA. Before I get into all of that I want to thank the Amta (again) for all they have done for me.

I am moved by the words, "Thank the ones who have taught you, helped you, met you for who you are. Appreciate them now." You may find those words as part of the sermon I heard on Easter Sunday, April 8, 2007, at the UUCB.

Thanks to the NHI, an Amta-COS member that provided me with a great education beginning with a 100 hour 11 day intensive training (no longer available), in 1986, giving me more than enough training making it possible for me to enter this trade.

Thanks to the Amta-CA for creating units . Thanks to the individual members of the Amta-CA-GGU for talking me into leading the GGU which led to my becoming a Delegate to the Amta House of Delegates at their national convention in Boston, in 1995.

I found the memorabalia in the above picture while cleaning out my office. Thanks for the memories. It was at the Amta national convention I made some of my longest lasting friendships and connections in this trade. I appreciate all the Amta has done for me.

Yes, all! I thank the Amta for making me stand up and learn the way how CA politics work. It is because the Amta has taken the offensive, aggressively seeking to put CA massage/touch governance into the hands of a board at the state level that I have had a great civics lesson and am continuing to become good at playing politics. Politics is a game.

CA-SB412 was a great civics lesson. I actually watched and took part in the process going so far as to express my opposition at a CA-Senate committee hearing in Sacramento. Getting involved is not as difficult as you may think or believe. Just showing up is a plus.

On the heels of CA-SB412 is SB731, yet another Amta attempt at putting the governance of massage into the hands of the state.

After a whole lot of thought, I have come to the point of thinking there may be a need for the licensing of massage. The difference between their idea and my idea is what it would take to get a license. I believe it should be a whole lot easier to get a license to do massage than it is to drive a car. How many people died from massage related injuries in the last decade?

My opening thoughts about the benefits of a license are here(1) and here(2) . I'm just a simple man that knows anyone can do massage with little or no formal training. That is both the bane and the boon of the work. But, also like driving, which needs no "formal" training, there should be different tests and licenses for the level of work one is doing reflecting the person is familiar with the laws regarding the driving/work one is doing.

They have already spent $13,500 lobbying the governor and legislature on creating a statewide standard for licensing during the 2007-2008 legislative session. By checking out their history at the link you will find they also spent nearly $175,000 on AB1388 and SB412. They are playing to win.

As many know, there will be a hearing in Sacramento on the 23rd of April. Letters sent to the committee in opposition to the bill may serve to nip the bill in the bud. Showing up or sending someone in opposition would also a good thing. Going to Sacramento is no easy chore...

With that in mind, I have set up a "meet-up" with the hope there are some truly interested in playing the CA politics game in earnest. The game rules for our arena are found here. This bill is in its infancy just going into committee.

Amongst the many definitions you will find "Legislative Advocate: An individual (commonly known as a lobbyist) engaged to present to legislators the views of a group or organization. The law requires formal registration with the Secretary of State if an individual's lobbying activity exceeds 25 contacts with decision makers in a two-month period." With enough support, I would be willing to take that on. With enough signing on, we could create a lobbying committee.

This is merely a beginning.... Some support will spur me on. No support will set me free to get into playing at my newly launched website found here.

2007-02-14T11:02:00.000-08:00

Prayers for St Valentine, a virtual rose for all and another World Thinking Day homework assignment triggered by hearing Maya Angelou!

St Valentine was beaten and beheaded in Rome in 269 and buried on the Flaminian Way. Today he is in my prayers.

I am not going to make a big deal out of Valentines Day. There will be more than 2,000,000,000 roses exchanging hands as gifts in the US alone. The vast majority of those roses will be coming from Columbia. The extent of my rose giving is a virtual rose to all receiving this mailing. Enjoy! Watch out for the thorns. How big is VD?

I will be joining the WAGGGS in celebrating World Thinking Day on February 22. I became aware of WTD two years ago because of a discussion with the love of my life about the differences in the pecking order and ways of the Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts. Come to find out (1) Girl Scouts climb the ranks by way of age as opposed to accomplishment and (2) Girl Scouts make a promise, "On my honor I will try to do my best" as opposed to the Boy Scout oath requiring the statement, "On my honor I will do my best." I will continue to spare you my opinion as to how I believe the two different oaths have an impact on our lives.

In my 2006 VD post, I tasked folk for WTD to reflect on why they were not participating in the politics of massage and to get involved. This year is only a little similar.

I saw an incredible presentation by Maya Angelou as part of my subscription to the MPSF speakers series last night. The MC was absolutely right in she was the right person to speak the night before VD. Her theme was COMPOSING...

In telling her story, she spoke of those who composed who she was to become by helping her in every way shape and form from her Uncle Willy teaching her multiplication tables in Arkansas to her mother making her attend one play a year in SF to acquire some culture. She beseeched us to reach out to our librarians asking for literature and poetry (especially black writers) reminding us that their compositions are now our compositions for the asking. I don't think I will be able to read Poe in the same way after hearing her rap rendition of 'The Raven'.

She then spoke of how we, the younger generations, had to be courageous and compose the world as we wanted it to be. She noted she was not pleased with the composition of the world created by her generation.

I am moved by the fact she went from being a 16 year old unmarried pregnant 6 foot tall black girl with a propensity for learning languages yearning to take part in the history unfolding before her as she watched in awe as folk were being hired as translators at the unbelievable salary of $150 per week when the UN was forming in SF to being invited by the UN to read a poem at the United Nations 50th anniversary celebration.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
SO! What is your homework for WTD? Truly start composing what you want the world to be. I am addressing this especially to those in my trade, the world of touch.

Carl Sagan wrote, "A central lesson of science is that to understand complex issues (or even simple ones), we must try to free our minds of dogma and to guarantee the freedom to publish, to contradict, and to experiment. Arguments from authority are unacceptable."

I have not been happy with the way the most politically active organization (Do I need to invoke their name?) has been composing the destiny and putting themselves forth as the "authority" for OUR work. If you feel the same, compose your own path and let others know you are doing it.

For years I have said I will compose materials stating what my work is about. It is time. Like you (and Maya Angelou), I, and my work are the end result of a long series of people, places and things. Art Buchwald wrote, "The best things in life aren't things." Massage Therapy is a thing.

Watch for your name at The Flammia Touch as I create a composition.

2007-01-05T17:48:00.000-08:00

FSMTB Survey

If you are not part of the solution, you are part of the problem.

If you are in a state that requires a license and an exam and are dissatisified with the NCE and their services, your input into this survey may help with some of the problems you experience.

I received the following from the FSMTB:

Dear Members of the Massage, Bodywork and Somatic Practice Professions:

The Federation of State Massage Therapy Boards wants to hear from you.

The FSMTB is conducting a comprehensive survey of the professions to improve understanding of current practice. The information will be used to establish the content for the entry-level licensure exam that will be introduced in 2007 in an effort to bring uniformity and reciprocity to the licensing process in the United States.

The information that you provide will also form the basis for developing model practice acts and regulations. The career satisfaction component of the survey will provide insights into the state of professional practice and the attitudes and perceptions of the practitioners themselves.

This is a perfect opportunity to tell the regulatory community about you and your profession so that we can make informed decisions – decisions for the profession by the profession. Your input is extremely important and we are eager to listen to you.

Please participate in the online survey by January 15th and pass this invitation along to colleagues that you think would also like the opportunity to be heard. If you've already completed the survey, we thank you for your participation.

We are honored to work with such remarkable people serving such a meaningful role in communities across the country – please help us bring your profession to the next level so that consumers can enjoy the benefits of your work and you can enjoy the professional stature that you deserve. Please go to www.fsmtb.org to take the survey now!

Respectfully, on behalf of the FSMTB regulatory community,
Patty Glenn, President

Following is my response to Ms Glenn:

Dear Ms Glenn,

As much as I would like to participate, I believe my input would only contribute to institutions I believe should not even be in existence.

