Standards of Practice

College of Massage Therapists of Ontario Standards of Practice.

What are Standards of Practice?

The College of Massage Therapists of Ontario has developed the Standards of Practice for Massage Therapists. Through the development and use of these Standards the College of Massage Therapists continues to display its commitment to the protection of the public, serving its members, and promoting the highest possible quality of massage therapy practice in a safe and ethical manner.

The Standards of Practice are intended to be generic and have been developed to describe the outcomes of the various tasks the therapist is required to perform within the Scope of Practice. The Standards of Practice describe how well a therapist is expected to perform. How to do each task will be determined by the curriculum developed by the educational programs.

The Standards of Practice form a live and dynamic document that will evolve as changes in practice evolve.

How Can Massage Be Medically Beneficial?

Massage Therapy helps you relax, re-align and rejuvenate. There are many positive aspects to receiving Massage Therapy on an ongoing basis, and with the busy lives we lead, we can all benefit from a little stress-management. Registered Massage Therapists can provide exceptional care and will design an effective customized massage treatment to address your individual needs.

More Canadians are turning to therapeutic massage treatment to provide relaxation, relieve tension associated with the daily stresses of their busy lives, or simply to help maintain good health and achieve a balanced lifestyle.

Oh, and let’s not forget how great it feels to be treated by a Registered Massage Therapist.

There are so many healthy benefits to receiving Massage Therapy on a regular basis:

Relieves stress
Encourages relaxation
Improves posture
May lower blood pressure
Improves circulation
Helps manages pain naturally
Decreases muscle pain
Helps improves flexibility and ranges of motion
Helps relieve tension- related headaches
May help post operative rehabilitation
Eases pregnancy aches and pains
Improves rehabilitation after injury

Massage Therapy in Ontario is a growing profession, that is part of the health care team, providing primary care to clients and to the general population concerned with maintaining and enhancing health and well being. Massage therapists use Swedish massage techniques and additional forms of soft tissue manipulation and joint mobilisations as a complement to existing courses of medical treatment or as an exclusive treatment programme.

Massage Therapists treat many conditions such as muscular “weakness” and “wasting” arising from disease, injury or immobility resulting from:

Sprains and strains
Fractures
Trauma (i.e., motor vehicle accidents)
Sports/athletic injuries
Tendonitis
Muscle spasms or spasticity
Post operative care and rehabilitation

Massage therapists also treat chronic conditions resulting in musculo-skeletal involvement.

For example:

Muscular tension headaches
Chronic nonspecific low back pain
“Stress” syndromes
Chronic pain syndromes
Muscular pain involvement in arthritis
Muscular tension of the jaw, face and neck