Quick Dollar Or Compassion in Your Bodywork Business?

What's the big deal about the scope of practice for manual therapists? As long as I do what I learned in school, I should be fine...right? In truth, there are plenty of critical factors involved in operating an ethical (and legal) manual therapy business. However, many therapists fall into the trap of believeing they can meet all client therapeutic needs (especially those who've just begun a practice and need the income). But, intentionally refusing to refer certain clients to more qualified practitioners in our own field may be as much an ethical violation as to not refer out to other medical practitioners, i.e.. chiropractors, orthopods, osteopaths, etc.

For example… You have your certificate as a massage therapist. One of your clients comes in as usual and says her chiropractor advised that she try Rolfing®. You might be tempted to say “I can do that” – maybe you have experienced structural integration as a client, maybe you are fascinated by the structure of the body, maybe you had a teacher at massage school who was a Rolfer, maybe you think if you just dig your elbow in that’s Rolfing. None of that matters in the end. Rolfing, like many styles of bodywork, has its own certification program and is protected by a registered service mark. Unless you have a diploma from and are a member of the Rolf Institute, you cannot ethically say you do Rolfing. And, in fact, if you’ve not done the training, how could you really know what it is?

Again, professional expertise comes in. The buffet approach of many massage schools is to teach you a variety of many things as your preliminary entry into the field. That may be a relevant level of training for certain settings – some spas for example, or a start in private practice. To really grow as a practitioner, select what you like best and hone those skills, or you will be a “jack of all trades, master of none”. Just as you would be skeptical of a lawyer who did the full gamut of law - divorce, patent, estate, personal injury, real estate, and tax law. For example - an educated client will be skeptical of the practitioner who claims to be able to do everything well. If you want to say you do Rolfing, or craniosacral work, or shiatsu, or any other distinct modality, take the time to do the appropriate amount of training and any required certification in that field so that you can in good conscience put it on your business card and offer it to your clientele.

The same is true with walk in clients who come for a specific issue or a specific type of massage. If it is not your within your scope of training and there are other more qualified manual therapists available to assist them, you may be showing a lack of integrity in accepting their money for services you are not fully qualified to render. The solution for this is continuing education. The human body is amazing and complex. One of the joys of our profession is that there is always more to learn, and the sincere manual therapist is always searching for educational opportunities that will (raise his level of professional competence.

Continuing education may not be critical if your practice is relaxation massage, but more relevant if you work with manual therapy in terms of structural bodywork and the treatment of injury. Picture that the client has a whiplash injury and you have no detailed training in the treatment of whiplash. Another manual therapist who did have the training should be able to help the client more. Although you're not breaking any law in treating the client, should you place financial gain over compassion?

Many bodyworks find themselves interested in helping people in pain. Although pain management is a very satisfying personal experience, to set yourself apart, you must develop a love for learning.

There are many exceptional bodywork modalities for treating chronic pain. Myoskeletal Alignment(R) is the modality I'm partial to because it works for me. Visit http://www.ErikDalton.com/ and read published articles on the Myoskeletal Alignment techniques to correct conditions such as whiplash, neck cricks, carpal tunnel, fixated ribs, sciatica, sports injuries, scoliosis and low back, hip and leg pain.