Massage Therapy School in Nashua
Massage therapists in Nashua are using their expertise to better lives. Some work in healthcare, but even those in private practice often have specialized skills. The state sets educational standards relatively high: 750 hours. Some massage therapists are choosing to go beyond this to provide specialized care – and to get ahead professionally.
Massage Schools in Nashua and Surrounding Areas
The New Hampshire Institute for Therapeutic Arts in Hudson is accredited by the Commission on Massage Therapy Accreditation (COMTA). Lymphatic drainage massage, circulatory massage, and sports massage are among the modalities taught. The school, which has campuses in Maine and New Hampshire, has a more than 35 year history.
The Holistic Academy of Natural Disciplines (HANDS) offers an 800-hour program. Swedish massage and neuromuscular techniques get a good deal of attention. Students learn other modalities including sports massage, chair massage, and acupressure.
The Elizabeth Grady School of Esthetics and Massage Therapy offers a 750-hour program; students from outside Massachusetts are advised to contact their massage therapy board about requirements. The school is NACCAS-accredited.
Great Bay Community College in Portsmouth offers a three-semester massage therapy certification program. The school touts its excellent MBLEx pass rate.
The Nashua Community College massage therapy certificate program is expected to resume in fall of 2020.
Massage Therapy in Healthcare
Multiple self-employed massage therapists in the Nashua area provide fee-based oncology massage. The Hand to Heart project utilizes experienced massage therapists to provide free massage services to people with cancer and also to their caregivers. The organization relies on donations to meet its mission. The Jack and Dorothy Byrne Foundation is a major donor (https://handtoheartproject.org/category/news).
Also of interest here is the role of massage in combatting addictions. There is interest in finding alternatives to precipitating conditions, including physical and mental pain. At least one New Hampshire organization has included massage therapy in the list of supports offered to those already caught in the addiction cycle. The Lowell Sun informed readers of a residential treatment center in Antrim that would do far more than “detox”; yoga and massage therapy were among the amenities (http://www.lowellsun.com/ci_29383193/clean-get-away-treat-opiate-addiction). The ribbon cutting took place in 2017 (https://www.sentinelsource.com/news/local/new-treatment-facility-for-women-opening-on-thursday/article_438fb01e-d4dd-51cb-bad2-377f04f6c186.html?TNNoMobile).
Massage has some presence even in traditional healthcare settings. Exeter Hospital, for example, offers massage therapy to the public (https://www.exeterhospital.com/Services/Outpatient-Rehabilitation-Services/Massage-Therapy).
Chiropractic offices constitute a more common healthcare workplace for LMTs. Path of Life Chiropractic Health Center, one of a number in the area that offer massage therapy onsite, notes that the service complements chiropractic/ spinal care; it can confer other benefits like reducing swelling. A chiropractic office may have a single massage therapist or a team. Moriarty Chiropractic has three LMTs onboard. Practices that diversify their services sometimes characterize themselves as wellness centers; Main Street Wellness and Chiropractor is an example. The Main Street Wellness website provides potential clients with general information about the various possible benefits of massage (https://mainstwellness-chiropractic.com/).
Massage Practices in the Nashua Area
Inner Beauty Concepts is esthetician-owned. There are five LMTs currently on the team, one of whom is dually licensed as an esthetician. The wellness spa offers a variety of common modalities, including deep tissue, hot stone, and reflexology. Patrons can opt for couples massage (with two massage recipients in the room). Here, prenatal massage can be done as couples massage.
The Skin and Body Spa, another esthetician owned business, has a fairly large team that includes LMTs with diverse skill sets. Among the massages offered are Himalayan hot stone, marble cold stone, Himalayan singing bowls, ‘Zero Balancing’, and raindrop therapy. Basic Swedish and deep tissue styles can be enhanced with Gua Sha or soma cupping.
Franchises tend to do a lot of business and a fair amount of hiring. The Medford Massachusetts Elements facility has a Google rating of 4.9 – quite high for a franchise. Elements frequently has high client ratings.
Massage Therapists in Business
Self-employed LMTs in the Nashua area are creating businesses – and lifestyles – that reflect their own unique vision.
Simply Sacred Apothecary and Wellness, self-described as a ‘one-woman show’, provides massage and bodywork; Earth Reiki and drum Reiki are among the offerings.
Sense of Balance, another very small practice, draws clients for a soak in the infrared sauna as well as for therapeutic massage services. The massage therapist behind Sense of Balance touts her skill in helping musicians; performers can be more deeply absorbed in their music when they can easily move the muscles involved.
Some massage therapists open studios that have a focus on pain. Atlantic Massage and Muscular Therapies is a case in point. The bodywork professional here counts certification in myoskeletal alignment among his numerous credentials. The list of available therapies includes references to trouble in specific areas of the body, for example, shoulder and rotator cuff (https://www.muscletherapies.com/). The therapist addresses briefly how he assesses and treats complaints and also when he may refer a person to a healthcare provider. The case studies section includes a reference to a musician looking for an alternative to taking time off from her craft.
Intuitive Touch Massage Therapy in Concord lists an owner who is an LMT and six additional LMTs. Like many successful massage therapists, the owner has been in the business a while. She was about five years into the journey when massage became full-time. Her list of massage trainings incudes one for dogs; she’s certified for Canine Myo-Manipulative Functional Therapy.
New Hampshire is average with regard to job concentration. Like in other states, massage is on the rise. 17.4% occupational growth has been projected for the 2016-2026 decade.