Specifically, the institutions I oppose are, the Amta spawned NCTMB folk that unleashed an unnecessary exam on the touch professions and state level boards governing massage and imposing unnecessary high requirements for the laying of hands.

The mission of the FSMTB is "supporting the mission of public protection."

Proof the public needs protection has never been proven.

The people who need protection are those willing to provide massage and touch. Protection is needed against those who would impose unnecessary expense via unnecessary exams and ludicrously high numbers of hours of training and expense for folk to be able to do the work.

Fortunately, I am in CA where, to date, we do not have a state board thus do not feel obliged to contribute to this survey.

This would be a golden opportunity for those with the power of the state behind them to remove the NCE and prevent another unnecessary exam from being put into place. I have posted your invitation to my blog (http://iscaaty.blogspot.com/) along with my response to you.

Sincerely,
Robert Flammia
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------

When the time comes, I will again oppose state level governance of massage in CA.

2007-01-01T11:13:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year!!!

For what it is worth, for this microscopic speck in the universe 2006 was a good year. Considering how ruthless the world and universe has been, of late, I consider myself blessed. For those who have any doubts about the ruthlessness and/or insanity that seems to be running rampant check out the Harpers Yearly Review . Ya just gotta love the year in bullets, snippets of news stories worth much more than a cursory glance.

Because I am one that believes that in every dark cloud there is a silver lining (somewhere) my top three bullets for black humor reasons are:

(1) "I can drink beer out of my leg," said Matthew Braddock, a 25-year-old National Guardsman who lost his left foot and nine inches of his left leg to a mine in northern Iraq. "How many people can do that?" You can find the whole story here.

I am sure he could win many a bet in bar rooms by making such a statement. May the condition NOT drive him to drink...

(2) The Pentagon classified homosexuality as a mental defect akin to retardation... You can find the whole story here

If you read the article, you will find the finding has no impact on the "don't ask, don't tell" policy of the military toward homosexuality. If a draft is reinstated, perhaps more folk declaring themselves gay would make for a failed draft.

(3) Dick Cheney was retaining fluids. One of many versions of the story can be found here.

My curiousity got the best of me on this one. Googling the sentence took me to some interesting websites. So much info, so little time... I looked a little into Homeland Stupidity , a Harpers Cheney timeline and a group called Mindfully.org. The mindfully Cheney commentary is here. I am not quite sure what the silver lining in this item is.

What is your favorite Harper news item? Post a comment on this site or e-mail me offsite.

2006-12-30T23:40:00.000-08:00

Tax the smokers.... Election results Part 1...

The American public isn't capable of voting or driving motor vehicles.
-The Mother of a former partner

As noted at my other blog I am over here to discuss my loss of a $415 "flipper" or false tooth. By the time I am done with this, you will understand why what the Mother of a former partner said has to do with this.

Outside of a short post regarding Thanksgiving, I have been rather lackadaisical as far as writing much about anything since the 2006 elections. I have been that way because, by far and wide, the November/2006 elections were the worst elections in my life. My choices were so resoundingly defeated, I recognize I am in a minority. Until now, I have chosen silence as I lick my wounds and ponder my next moves in my personal life. The election results are here. The little picture of my life is far removed from the big picture where I realized defeats.

As noted on election eve, I cast a vote to increase the cigarette tax. In my county, the increase passed. The majority of the state said NO. The silliest argument I heard against the tax was, "The smokers pay enough of a penalty already." Smokers will never be able to cover the expense of the harm they do to themselves and too others.

My hope is I have experienced the last of my losses because of smoking cigarettes. I was told many years ago the bone and gum loss caused by smoking was going to result in the loss of a tooth. Yarite....

It has. The tooth is close to the front and it is going to cost me almost $3000 for an implant to fill the gap. I would go a bridge but do not want to do harm to two perfectly good teeth on either side of the gap.

2006-11-23T01:31:00.000-08:00

Happy Thanksgiving: Calendars are funny and the internet...

"Franklin Roosevelt observed Thanksgiving on the second to last Thursday of November for two more years, but the amount of public outrage prompted Congress to pass a law on December 26, 1941, ensuring that all Americans would celebrate a unified Thanksgiving on the fourth Thursday of November every year."

Thanksgiving can fall on any date from November 22 to November 28. For those who use Thanksgiving or other dates around this time of year as a marker, this can make things very confusing. This year, 2006, Thanksgiving falls the day after the 44th anniversary of the assassination of John Fitgerald Kennedy.

Everybody that is alive and aware on such a memorable occassion knows EXACTLY where they were on the day of an event that has a universal impact and the events in their lives on the surrounding dates. I was 13 on November 22nd, 1963 and was caught smoking in the boys room with Greg Krochmal. The 22nd of November, in 1963, was a Friday. The 28th of November was Thanksgiving.

With all the above in mind, using the power of the internet, I am going to try to contact Greg Krochmal to see if he remembers me and if I am as much a part of his stories as he is mine..

I, like many others, am surprised Thanksgiving is already here. It is early... After all, it is only one day off from the earliest it can be. Next year, 2007, Thanksgiving falls on the 45th anniversary of the assassination of JFK.

I don't dwell on the assination of JFK nor am I obsessed by the assassination of JFK. For those who felt the impact of the event, Thanksgiving is as much a time of reflection as it is a time of giving thanks... I give thanks that I was a merely a 13 year old that felt deprived of bragging rights of having been caught smoking (no-one cared) rather than being the hopeful generation that felt devestated by the event.

2006-11-06T23:26:00.000-08:00

In 24 hours things will be pretty much the same...

It makes no difference whom you vote for -- the two parties are really one party representing four percent of the people.
- Gore Vidal

I had big plans to put together some comments with recommendations for voting but after looking at the candidates I thought better of it. There is a reason for my being nonpartisan.

Much of my voting was against things as opposed to feeling like I was voting in favor of something I could get excited about. I vote against Arnold. I wish I could have followed the words of Ralph Nader who wrote, "Vote your conscience, not your fear!" My conscience was saying yes for the initiatives 1A-1E but rejected most.

My choices on the propositions were in concrete early. That did not stop me from watching the insanity of the campaigns. Trust me... I am on the side of being in an initiative state. Initiatives can be an avenue for making changes benefitting the Common Wealth when politicians are under the influence of private interests in Sacramento. Unfortunately, most of the propositions are created by private interests or folk ruled by emotion. This is the day before the election and I am keeping things as simple as possible.

At any street corner the feeling of absurdity can strike any man in the face.
- Albert Camus

How some of these measures made the ballot is beyond me but my choices for the record are:

NO on Props 83, 84 and 85!
YES on Props 86, 87, 88, 89 & 90!

I did a lot of chawing with a number of folk and hope I impacted them enough to help create the above results.

The most peculiar reason I heard for voting against an increase in cigarette taxes was, "The smokers are already paying enough of a penalty for their behavior." My response is the expense smokers cause to bear on the healthcare system is not even close to being covered with the new taxes on tobacco products.

Enough for now... May you have taken the time to vote!!!

2006-08-15T20:46:00.000-07:00

"Ten people who speak make more noise than ten thousand who are silent."
-Napoleon Bonaparte

Are you part of the silent majority???

Check this link out. They are fighting over us, the givers as to how the work may be done and the receivers of massage. SB412 is out of the assembly appropriations committee and making a very quick passage through the assembly with a possible vote on Thursday the 17th of August, back to the Senate and then to the Governors desk.

Below is a letter I sent to the entire assembly. I decided to pick on the ludicrous notion that massage therapy is the umbrella title for any form of structured touch amongst other things.

This link is one stop shopping for SB412... You can see all there is to know about the bill. If you know all about the bill and want to oppose (or support) the bill in writing, you may go here .

The "voluntary" aspect of this bill will fall by the wayside once folk start lobbying their cities and townships to adopt the language recommended by the state.

