| December 22, 2009 |
Media Contact: |
|
Ron Precht |
|
847-905-1649 |
2009 has been a very successful calendar year for the American Massage Therapy
Association® (AMTA®) as it works to fulfill its mission by serving its members
and advancing the massage therapy profession. The association has made decisions
and taken actions that affect all massage therapists, provided new and enhanced
benefits to its members, reached out to give back to the community and brought
information about massage therapy to millions of Americans.
There are always more stories to tell than space to tell them. Following are
some of AMTA’s top stories of 2009.
2009 Massage Therapy Industry Overview Released
In January 2009, AMTA released a compilation of data
gathered from U.S. government statistics, surveys of
consumers and massage therapists and recent clinical
studies on the efficacy of massage. These data provide
an overview of the state of the massage therapy
profession, public and medical acceptance of the value
of massage and increasing consumer usage of massage
therapy based on data through 2008.
http://www.amtamassage.org/news/MTIndustryFactSheet.html
AMTA Announces Support for MBLEX as Massage Licensing Exam
On January 26, AMTA announced its view that the Massage & Bodywork Licensing
Exam (MBLEx), developed by the Federation of State Massage Therapy Boards (FSMTB),
is the best choice for a licensing exam that can lead to portability of massage
practice. The association also restated its long-held view that national
certification is a valuable cornerstone of the massage therapy profession.
Then AMTA President, M.K. Brennan stated, “We hope our support for one massage
licensing exam will help move the entire profession forward in a unified way.”
http://www.amtamassage.org/news/012609release.html
Two States Pass Massage Licensing Laws
In 2009, two states passed legislation to regulate massage therapy – Michigan
and
Montana – raising the number of states that regulate the profession to 43. These
were the result of years of work by the AMTA chapters in those states,
collaboration with other massage therapy organizations and professionals and the
support of AMTA’s centralized government relations approach.
http://www.amtamassage.org/news/011209Michigan.html
http://www.amtamassage.org/news/050709montana.html
AMTA Official Provider of Chair Massage Therapists for Walks
Benefiting
Susan G. Komen for the Cure®
AMTA celebrated a successful year of involvement with the 15 Breast Cancer
3-Day® events nationwide benefiting Susan G. Komen for the Cure®. AMTA was the
official provider of more than 300 volunteer massage therapists for the
Energizer Live it up! Lounge at the 2009 Breast Cancer 3-Day events in which
participants walked 60 miles over the course of three days to raise funds to
support breast cancer research. AMTA announced the commitment in July and
completed support for the final walk in November. The 2009 tour was such a
success AMTA and Energizer are already discussing plans for 2010.
AMTA President Judy Stahl said, “This was a signature expression of AMTA’s
caring culture. AMTA stands for highest quality massage therapy. High quality
and a culture of caring is what makes AMTA what it is and our members who they
are as healing professionals.”
http://www.amtamassage.org/news/071309release.html
http://www.amtamassage.org/news/2009-KomenWalks.html
NIH involvement
In June, AMTA
announced its growing relationship with the National
Institutes of Health (NIH), including providing it with
educational information supplied to NIH staff, and
development of an audio podcast to explain the benefits
of massage for stress relief. Since then AMTA
participated in the NIH – Office of Acquisition and
Logistics Management (OALM) Holistic Health Fair in
October and provided an article on massage therapy in
the December NIH employee newsletter. The NIH continues
ongoing dialogue with AMTA toward advocating inclusion
of massage therapy in healthcare.
http://www.amtamassage.org/news/061709release.html
AMTA Social Media, Refreshed MIC launched
AMTA’s new social media program and renewed Massage Information Center (MIC),
reflect the association’s aggressive outreach through electronic communications.
AMTA is using the latest forms of technology to bring information about massage
therapy to consumers and professional development knowledge to its professional,
student and school members.
In July, AMTA announced a multi-faceted social networking program for members
and consumers. The program uses Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter and YouTube to bring
association updates and news to its members and others in the profession. These
venues also provide information to the public, opportunities for questions and
dialog with consumers and with potential clients.
By December, the association’s Facebook page had nearly 3,000 fans, its YouTube
channel had a wealth of video information on massage therapy, LinkedIn had
connected more than 400 people and Twitter was fostering lively discussion about
the profession and the association.
http://www.amtamassage.org/news/072409release.html
On September 3, the association announced a
refreshed online presence for its popular Massage
Information Center. The MIC features a new layout and
design, streamlined navigation and updated content and
resources. It’s an online repository for research,
articles and professional development resources related
to massage therapy. Massage therapists and consumers
turn to the MIC for information related to the
profession.
