Massage Therapy School in Columbia, SC

Columbia, South Carolina massage therapists are making a difference in people’s lives. They help them with physical pain issues as well as the effects of day-to-day stresses. There is a tremendous breadth to massage therapy in this area! Some LMTs practice specialized therapeutic techniques.

Popular Massage Schools in Columbia, SC and Nearby

Midlands Technical College offers a 600-hour program that can be completed in ten months. The program provides some introduction to a number of modalities and special populations, including Structural-Segmental Reflexology, neuromuscular therapy, and prenatal/ infant and geriatric life stage adaptations. Midlands Technical College is a school member of the American Massage Therapy Association.

Southeastern College – Columbia offers a 750-hour program in professional clinical massage therapy. The Southeastern College is also a school member of the American Massage Therapy Association.

Central Carolina College, further down the road in Sumter, has partnered with the National Certification Board for Therapeutic Massage and Bodywork (NCBTMB) to offer a special program. Graduates can earn a Specialty Certificate in Massage Therapy for Integrative Healthcare; they will need to pass the NCBTMB specialty examination. The CCCT program is 960 hours.

Additional Learning Opportunities: Massage Therapy Schools in South Carolina

Massage Therapist Work Settings

The Southeastern College lists the following among the places massage therapists may work: massage clinics, rehabilitation centers, spas, resorts, chiropractic offices, orthopedic offices, hospitals, health clubs, and sports organizations.

Urban Nirvana is a well-known South Carolina employer. It operates spas in several South Carolina metropolitan areas. It currently has two spas in the Columbia metropolitan area: Columbia and Lexington. Anxiety relief and whiplash are among the specialty massage services. The anxiety relief massage incorporates essential oils; the whiplash massage, paraffin. Urban Nirvana was among the businesses advertising for massage talent in the Columbia area in 2019.

Among the popular single-location massage practices is fuse Massage Therapy. Clients can opt to upgrade an integrative massage in various ways, reaping the benefits of paraffin, essential oil, or Kinesio Tape and muscle rub.

Some local practices provide onsite massage. Healing Hands Massage and Mobile Service provides massage services in the greater Columbia area; a higher fee is charged for travel to Elgin, Blythewood, Sumter, and other communities in the surrounding area. Clients may also travel to the studio for massage and spa services.

One can find small teams of massage therapists at various Columbia businesses, from chiropractic offices to spa/ salon combos. Soak Day Spa has massage therapists practicing alongside beauty professionals. Flex Chiropractic has two professionals with dual roles as massage therapist and chiropractic assistant.

Massage may be paired with yoga and holistic wellness. The Well Collective blends yoga and other exercise programs with massage and aesthetic services. They want people to sweat – a word used on the website – and they want them to enjoy some pampering, too! They also want them to shop: things for exercise and self-care or things that fall under the category of “treat yourself”. The Well Collective hosts regular events like a Mindful Monday series beginning in late 2019. The business has had more than one write-up, including WIS News “Try it Tuesday” (https://www.wistv.com/2019/08/06/try-it-tuesday-self-care-holistic-wellness-new-spot-well-collective).

Massage therapists also work for franchised practices. Hand and Stone and Massage Envy both have a presence in the Columbia area.

LMT-Owned Massage Studios and Spas

Many massage therapists have their own businesses. Here’s the Rub, Get Bent Massage & Stretching, At Ease Therapeutic Massage, Renewed Body Massage & Wellness, and Forest Acres Massage are among those that list a sole proprietor (https://www.herestherubmassagetherapy.com/what-people-are-saying/).

Some larger practices are LMT-founded and owned. Serenity Therapeutic Massage (Irmo) is among them. The website currently lists two LMTs besides the founder. The proprietor had quite a bit of experience before she went for her dream: her own spa. Whatever the word spa connotes, there is healthcare here, too. The owner has honed her skills helping people with serious conditions from Parkinson’s to PTSD.

The Best of Columbia

Bliss Massage Therapy won Best of Columbia in the massage therapy category in 2019 (https://columbiametro.com/article/a-standing-ovation). Here, too, there is a sole LMT at the helm, but there are many types of massage service, including ones for people with special needs. Bliss Massage Therapy is a referral organization for individuals with sexual trauma histories who need a massage therapist who is sensitive to this type of issue. Bliss Massage charges different rates for different services. Massage for survivors of sexual trauma is a free service. Oncology massage carries a slightly lower per-hour fee than most other styles.

OCCO Luxury Spa and Salon won Best of Columbia in the spa category. As the name implies, there are a range of services here. Among the massages, one finds prenatal, post-partum, and neck and back with hot stones.

Columbia, South Carolina Massage Therapists in the News

The Defense Visual Information Distribution Service recently carried an article about a Licensed Massage Therapist with her own practice who gives back by providing volunteer massage at the Columbia VA Health Care System a couple times a month (https://www.dvidshub.net/news/330274/healing-hands-massage-therapist-gets-hearts-volunteering). This massage therapist has a military background herself. She used her GI bill to finance her massage therapy education.

Specialized Trainings

The following are among the specialized trainings touted by individual massage therapists in the Columbia area: Ortho-Bionomy, Lomi Lomi, Chi Nei Tsang, Gua Sha, Kinesio Taping, facial massage, and Thai poultice.

Massage Therapist Salary

Columbia massage therapists made a mean $19.32 in 2018. From the 10th percentile to the 25th percentile, wages rose from $9.87 to $16.27. By the 90th percentile, massage therapists were making $29.02.