I've said more than my share over the years. It's your turn! My letter follows...
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Education is an admirable thing, but it is well to remember from time to time that nothing that is worth knowing can be taught.
-Oscar Wilde

Dear Assembly Members:

Please say no to SB412.There is a lot more to touch than sex, violence and Massage Therapy. Massage Therapy should be considered a title under an umbrella of touch, NOT as the umbrella to all forms of structured touch.

Taken directly from materials from an AMTA membership packet is this:

Massage Therapy is a "profession" in which the practitioner applies manual techniques and may apply adjunctive therapies, with the intention of positively affecting the health and well-being of the client.

Massage Therapy is a "profession" created by the AMTA.

Massage Therapist is a title yet to be completely defined as an occupation created by the AMTA. I believe it is a disservice to the people you serve to allow for the creation of a certification program, voluntary or otherwise, that has the potential to eliminate the many paths that a person could follow leading to the skills required to earn income from touch. Imposing so restrictive a title for such a vast and diverse industry of touch/massage is wrong in my opinion.

In the realm of government our country has three distinct branches - the Legislative, Judicial and Executive. In the realm of massage, there are at least three branches. There could be a "profession" which regulation could be placed in the hands of a group such as AMTA, their AMTA Council of Schools or COMTA the AMTA spawned Commission on Massage Therapy Accreditation, accredited by the Federal Department of Education for accrediting schools desiring to teach 'Massage Therapy'. Completing high numbered hours of training would entitle those desiring to be referred to as a Massage Therapist the right to do so.

Beyond a "profession", there is the 2nd and 3rd branches of trade and service involving people who desire to do massage or touch not requiring very much training at all. The three branches of massage/touch are understood to be "professional" as all are worthy of payment for services rendered. A title act written without interchanging the words massage or touch with Massage Therapy to satisfy those feeling the need for state recognition could be an option. Words implying a Massage Therapist is anything more than a title in a realm with many optional titles not needing standards set for the title Massage Therapist or Massage Therapy is more damaging than good for the vast majority of givers and those receiving the work.

Licensing CPA's did not kill accountants and bookkeepers, freelance or employees. Skilled touch and massage should remain unscathed. Rubbing is also a profession. Massage Therapists would be allowed to rub.

SB412 could be looked at as a foot in the door for the American Massage Therapist Association (AMTA). AB1388, was a failed licensing effort, in 2003/2004. The AMTA paid $75,000, in lobbying fees, in 2003/2004 to Griffin and Associates pushing AB1388. Since January of 2005, when this current two year CA legislative session began, the tab paid to California Advocates, by AMTA is $89,000. The AMTA has been the sole catalyst for state involvement in the governance of touch.

There is very little documentation of harm from those providing touch and the cost for my insurance to provide touch proves that. Rather than fill this letter, I invite you to read the best written document showing the two sides of the coin related to state involvement in touch at this site. The document served to defeat, temporarily, the AMTA drive for licensing in GA.

Please say NO to SB412!

2006-05-05T20:17:00.000-07:00

Massage Politics: The Tragedy of Skilled Touch Continues

You can be outraged but you cannot be paralyzed.
-Bumpersticker

Don Shwartz, the former head of the Trager Institute, wrote the piece at this link in 1995. His words are as accurate today as they were then. The piece is a snapshot of the massage and touch vs massage therapy rift dividing our trade. The following exchange is a good example of the rift that persists.

I have had nastier exchanges with some folk but I share this one because my suspicion is the writer does not have an accurate history as to how and why she had to have the New Mexico education she received. Because of the lack of history, she has no sense or understanding as to why those in California and other free states continue to fight licensing. I have forwarded a link of this post to the New Mexico Woman. I thank Don Shiff, a New Mexico licensed therapist for his generosity in taking the time to discuss some points made by the New Mexico Lady.

Here's the story! On occassion, I organize SF/Bay Area gatherings. One friend I e-mailed took the liberty of forwarding my e-mail to her colleague. In response, my friend received a response with concerns the gathering would be political and stated a few positions. With permission of the friend that received the e-mail I responded to her questions, concerns and positions with the following. Some of the names have been changed to protect the not so innocent:

Hello New Mexico Lady,

I got your e-mail address from Didi. To get the politics out of the way:

(1) I am sorry to hear you are for licensing for the reasons you express. Your reasons are a marketed 'bill of goods' you have bought.

(2) If you don't mind, I will add you to my politics list so you can write in favor of the bill as it progresses. Whether you agree with me or not, at least you will know what is happening. You are part of the 90% of those in our trade that could write, as you did, "I had no idea that such a bill was even on the table." It is a sad state of affairs.

(3) Are you a member of the Amta or ABMP? Both have been putting out lots of info and opinion on the bill. Plug in at their sites for more info. With all of that said...This gathering is for networking. There is no agenda. The only way I will talk politics is if someone else brings it up (Gawd forbid).

In response to the above, I received the following:

From: A New Mexico Lady
Date: January 19, 2006 9:41:10 AM PST

Okay, I am going to have to bop Didi on the head for giving out my e-mail address. But that aside, I was not sure whether to waste my time writing back an excruciatingly annoyed e-mail to an obveously self-obsessed man who dares to call himself a "rubber" about whether massage therapy should or should not enter the realm of the respected world, or whether I should politely delete it and anything else that comes along from him. I normally don't open e-mails from addresses I don't recognize because they might contain viruses. I guess I should have gone by my old rule. But here I am, digitally ranting to a computer screen connected to someone I will in all likelyhood never meet. So I might as well back up my argument - even though I wasn't talking to you in the first place. I don't have time today to argue against each and every rediculous point you make on your blogs. But here are a few points that I am passionate about.

1.) I come from and was trained in New Mexico. Yes it is in this country, but you probably knew that. It is one of (the majority of) the states that requires National Certification and State Licensure. This is not a big ordeal like you make it sound. (The rest of her response is below)

2.) There is ABSOLUTELY NO LINK between prostitutes and massage therapists in New Mexico. (The rest of her response is below)

3.) Massage Therapists need more than 100 hours of training for a million reasons that I do not have time to write about at this time. Touch is a very powerful thing, and yes, it can hurt people. Emotionally and physically if not done with self-awareness, ethics, training and practice. An imperfect system is far better than no system at all - at least until we are all enlightened beings ~ which we are sorely ! far from, my friend.Thanks for listening.
-New Mexico Lady

To which I responded: I will send your entire response to Didi. Would you mind if I sent a copy to Don Shiff a fellow NM licensed practitioner??? I feel confident he would be interested in your point of view. You are the first to call me self-obsessed....I will have to check that out. On a personal level, I am saddened by your attack. I need to go under my cover, hold back my kneejerk reaction and say to myself, "Well...As you know, I am not for everybody and everybody is not for me." It is one of my truths. It is obvious we would have difficulty being in the same room...at least on this level.

Dare to call myself a rubber? Get a sense of humor... What makes you think "rubber" is so bad? It is a title from the Department of Labors Dictionary of Occupational Titles. Women had a chant.."Women unite. Take back the night." I am tempted to run with "Rubbers unite! Take back the right." I have to assume you are one of those who take in "masseuse" as though it were fingernails on a chalkboard.

On a political level, I will continue to blog in the way I blog. I have never been against high standards. It is imposing those standards as law like it is in NM. Plugging into Google using the words massage, massage therapy, etc will get you news reports disproving what you are saying in that the NCE and 500 hours separates us from the sex workers. In many ways it has helped the sex trade enabling folk to hide under the cover of licensing. Tragic but true...Don't listen to me, research it yourself.

I fully agree one needs more than 100 hours of training to be a massage therapist. As a matter of fact, I believe to be a massage therapist once should have 3300 hours as is required in British Columbia. I am ethical and believe I am not qualified to call myself a massage therapist, to me a misleading title, although I have a base of 1000 hours of training, have sat with some pretty heavy duty masters, Barnes, St John amongst others and 20 years of experience.

