Spa massage and medical massage may appear similar, but their techniques are distinct. During a spa massage, the focus is usually on relaxation. A medical massage therapist will use a wider range of therapies for muscle health and recovery. Credentials are an important distinction between clinical massage and spa massage.
To practice massages at a spa, a therapist is usually required to have a license and liability insurance. When it comes to clinical massages, additional accreditation may be necessary. This could include a national certification, extra professional certificates, hours of continuing education and, in some cases, professional licenses (such as nursing or physical therapy). A masseuse and a masseur do the same job; the only difference is that the term masseuse is gender-specific and refers to women.
Masseurs, on the other hand, can be of any gender. The Bureau of Labor Statistics uses the same standard occupational code (31-901) for both designations and for massage therapists, role players and massage professionals specifically for men. You may have wondered how a massage differs when administered in a spa and in a clinical setting. Male massage therapists rarely find work in spas and other places used primarily by women because of clients' fear of sexual harassment. Because a clinical massage focuses on alleviating a medical need, it differs in the way the interaction will develop. Whether clinical or spa, both areas of massage therapy fulfill an important task: providing the client with a tool that will improve their health, well-being and life.
On the contrary, spa massage is often expected to be an overall relaxing experience with the goal of de-stressing or calming down. While a spa massage may seem similar to a clinical one in some ways, because the purposes of these two types of massages are different, the types of techniques used will also be different. Basic massage education will include the proper way to keep records of informed consent, contradictions, and limited documentation of SOAP notes. For many years, massages have been used to treat many different medical conditions, as well as to help people ease the stress of their daily lives. As you may have guessed, the main differences lie mainly in the purpose of the massage, but also in the reasons why someone might be looking for one type of massage instead of another. Medical massage therapy treatment is planned with a specific goal in mind, and your massage will be included in a broader treatment plan that is based on your health needs and goals. On the subject of techniques, another factor in which the two types of massage differ is the way in which the session is planned according to your individual needs.
While a spa massage can successfully relax you or temporarily relieve some stress, medical massage will produce tangible results.
