Developing a niche or specialty is one well-known way to increase success in nearly any line of work. When it comes to massage therapy, this strategy can be quite effective. A majority of bodyworkers may begin their careers with an education in basic relaxation massage, then add on skills from there to build their client base.
Enrolling in continuing education is one route to gaining a more focused skill set, which might allow a massage therapist to tap a specific portion of the population. If you are hoping to carve out a niche in the bodywork field, then be sure to keep this in mind when it’s time to take continuing education.
With enough forethought, you can begin to specialize your work while earning the credits in continuing education that will keep your credential current. One group of clients that massage therapist might find particularly rewarding to work on is athletes. By taking classes in continuing education that focus on massage therapy for athletes, you can begin to cultivate this client base.
First and foremost, you need to know what your state or local massage board requires in terms of continuing education. Armed with this knowledge, you can choose the perfect courses and providers to progress in your bodywork career.
If providing massage for athletes is one of your goals, then seek out continuing education that focuses on the issues or conditions common to people who play sports or take part in athletic events on a regular basis. There is such a wide variety of continuing education out there, it should not be a problem to find a class that covers these bases.
One great way to carve out that niche is to find courses that focus on the alleviation of specific conditions that tend to plague athletes. For instance, you may want to enroll in continuing education that covers Iliotibial Band Syndrome.
This is a common hip and knee disorder associated with athletes, and a bodywork course on the subject is likely to teach appropriate soft-tissue techniques to greatly reduce the severity of symptoms associated with this disorder, as well as the impact this condition can have on training and performance.
A quality course on Iliotibial Band Syndrome should also show massage therapists how to assess the location of the dysfunction and identify possible contributing factors, through postural assessment.
As you can see, selecting the proper continuing education can help massage therapists gain highly specialized skills and carve out a deep niche that can bring in new clients.