On the other hand, one needs less than 100 hours of training to do a massage or touch someone for a fee. You really do sound like an Amta officer. I could no more rejoin the Amta than I could convert to Judaism if I had to get circumcised.

Thanks for listening...Now you may hit delete!
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Unfortunately, she never responded to my response. I did take the liberty of forwarding her letter to my friend Donald Shiff. Following is Donald's response to her rant:

Dear Colleague:

My friend Rob Flammia sent me an excerpt of your post to him and asked me to comment. I wanted to make certain I understood your points in their correct context, so I asked for the whole post. He sent it to me without headers to preserve your privacy. I applaud his discretion.
Before I reply on a point/counterpoint basis, let me describe my background in the massage field so that you can better understand my perspective.

I received my initial 1000+ hour training at Heartwood Institute in Garberville, CA in 1983-4. I arrived in Santa Fe, NM in 1985 and worked there for 12 years before moving to Albuquerque in 1997 to finish a B.U.S. degree in Biology at UNM. I've lived and worked here ever since.

In 1990 I worked with an Amta-dominated group to write a licensing law for MT in NM. At the time, I thought that untrained, incompetent practitioners were physically injuring their clients. You see, when I was at Heartwood my mother got a Shiatsu session in Pittsburgh (PA) in which her edematous ankles were mauled with a golf tee. I thought that because my mother was hurt that injuries caused by incompetent practice must be common. In fact, it is exceedingly rare, as witnessed by the fact that liability insurance for MTs is ridiculously inexpensive. In essence, I projected my zeal to protect my mother on the public as a whole, although it took me many years to realize it.

I now believe that licensing MTs in unnecessary and unwise; however, my involvement with writing the law had some benefits. First, I was able to eliminate any reference to professional organizations and eliminate any favoritism towards their members. Second, I was able to create a generous provision for alternative qualifying (practical) experience as a form of education, up to 350 hours of the 650 we required! Unfortunately, that provision was eventually eliminated because it was impossible for those people to take the Nickbatomb exam which the Board later required for licensing. I feel the same way about the elimination of Alternative Qualifying Experience as a basis for licensure that Rob does about elimination of the Massage Entrance Exam for Amta membership. But that's another story, and it's water under the bridge. The point is that I believe that my efforts were instrumental in crafting one of the most equitable pieces of massage regulation that exists today.

While I was at UNM in 1997-8 I discovered the Body_Work e-mail list, which is now on yahoogroups. I was a rabid licensing advocate at the time, but I eventually changed my mind after long, sometimes vituperative discussions with people like Rob, Keith Eric Grant, and Jeff Thetford from FL. I also took the Avatar course, which allowed me to be more honest with myself about my own actions and motivations.

Because I helped write the NM Massage law, I feel responsible for making sure that the Massage Board makes good decisions and has fair rules. I helped write all the Board Rules at one point, including the Code of Professional Conduct, and I go to as many Board meetings as I can. Sometimes I manage to persuade the Board to my point of view and sometimes I don't. However, they always listen to me and value my perspective.

I have testified both for and against licensing provisions at the NM and MN legislatures. At this point, I believe massage licensing is a done deal in NM, and after 15 years the Board is finally getting its act together. However, I believe that licensing is neither necessary to protect the public nor desirable from the practitioner's perspective. There are better solutions to the problems that face practitioners than licensing.

OK, that was a really long biography! Let me answer the points you made in your e-mail to Rob.
You(New Mexico Lady) wrote:

(1) I come from and was trained in New Mexico. Yes it is in this country, but you probably knew that. It is one of (the majority of) the states that requires National Certification and State Licensure. This is not a big ordeal like you make it sound. It simply means that there is a higher standard of education, training, ethics, and accountability for massage therapists. In return they get a MUCH greater deal of respect (and not to mention pay) than "rubbers" from California. People there are shocked when I tell them that there is no licensure in California. I have never heard one person rant on and on about how "they are practically making touch illegal", nor even have any doubt that there should be licensure. "

(Don responds) I don't know your history, but I suspect that you were not practicing massage before NM required licensure. If that's correct, then you are comparing the situation in NM to CA the way it is today and assuming the differences between the two states are the result of licensing. I don't think that methodology is valid. There are vast differences in culture between the two states that have nothing whatsoever to do with professional regulation.

A majority of states require licensure now, but NM was in the minority when we started licensing MTs. The Nickbatomb exam didn't exist. NM adopted it as its licensing exam as a step toward portability when it became available, and when the Federation of State Massage Boards creates its own exam I predict that NM will be one of the first states to adopt it because Nickbatomb will never allow any oversight by the states, which the Board absolutely requires to fulfill its regulatory mandate.

More required education means a great deal of expense to students who may never make a living doing the work. An estimated 80% of massage school graduates are not practicing massage two years after they graduate. Even if that number is 70% after three years, that's a lot of time and effort, much less money, to put into an education that most won't end up using. Massage is a skill that comes more from the hands and heart than from the head. If you have the gift in your hands, then the education can be of great benefit. If you don't have the gift for the work, then no amount of education or training will make you even minimally proficient.

I'm sure you had some classmates who just plain sucked at doing the work. Do you think their effort was worthwhile? How about those creepy guys? Did the six-count- 'em-six hours of ethics the state required when you were in school make them ethical? Weren't they still just as creepy after that class? Didn't you avoid them like the plague and do anything you could to keep their hands off of you? The only people who benefit from mandatory education own the schools. They are the major power in the profession, and they are the major beneficiaries of licensing.

I sometimes need to hire other MTs to work on clients that I can't for a variety of reasons. I have received more massages than I can count from a wide variety of therapists over the years. The best ones were from two women who had no formal training whatsoever. The first one learned by massaging her MS-stricken mother as a child. She was fortunate enough to have been grandfathered into licensure, and I have been trading work with her for the last 21 years. The second traded work with roommates who had been going to massage school. She came to NM later, and she can't work here, even though she does better work than most long-time MTs I know. She probably doesn't want to work as an MT now, but she never had the chance. What's fair about that?

I don't even want to start talking about how widely the quality of the education varies from school to school. All I can say is that I pity the poor therapists who went to crappy schools. It's hard enough to make a living in this field without being handicapped by having wasted 650 hours at a school that would just as soon teach you to be a medical transcriptionist as a massage therapist.

There is some advantage to having a Board for accountability, I agree. However, MN's Health Freedom approach gives oversight without requiring a standardized mandatory education. I think that's far superior to requiring an expensive private education just to see whether you have what it takes to survive, much less thrive, as a Massage Therapist. Besides, oversight doesn't keep people from doing bad things. The scheduler at a local massage school reportedly raped a client at the school last year. Did his massage license keep him from raping the client? Did having a Massage Board speed up his trial and sentencing? Of course not.

According to both the current and former Massage Board Administrators, the overwhelming majority of complaints against LMTs in NM come in two categories: unlicensed practice and sexual misconduct. However, when a client of mine complained that a previous MT had physically hurt her, the complaint was dropped because the Board didn't want to punish the therapist for a he said / she said situation, even though the client submitted her medical records! The burden of proof is very high, and Board members are not trained in adjudicating such matters. If you think it's hard prove physical harm, how much harder must it be to prove sexual misconduct when there's no physical evidence at all? Generally, it takes at least three complaints before the Board feels safe enough to take action. I'm absolutely not accusing the Board of protecting wayward MTs from the consequences of their malfeasance. However, they are risk-averse, so they're unwilling to risk being sued for violating a licensee's civil rights.

I can't speak to the issue of respect given MTs. I was rarely mistaken for a prostitute even back in the 80's when I was just out of school. That may be because I'm a man, or it may be because the population of NM is low enough that sex for sale is not as much of a problem here. However, I do still get men calling me for sexual favors, even though my advertising stresses clinical benefits for people who have been in car wrecks. Sleazy people will assume that you are sleazy. It's not about you. If you are confident in your abilities, then most people will treat you as a professional.

