Role of National Certification for Therapeutic Massage and Bodywork in CAM and Public Health

Massage and bodywork therapies are increasingly gaining greater acceptance in the health care industry as an integral component of the complementary and alternative medicine and health care market. As the population receiving these services is growing, there is an increased need for public health professionals to become responsibly aware and educated about the value and role of national certification in addition to the expanding legislative requirements across the nation. This presentation will provide an overview of the relevance of certification for the public health community as it relates to CAM, health promotion and public safety. Current and projected educational requirements, standards and scope of practice of therapeutic massage will also be addressed. As trends in the CAM arena are demonstrating an evolving demand for multi-level and advanced credentialing for massage therapy, the implications for public health relevance will increase. Utilization of services by hospitals, clinical offices and health promotion settings will increasingly require specialization and evidenced based referrals. Disaster stress reduction, occupational injury management, hospice care to general relaxation exemplify the broad-based range of areas that massage therapy will be integrated as a component of the public health profession in the near future.