The MIC receives nearly 50,000 unique visitors annually.
http://www.amtamassage.org/news/090309release.html
AMTA National Convention Largest Ever
AMTA’s national convention in September saw the largest attendance in its
history and featured approval of two new position statements for the association
by its House of Delegates, 300+ attendees at a special massage therapy student
day and a special session for input into the Massage Therapy Body of Knowledge
project.
http://www.amtamassage.org/news/2009-NC-PressRelease.html
AMTA Voices its Views through Approved Position Statements
During the AMTA national convention, the association’s House of Delegates
debated proposals for AMTA position statements that express the sense of the
membership on matters pertaining to massage therapy. This year, the delegates
approved two position statements, which are now official positions of the
association. This brings the total of approved position statements to six since
the procedure was begun in 2006.
It is the position of the American Massage Therapy Association (AMTA) that
massage can aid in pain relief.
It is the position of the American Massage Therapy Association (AMTA) that
massage therapy can improve the quality of life for those in hospice and
palliative care.
http://www.amtamassage.org/news/2009-NC-PressRelease.html
http://www.amtamassage.org/infocenter/research_amta-position-statement.html
AMTA Contributes Record Amount to Support Massage Therapy Foundation
AMTA provided the Massage Therapy Foundation with a record of more than $500,000
for fiscal year 2009/10 to help the foundation carry out its mission and support
AMTA’s goal for evidence-informed massage practice.
“As the primary benefactor for the Foundation, AMTA is proud that its in-kind
and direct monetary support for the day-to-day operations of the foundation have
increased this year,” said AMTA President Judy Stahl. “We are happy to promote
the foundation as our massage research foundation and we strongly encourage
others to contribute to the advancement of massage research through the Massage
Therapy Foundation.”
http://www.amtamassage.org/news/2009-NC-PressRelease.html
AMTA’s 13th Annual Consumer Survey Shows Massage Used More Than Ever for
Medical/Health Reasons
Results from AMTA’s 13th annual consumer survey indicate 32 percent of Americans
are seeking massage for medical and health reasons, tying relaxation and stress
reduction for the first time as the top reasons people get massages. Data also
show more people had a massage in the previous 12 months, compared to the same
period in 2007/08, but that they had fewer massages.
http://www.amtamassage.org/news/102309NMTAW.html
http://www.amtamassage.org/media/consumersurvey_factsheet-2009.html
National Massage Therapy Awareness Week® Reaches Millions
AMTA’s 13th annual National Massage Therapy Awareness Week® (NMTAW) October
25-31 achieved major media attention for massage therapy in 2009. During the
week, AMTA media relations efforts put massage therapy and AMTA members in front
of consumers more than 100 million times. This included a posting about the week
and the NMTAW logo on one of the large electronic signs in the heart of Times
Square in New York City. The same image and information also were posted on the
large Fashion Show Mall sign in Las Vegas, NV.
The association also produced a five-part video about massage therapy and
finding a massage therapist that is posted on AMTA’s YouTube Channel. AMTA
chapters and members stepped up to promote their profession and the week.
Activities reported to AMTA included public demonstrations of massage, massage
for elderly, ill and disadvantaged people, and contributed massage with proceeds
given to local and national charities, such as Ronald McDonald House.
http://www.amtamassage.org/news/09NMTAWPressRelease.html
http://www.amtamassage.org/news/09NMTAW-TS.html
http://www.amtamassage.org/news/09NMTAW-LV.html
http://www.youtube.com/amtamassage
http://www.flickr.com/photos/amtaphotos/sets/72157622719540479/
AMTA Online Continuing Education Hits Benchmark of 30 Courses, 15,000 Taken
In 2009, the association added four online courses, bringing the total available
to 30. They range from business classes such as “Taking Care of Your Taxes” to
courses on “Cancer and Massage Therapy”. Courses have now been accessed 15,400
times since AMTA began offering online courses to all massage therapists in
2006.
AMTA has been a primary provider of CE for decades. AMTA is the only national
massage therapy membership organization that requires all practitioner
(Professional) members to take continuing education. The association views CE as
a vital part of professionalism.
http://www.amtamassage.org/cont_edu.html
http://www.amtamassage.org/journal/cont_edu.html
December 2009
|
American Massage Therapy Association®