I don't know what MTs make in CA. It's hard to make a living doing massage anywhere. I suspect that any difference in pay, especially at the entry level, has more to do with the availability of workers than with any benefit conferred by licensing. I can tell you what massage prices are like in Albuquerque. If you work for a gym or spa, you can expect to be paid about $15 to 25 per hour plus tips. Private practice rates run from $35 to $65 per hour, more for outcalls. I suspect that experienced therapists like Rob in major CA cities can charge higher rates than I can here. $65/hr. is all the Albuquerque market can bear. Of course, clinical injury treatment billed to third parties is much higher. But that's a specialized niche.

NML 2.) There is ABSOLUTELY NO LINK between prostitutes and massage therapists in New Mexico. Why Not? Who would go through 500+ hours of school and an exam to have an add with a picture of their ass in the back of the Guardian? I can not tell you how many times I tell people here that I am a massage therapist and they look at me like I am a whore. Not that I am against prostitution, I just think it should be legalized so that we don't have to share a job title.

Don responds: I beg to differ. All you have to do is look at the back page of Albuquerque's weekly rag, the Alibi. How about these salacious ads: Healing hands for heavenly bodies. Massage for men by masculine masseur. Mesmerizing massage by Miss Viki. These people are licensed (or at least they claim to be.) They are also prostitutes, and they make a hell of a lot more money than "legitimate" therapists. Why? Because sex sells. If you're making $100 to $300 per hour, the price of a massage education is negligible. In addition, sex workers probably have more time on their hands, so to speak, than most people do to go to school.I do agree that prostitution should be legalized. However, there will still be people doing sexual massage for hire. The only difference is that they will be able to be honest about what they're doing.

NML 3.) Massage Therapists need more than 100 hours of training for a million reasons that I do not have time to write about at this time. Touch is a very powerful thing, and yes, it can hurt people. Emotionally and physically if not done with self-awareness, ethics, training and practice. I have received very bad massages and have heard horor [sic] stories about them from numerous clients. There needs to be a system of accountability. Not that I think the government is excellent by any means at these things, but it is the only system we have got. An imperfect system is far better than no system at all - at least until we are all enlightened beings ~ which we are sorely(!) far from, my friend

(Don Responds) The likelihood of serious physical harm from massage is very, very low. My friend and colleague Keith Eric Grant did a study in 2003 that you can retrieve at http://www.ramblemuse.com/articles/medline_massage_injury.pdf. He concludes "This number of cases of injury found [11 in 39 years] is far too small to be statistically meaningful in estimating risk from massage, except to verify that it is negligible." Mr Grant also concluded that "There is no explicit correlation of the occurrence of injuries with technical training or its lack." A study by a man named Ernst came to the same conclusion. Physical injury from massage is a true rarity, despite dataless claims by Amta and Nickbatomb licensing proponents. You have been sold a bill of goods by liars with a political agenda.

I have received some very bad massages in my time, mostly from licensed MTs. I can't say that any of them harmed me. However, I do insist on trading work with anybody I hire or refer to. Licensing and mandatory education do not guarantee competence. More to the point, Massage Boards are not in a good position to respond to quality control complaints. "S/he gave me a shitty massage" is not actionable. "S/he hurt me" is very difficult to prove, as my client discovered. Massage Boards do not enforce codes of ethics. They do enforce codes of professional conduct, which are essentially list of actions and inactions for which a licensee can be sanctioned. For example, "If you engage in sexual conduct [as defined in these rules] with a client, *and s/he complains about it later,* we can take your license away." If there is no complaint, there is no basis for action. Indeed, several complaints may be necessary to establish a pattern of behavior before the Board can justify a sanction. In their defense, what are they supposed to do when a client complains, "He touched my breast!" and the therapist says, "I did no such thing!" One or the other is probably lying, but which one? They have no way of knowing.

Licensing and mandatory education likewise do not mitigate potential emotional harm. Do you really think that requiring a certain number of hours of ethics classes will keep MTs from molesting their clients? Don't be naive. Unethical people will continue to act unethically regardless of any number of hours of classes. Moreover, sexual predators are remarkably resistant to psychological treatment. While there's a big difference between an MT who can't control his horniness and a child molester, your proposed solution will not solve any problems. Sexual misconduct is a problem in every medical field. Indeed, licensing may lull consumers into a false sense of security.

You may be right that there needs to be some system of accountability. However, an oversight board can be created to manage complaints against practitioners without requiring lengthy, expensive, mandatory education, as was done in MN under their Freedom of Access Act. Massage licensing laws are about power, control, and limiting competition. They do not protect the public from any harm that the marketplace cannot handle. If you don't do good work, you're not going to be in business long. That's just as true for a massage therapist as it is for a plumber. I'd rather have a talented amateur work on me than an talentless "professional" with a license.

Respectfully,
Donald F. Schiff, BS, BUS, LMT, RMTI.
NM LMT #8
NM Registered Instructor #I-112
Stonecircle Massage, Albuquerque, NM
5 March 2006
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
SB412 is coming!! It is a foot in the door for licensing in California. Let's let folk know we don't want or need it. More within a day or two.

2006-05-03T22:32:00.000-07:00

Massage Politics: D.D. Eisenhower missed the mark.. Jack Amta must be smiling with this coup. Jack Amta was given a rose in December

Beware the military industrial complex is what Eisenhower said. He missed the mark because he may not have had as big a clue as he could have making him aware just how powerful corporate/industrial entities would become. He should have said beware the government corporate structure complex.

It bothers me to see so strong a case in point of that, related to our field, found at the federal level with the following. Amta's networking at all sorts of conferences and becoming a resource by marketing itself as the biggest and best organization representing our trade certainly has paid off. The whole piece at the link is an enlightening read:

Massage therapists can specialize in over 80 different types of massage, called modalities. Swedish massage, deep tissue massage, reflexology, acupressure, sports massage, and neuromuscular massage are just a few of the many approaches to massage therapy. Most massage therapists specialize in several modalities, which require different techniques. Some use exaggerated strokes ranging the length of a body part, while others use quick, percussion-like strokes with a cupped or closed hand. A massage can be as long as two hours or as short as five or ten minutes. Usually, the type of massage therapists give depends on the client’s needs and the client’s physical condition. For example, they use special techniques for elderly clients that they would not use for athletes, and they would use approaches for clients with injuries that would not be appropriate for clients seeking relaxation. There are also some forms of massage that are given solely to one type of client, for example prenatal massage and infant massage.

The above must be orgasmic for a few of our colleagues and friends at the American massage therapy association and a few at Massage Today.

Folk that are members of the Amta brainchild federation beware...Rolfing, Feldenkrais and Trager "modalities" could easily fall into a rewrite of the above passage. Fortunately, it's only the bureau of labor statistics doing the writing.

So far, we, in CA have not subscribed to massage therapy as being the umbrella for all touch. Or have you?

2006-03-03T23:46:00.000-08:00

An open letter

Dear Appropriations Committee Members:

Please let SB412 die and continue to oppose any bill governing massage or touch, for practitioners, at the state level. Govern "Massage Therapy," maybe. Taken directly from materials from an AMTA membership packet is this:

Massage Therapy is a "profession" in which the practitioner applies manual techniques and may apply adjunctive therapies, with the intention of positively affecting the health and well-being of the client.

"Massage Therapy is a "profession" created by the AMTA. Massage Therapist is a title yet to be completely defined as an occupation created by the AMTA. I believe it is a disservice to the people you serve to allow one part of an industry to have so much control. Imposing so restrictive a title for such a vast and diverse industry of touch/massage is wrong in my opinion.

In the realm of government our country has three distinct branches - the Legislative, Judicial and Executive. In the realm of massage and touch, there are at least three branches. There could be a "profession" which regulation could be placed in the hands of a group such as AMTA, their AMTA Council of Schools or COMTA the AMTA spawned Commission on Massage Therapy Accreditation, accredited by the Federal Department of Education for accrediting schools desiring to teach 'Massage Therapy'. Completing high numbered hours of training at one fell swoop at one of their schools would entitle those desiring to be referred to as a Massage Therapist the right to do so.

Beyond a "profession", there is the 2nd and 3rd branches of trade and service involving people who desire to do massage or touch or integrating a short massage training into other body oriented practices they may already be involved in. The three branches of massage/touch are understood to be "professional" as all are worthy of payment for services rendered. A title act written without interchanging the words massage or touch with Massage Therapy to satisfy those feeling the need for state recognition could be an option.

Words implying a Massage Therapist is anything more than a title in a realm with many optional titles not needing standards set for the title Massage Therapist or Massage Therapy is more damaging than good for the vast majority of givers and those receiving the work.

Licensing CPA's did not kill accountants and bookkeepers, freelance or employees. Skilled touch and massage should remain unscathed. Rubbing is also a profession. Massage Therapists would be allowed to rub.

By visitinghttp://hometown.aol.com/therubber01/myhomepage/index.html you will be lead to definitions of masseur, masseuse and rubber, long established and connected to massage. These definitions are being drawn from and placed into a "new" occupation of "Massage Therapist."

The major difference between masseur/masseuse and rubber trainings and "massage therapy" trainings is all the responsibilities of the masseur, masseuse and rubber titles are lumped into one very expensive training more beneficial to the schools and industry rather than taught in increments.Thank you for listening.

Robert Flammia
Holistic Bodywork Therapist and Health Educator and expired NCTMB
Berkeley CA

2006-03-02T23:46:00.000-08:00

(1) Super Bowl XL triggers massage fun and games (2) Go CRASH!!! Picking another winner? (3) Taking sides and taking a stand...

(1) Sport like politics is, sometimes, not a pretty picture. I picked Pittsburgh in Super Bowl XL and did not brag about winning because if not for the poor calls of the refs, the Seattle Seahawks may have been the winners.

I picked Pittsburgh for two reasons:

(1) I am an AFC, formerly the AFL, devotee. I was brought up on the Boston(not New England) Patriots. When my home team is out, I root for the home league. That is kinda hard in baseball when I sometimes find myself rooting for the Yankees.

(2) I like the underdog. I don't understand why Seattle was the underdog. After all, they had the better record and, to boot, had the higher payroll. If I was a betting man, I would have bet Seattle would have gone off the favorite. I had visions of Paul Allen buying his Super Bowl ring.

Seattle owes a lot to Allen...Maybe Seattle will get their Super Bowl championship next year. They should have been favored this year and they should have won. Shoulda. Coulda. Woulda.

I really did not have much of an interest in the game but did enjoy the sports fan camarederie of a house party made up mostly of Oakland Raiders fans. That was no easy chore. Raiders fans are long of memory and do remember the "snowjob" of a Raiders vs New England game when the Patriots eliminated the Raiders from the playoffs because of a VERY questionable call a few years ago. Raiders fans lose their home league allegiance when the Patriots are factored in. I was not as welcome at last years Philadelphia vs New England Super Bowl party.

My favorite Super Bowl XL event was the Aleve commercial with Leonard Nimoy. For me. doing the "live long and prosper" sign was a little bit of an effort the first time around but like riding a bicyle, it came back quickly for both hands.

Sometimes I just can't help myself. I polled my clients to see how many could do it. Some remembered and could do it quickly but there were a few that really had to work on it to reestablish the neuro pathways. One could not bring it back because of joint pain. Luckily, a little manipulation of the flexors and extensors corrected it. What was amazing was how many could not do it and never could.

Try it with your clients. It's a fun exercise in muscle control.

(2) How many folk really liked Brokeback Mountain, the odds on favorite to win the Oscar for best picture on Sunday? Actually, how many have seen it?? For sure it was different and good but is it really the best amongst the five picks? I don't think so and hope the Academy sees the light and gives it to Crash! I saw four out of five of the nominees, missing only 'Capote'. The last time that happened the one movie I did not see won. 'Shakespeare in Love' defeated the favored 'Saving Private Ryan'. I thought Ryan was a shoo-in.

According to this the nominees are some of the weakest in years. Two of my favorites, 'Match Point' and 'Transamerica', did not make the cut. According to the piece at the link in this paragraph, this years nominees are very political. Perhaps they were just not political enough.

(3) Over the years, a long standing position I have held has been touch or massage is the umbrella term defining what we do with massage therapy being one of a myriad of paths one can take to be able to do the work. The position of many of the folk at the AMTA is massage therapy is the umbrella and Massage Today Editor Cliff Korn agrees.

In response to the letter written by Cliff, I reworked a letter and mailed it to the California Appropriations Committtee with the hope of helping to defeat CA-SB412.

As is the case with this point/counter point, it is very clear there are two points of view. What side are you on? Under normal circumstances it would not be important to make a choice but because one of the two sides has taken their agenda to legislators to get their foot in the door to impose even more onerous hoops than those they are saying they want to replace, it is important you do so. A no response or no action at all increases the chances of the success of those lobbying for power.

My mind is (at long last) satisfied with all I have done in opposition to licensing in California. With that satisfaction comes the withdrawal from the debate. My position is as firm in opposition to licensing as the Amta position is for licensing. I need only write legislators and let folk know I am doing so. What you do is your thing.

(This is a work in progress...)

2006-02-21T23:01:00.000-08:00

Happy World Thinking Day!!

As noted in a post last week, I am celebrating World Thinking Day. Since that post, I have had the good fortune of seeing some very hard hitting folk that do an awful lot of ongoing thinking regarding the conditions in the big picture. We, especially in California, who are in the crosshairs of the Massage Right, are a microsm of that big picture.

On Valentines Day, I heard Bill Moyers speak as part of the Oakland Speakers Series. After painting a bleak picture as to what has happened in this country because of theGOP (Gods Own Party) gaining such political power, amongst many other things, Moyers offered up some suggestions as to what can be done to reverse the trends, simple things like getting involved in getting clean money acts passed which would stop allowing corporate structures from contributing so much money to infuence politicians. Some of what he addressed can be found here.

Then, on the 19th, I went to Grace Cathedral, in SF to hear about the rise of the religous left via a panel which included Michael Lerner founder of Tikkun. The discussion can be heard online. The discussion focused on Rabbi Lerner's new book, 'The Left Hand of God'. The book link takes you to an excerpt from the book.

So, here is what I was thinking after being motivated by the two events. On the politics list, I had an exchange with Beverly May, Amta-CA L&L co-chair and Amta National governmental relations board member. I suggested the Amta was the Massage Right. We do need a Massage
Left.

I posted a homework assignment as part of the announcement I would be celebrating World Thinking Day. The homework assignment, "is to start thinking, today, as to why you are NOT participating in the political process that will impact the way WE will be able to do our work, what WE will need to do to stay in compliance and put us in harms way by way of placing our power into the hands of those far removed from our homes that will only make it harder and more expensive for us to survive. CA-SB412 is doing just that." The rest of the assignment is here. I did a little follow-up to the homework assignment here. There has been no activity at the California Appropriations committee yet but I feel confident there is a lot of behind the doors negotiations going on. The homework assignment is not late yet.

Here is another assignment. (1) Go to the Grace Forum and listen to some of the discussion. The discussion is a big picture discussion of what could easily be a discussion befitting our microcosm of massage religion and politics. (2) Come back with some ideas as to how we can put down our egos, sometimes elitist mentalities and our unwillingness to be joiners and rally to defeat the well-organized massage right headed up by our friends at the Amta.

There is still the California Federation of Massage yahoo group where folk can gather. I paid the fees to keep it alive and will be doing something with it very soon. Before I do I am wishin' and hopin' that someone will come around and take it over. I would hate to have yet another play thing. C'mon you left leaning Progressives, let's go to work and create a massage left.

There has been a great point/counter point thread at the bodywork politics list that is worth reading beginning here. Especially powerful, imho, is the post by freedom fighter Dorothy Stone-Inouye addressing our great division. (Thanks Dorothy)

2006-02-20T23:18:00.000-08:00

The Flammia Method? Sure... Why not?

CA-SB412 is in the works. As it stands now, massage will be defined as any form of structured touch. Now, even more than ever, I do not like it. Massage and massage therapy as taught in the schools is only one form of structured touch. There are many different paths to learning touch.

Just recently I did a luncheon presentation in the Berkeley City Club a beautiful Julia Morgan building on Durant Street in Berkeley. The audience was the Berkeley City Commons Club, a group that meets weekly for a luncheon and speech and has quite a range of speakers. I was flattered to be invited and by 'Googling' Berkeley City Commons Club you will understand why for the quality of speakers they have had both past and present. The title of my talk was 'The Power of Touch'.

I opened my presentation by telling how massage was not licensed in California and offered reasons as to why that should continue to be the case. I also made the club members aware of the California Health Freedom Coalition and their success in getting SB577 passed removing the fear of being arrested for practicing medicine without a license by those offering healing systems outside the allopathic model if they met certain conditions. I then offered up some self help techniques including breathing exercises, some acupressure points and other self help suggestions as well as preaching about the benefits of massage and touch. The presentation was the first time I took responsibility for my own "style" referring to my work as The Flammia Touch.

I was asked to speak for 30 or so minutes and to be prepared to answer questions to fill the rest of a one hour time frame. As the saying goes, the rest is history. I had a wonderful time doing the presentation and from the questions it was obvious the audience was listening enjoyed it and wanted to hear more. I will share some of the questions and my off the cuff, extemparaneous answers after I listen to the tape of my presentation that I am promised. The presentation was recorded by a (from what I am told) good engineer.

I got a wonderful thank you letter from the president of the club. In the letter, he refers to the Flammia Method. hmmmm..I did like that. The Flammia Touch is my own and what I could teach would be called the Flammia Method. There is a structure to my touch/work and there is certainly a method to my madness.

SO! Part of what this post is about is my asking those who have received my work to tell me what it is that may have been unique in my work that they have not been able to find elsewhere. For one, I have never had one practitioner ever tell me to say "duh" and explain why it is a good thing to do and from the initial reactions of those who have worked with me, neither have they.

I have my mission, "Setting the world straight, one person at a time." How I perceive myself is as a service (as opposed to helping and healing) with the simple goals of helping folk to stand taller and breath easier by educating them in how to get themselves out of contraction in order to do so. In keeping with avoiding healing, I look at myself as "a very heavy ounce of prevention" slowing or sometimes getting lucky in preventing folk from falling more into the conditions that brought them to my door.

It's late and I will have to stop for now and come back to this to clarify what I need from you to lend clarity to The Flammia Touch and The Flammia Method.

2006-02-17T22:41:00.000-08:00

Let THEM know your thoughts on SB412!

This post is a work in progress...

I ended my previous post with, "there will be more help forthcoming to help you be able to complete this assignment including links to those who support SB412 so you will be able to formulate a balanced opinion. Your forwarding this task to as many folk especially those who are not associated with the larger organizations will be greatly appreciated."

Here we go...Unfortunately, the Amta-CA site has totally rewritten their report on what is happening, so, to get the Amta position and or report you will have to write the folk referred to at the site. I suggest you check out the site and follow their instructions for giving input for the bill, WRITING IN OPPOSITION, not in favor as they ask.

You may be able to get an understanding as to why they did such a thing by reading this post at a massage politics discussion list. The original report created more questions and challenges than the Amta cared to respond too.

Another site you may glean some insights from is here. Granted, the site is old but is a great compilation of prolicensing propaganda. My favorite part of the site is here. IMHO most of the facts are questionable with some of the myths actually being facts.

There is still time to put your .02 cents in regarding SB412 and there are plenty of things to write about. I resubmitted my letter to the Assembly Appropriations Committee by way of this site to be sure my letter went through the correct channels and sent a copy to my Assemblyperson Loni Hancock. Do send a copy of your letter to your Assemblyperson. If unsure as to who your Assemblyperson is, go here.

2006-02-13T21:00:00.000-08:00

Prayers for St Valentine, a virtual rose for all and a World Thinking Day homework assignment!

St Valentine was beaten and beheaded in Rome in 269 and buried on the Flaminian Way.
Today he is in my prayers.

I am not going to make a big deal out of Valentines Day. According to the nightly news, there will be 2,000,000,000 roses exchanging hands as gifts in the US alone. The vast majority of those roses will be coming from Columbia. The extent of my rose giving is a virtual rose to all receiving this mailing. Enjoy! Watch out for the thorns.

I will be joining the WAGGGS in celebrating World Thinking Day on February 22. I became aware of WTD last year because of a discussion with the love of my life about the differences in the pecking order and ways of the Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts. Come to find out (1) Girl Scouts climb the ranks by way of age as opposed to accomplishment and (2) Girl Scouts make a promise, "On my honor I will try to do my best" as opposed to the Boy Scout oath requiring the statement, "On my honor I will do my best." For now, I will spare you my opinion as to how I believe the two different oaths have an impact on our lives.

The World Thinking Day homework assignment is for California girls and boy s only. Your homework assignment is to start thinking, today, as to why you are NOT participating in the political process that will impact the way WE will be able to do our work, what WE will need to do to stay in compliance and put us in harms way by way of placing our power into the hands of those far removed from our homes that will only make it harder and more expensive for us to survive. CA-SB412 is doing just that.

A hate of politics is not an acceptable answer. I hate politics and since being tear gassed and maced in Harvard Square in Cambride, and tear gassed in Washington DC, during protests against the Viet Nam War, outside of voting and an occassional debate have steered clear of politics.

The state should be involved in the licensing of a profession if harm to the public is an issue. SB412 does not address that issue. My position regarding SB412 is here. Even more important is the point/counter point issues following my statement. Those are the only real issues WE as practitioners or consumers need to be concerned with.

Here, you will find some letters written by folk in opposition to SB412. Here you will find my own writings to the good Senator as well as links to other writers. Keith Grant has an incredible amount of information. Especially important to address immediately is the Chiropractic language one may read about here.

After you have read the materials above, write a letter to Senator.Figueroa@sen.ca.gov and to all Appropriations Committee Members: assemblymember.walters@assembly.ca.gov, Assemblymember.nakanishi@assembly.ca.gov, assemblymember.DeLaTorre@assembly.ca.gov, assemblymember.chu@asm.ca.gov, Assemblywoman.Runner@assembly.ca.gov, assemblymember.emmerson@assembly.ca.gov, Assemblymember.Oropeza@assembly.ca.gov, Assemblymember.Bass@assembly.ca.gov, Assemblymember.haynes@assembly.ca.gov, Assemblymember.ridley-thomas@assembly.ca.gov, assemblymember.berg@assembly.ca.gov, Assemblymember.Karnette@assembly.ca.gov, Assemblymember.yee@assembly.ca.gov, Assemblymember.Saldana@assembly.ca.gov, Assemblymember.leno@assembly.ca.gov, Assemblymember.ron.calderon@assembly.ca.gov Get on your own assembly persons radar by sending a copy of your letter to them. To find out who that is, go here.

There will be more help forthcoming to help you be able to complete this assignment including links to those who support SB412 so you will be able to formulate a balanced opinion. Your forwarding this task to as many folk especially those who are not associated with the larger organizations will be greatly appreciated.

Robert

2006-02-02T20:08:00.000-08:00

Licensing: Two Sides of the Political Coin

Introduction: To me, state licensing is an unnecessary bill of goods being sold by our friends at the American Massage Therapy Association (Amta).

In 1997, the Georgia Massage & Somatic Therapies Association(GaMSTA) defeated an Amta-GA effort to impose licensing in Georgia using a flyer that used a point/counterpoint format that is a template able to be used in any state dealing with Amta aggression. The template is a series of counterpoints with supporting statements with reasoning as to why the Amta reasons for licensing are just not strong enough reasons. Amta, as far as I know, has not done any more than state their position that licensing is needed to advance the profession of massage therapy.

The Amta left the rest of the profession behind a long time ago when they elected to stop discussing their position and begin using membership monies to lobby government to impose their agenda on all those desiring to provide touch for income.

My truth is the major beneficiaries of licensing are industry ie (mostly) the schools. Short programs teaching massage are replaced with minimum requirements of 500 hours of training to do massage for income. (As noted at the Flammia Touch, if what is being proposed in SB412 was law in 1986, I would not have entered this trade.)

Amta: Support Licensing of the Profession of Massage Therapy

The practice of Massage Therapy should be regulated by the State of Georgia because:

The public should be able to be assured that they are receiving professional Massage Therapy services from an ethical, qualified practitioner.

GaMSTA : A regulatory board establishes guidelines for scope of practice and educational requirements. It does not set ethical standards. Professional organizations provide a code of ethics for their members to embrace.

Amta: Currently, with no professional regulation in Georgia, anyone can call themselves a "Massage Therapist" and advertise publicly as a Massage Therapist.

GaMSTA: True. However, as the grandfather clause in Senate Bill 300 is written, prostitutes can be licensed as massage therapists, meaning prostitutes could continue to advertise. Further, it is debatable whether a regulatory board could protect the term "massage therapist."

Amta: Potential physical and emotional harm can result from massage therapy performed by untrained or unethical practitioners; there are many documented cases of such harm occurring.

GaMSTA: First, as for documented cases of physical and emotional harm, the Senate sub-committee who reviewed SB300 reports, "In response to a staff inquiry on behalf of the Council, The Governor's Office of Consumer Affairs researched their files for the past nine and one-half years for complaints against massage practitioners. However, they found no record of any such complaints. Similarly, contacts with Better Business Bureau of offices around the state resulted in finding no documented complaints against massage practitioners during the year ending July 9, 1997."

Second, the Georgia Chapter of the AMTA is diligently working to prove massage therapy is harmful to the public in order to get state licensing. The potential harm to our profession in the eyes of the public is tremendous. We have worked painstakingly to educate people about the benign nature of massage and somatic therapies. Are we prepared to throw that away for recognition by the state? Additionally, providing damaging information to the physical therapists and chiropractors, who already believe we encroach on their respective territories, can only hurt our profession in the end.

Third, insurance liability rates have remained basically the same over the past five years. If massage and somatic practitioners were causing harm, the insurance companies would be the first to adjust the rates charged for liability insurance. State licensure does not prevent inappropriate behavior and physical or emotional ham from occurring, as evidenced by the medical, nursing and psychological, etc. professions which have experienced criminal behavior from their licensed practitioners. (Criminal behavior is already covered by state criminal laws and would be beyond the jurisdiction of a regulatory board.)

Amta: More and more allied healthcare professions are utilizing Massage Therapy as an extremely effective complement to the services they provide. However, they cannot easily ensure that they are referring their patients to qualified Massage Therapies.

GaMSTA: Any reputable healthcare professional would require more than a state license for a referral. Further, SB300 does not distinguish among the wide range of modalities that exist in the massage and somatic profession.

Amta: All of the States surrounding the State of Georgia have instituted State Regulation of Massage Therapy - Alabama, Tennessee, South Caroline, North Carolina and Florida. In addition, twenty (20) other States regulate the Massage Therapy profession.

GaMSTA: Many states have licensing bills which have adversely affected massage and somatic practitioners. The defined scope of practice affects practitioners who do not consider themselves "massage therapists" yet they are treated as such under the licensing bill. This has driven many practitioners underground to avoid treatment as "massage therapists" and to escape the cost of additional education in techniques they do not use.

Amta: Of the over 1,000 Massage Therapists who currently practice in Georgia, many go voluntarily to neighboring States, such as Florida and Alabama, to receive a professional Massage Therapy license - with Georgia dollars going to these other States!

GaMSTA: The criteria for creating a regulatory board is to "prevent harm to the public" not to create a money machine for the state.

Amta: The cost of State licensing of Massage Therapists should be underwritten by reasonable licensing fees collected from this large number of practitioners.

GaMSTA: What may be reasonable to the state may be devastating to a practitioner. Add to the state licensing fee (Tennessees's is $325) a mandatory business license fee, professional dues, CEU costs and possible exam costs. How many practitioners will this force out of business?
Amta: A nationally administered test - The National Certification Examination for Therapeutic Massage and Bodywork - has been developed and given to over 25,000 practitioners since its inception in 1992. This test is used as a competency test in many states, such as Florida and Washington. Thus, the State of Georgia would not have to spend money to develop a competency examination for professional Massage Therapists.

GaMSTA: The National Certification Exam is highly discriminatory because it
does not fairly test individuals whose training has been in modalities other than Swedish massage. It is not a true measure of a practitioner's proficiency in skilled touch.

Amta: The time has come to institute licensing of the profession of massage therapy for the benefit of all citizens of Georgia!

(At the time this point/counter point flyer was created, there was enough opposition that the Amta failed in their mission. In 2005, GA fell to the Amta onslaught.)

MISCONCEPTIONS ABOUT STATE LICENSING

Sponsors of SB300 reasoned that state licensing will provide credibility for our profession. Credibility comes from individuals becoming involved in professional associations and through individual educational standards, codes of ethics and the quality of work performed. A regulatory board establishes scope of practice and educational requirements, not credibility.

It has been implied insurance reimbursement will come if massage is licensed. Insurance reimbursement is a separate issue regulated by the insurance commission and is in no way connected with Senate Bill 300 - nor would it be with any future bill.

It has been implied that Chiropractors will be able to refer to "licensed" massage therapists. Chiropractic recently won back the right to refer, which was done specifically for MRI's and blood work. Their bill states referrals must be made to "licensed healthcare practitioners" which has caused confusion even in the Chiropractic profession. The GCA attorney has indicated it was not the intent of the bill to prevent Chiropractors from referring to massage therapists and has also indicated that steps will be taken to remedy the language in the rule. Unless stated specifically in a bill that massage and somatic practitioners are "licensed healthcare practitioners" a referral is not guaranteed. The term "healthcare practitioner" is not used in SB300 and would be difficult to incorporate into any bill for legal/medical reasons.

Other states are requiring state licensing, therefore, it is inevitable. Many states now wish they did not have licensing because of unexpected restrictions and interpretations. Senate Bill 300 is an example of poorly thought-out legislation that can create just this kind of environment.

If we do not regulate ourselves, someone else will do it for us. There is no historical basis for this concern. Even if this point had merit, it would not provide justification for rushing into bad legislation.

CONSEQUENCES OF STATE LICENSING

Our scope of practice would be narrowed substantially (influenced by the Physical Therapists & Chiropractors.)

(SB412 could be much more harmful than good if something like this (important link) escapes the watchful eye of stakeholders or as added at the last minute.)

Our profession could be monopolized through a regulatory board to which we would have limited access, whose agenda may be questionable and who has unlimited power. (How do you get on the board? Should school directors/owners be allowed on it? What is the limit of their power?)

The current definition will group somatic and touch practitioners with massage therapists. (You will have to attend a massage school certified by the regulatory board in order to practice.)

There will be additional fees and additional hoops to jump through in order to continue practicing. (The requirements are beneficial to AMTA members.) If you haven't taken the National Exam and attended a board certified massage school, you will have to do so. SB300 made no allowances for those individuals who have mentored or apprenticed.Continuing Education requirements are left up to the regulatory board.

State licensing will not eliminate the need for a business license within county or city municipalities.

The legislature has indicated a single board for massage therapists will not be approved. This means "massage therapists" will be put under the jurisdiction of another regulatory board (most likely the Chiropractic board) whose interests are not our own.

SB300 does not establish parameters for board response during an appeals process. The board could delay for as long as it chooses while effectively terminating the practitioner's business until a hearing takes place.