State Licensing

Right now Kansas is one of the last states with out required licensing for massage therapists. A House bill is in the works to require licensing. Tell us what you think? Should Kansas get licensing?

Here is the latest from Associated Bodywork & Massage Professionals:

Bill Would Require Licensing of Massage Therapists - Action Needed!

House Bill 2564, which has been introduced in the Kansas Legislature, would require massage therapists to become licensed for the purpose of protecting the public and ensuring that the standards of practice in the field are protected and preserved. If passed, the bill would require massage therapists to become licensed by the state under the Kansas Board of Healing Arts (Board), and would establish a Massage Therapy Advisory Council to advise the Board in carrying out the provisions of the Act.

House Bill 2564 would set minimum training requirements, define a scope of practice, stop any efforts by other fields to control the future of massage therapy, provide an avenue for consumer complaints, and pre-empt local regulations.

Generous Grandfathering Requirements for Current Massage Therapists: For a period of two years, existing practitioners would be able to qualify for a state license by meeting one of the following criteria:
1. Has completed a massage program consisting of a minimum 500 hours; or
2. Has completed a massage program of at least 300 hours and has practiced massage for a period of 3 years; or
3. Has practiced massage for at least 5 years prior to the date of application; or
4. Has been an active member of a national massage therapist association (such as ABMP) which provides professional liability insurance for at least a year; or
5. Has passed a nationally recognized examination approved by the board.

After two years, all new applicants will have to demonstrate they have completed a massage program consisting of at least 500 hours and passed an examination approved by the board.

Several practices would be exempt from licensure as long as practitioners do not practice, or advertise that they practice massage therapy, including: reflexology, movement educators (Feldenkrais, Trager, and Body-Mind Centering), energy work (Reiki, Shiatsu, Asian Bodywork, Polarity), structural integrators (Rolfing and Hellerwork).

The licensing fee would be no more than $80 per year and continuing education requirements would be limited to no more than 6 hours per year. Massage therapists would be required to carry professional liability insurance (required for all health professionals regulated under the Board).

A copy of House Bill 2564 can be found at: House Bill 2564: Massage Therapy Licensure

 
Massage Therapists Call to Action—Please Contact Your Legislators Now 

Legislative Hearing February 8, 1:30 PM

House Bill 2564 will be heard first in the House. If passed by the House, it will go to the Senate. Supporters of House Bill 2564 are focused now on the House Health and Human Services Committee.

House Bill 2564 will not become law without the support and advocacy of everyone contacting their legislators. In order for this legislation to pass, it is critical that all massage therapists, your families, and clients begin to make contact with your legislators. Do not be hesitant to contact legislators as they have chosen to serve in public life and we are all obligated to make our views known to them.

First Step - What Needs to Happen Now
The House Health and Human Services Committee will hold the first hearing on House Bill 2564 on Wednesday, February 8, at 1:30 PM. Supporters of massage therapy licensure need to make contactbefore this date.

If your member of the Kansas House of Representatives is on the House Health and Human Services Committee, please contact them now. See the Committee membership list below and the script for what to say. If your member of the Kansas House of Representatives is not on the House Health and Human Services Committee, please contact them anyway and tell them you support House Bill 2564. We should focus our attention on the House of Representatives now.

The Message You Need to Send Now
The following language should be incorporated in your own words when communicating with legislators. Massage therapists, your clients, and your family members, etc. can all use this script. This language is meant to be a guide for making your argument. Please add what you feel you need to BUT keep the message short and focused.

I am ______________ and I live in your district. I am a massage therapist. [Provide a two sentence summary of what you do, your experience etc.] I need your help and support to pass Massage Therapist Licensure legislation (House Bill 2564) this year.

House Bill 2564, is being heard in House Health and Human Services Committee on February 8. I support the bill and need you to support it too.

At no cost to the State, the licensing of massage therapists will accomplish the following:
• Provide consumer protection by creating oversight and sanctions through the Kansas Board of Healing Arts.
• Increase consumer confidence by ensuring massage therapists are appropriately trained and following appropriate standards.
• At this time, there are NO standards or education requirements, no code of ethics, and no identified contra-indications when massage therapy should not be offered.
• Most importantly, there is NO avenue for the citizens of Kansas to file any complaints.

I need your support and help during the 2012 legislative session to make sure this legislation is passed. Please contact me if you have any questions.

Again, please feel free to modify this format and language to fit your email, letter, or conversation. Please, however, do make contact with your legislators if you want this legislation to pass.

Contact information for members of the House Health and Human Services Committee:

Rep. Brenda K. Landwehr, R-91st (Chair) from Wichita, 785-296-7683 

Rep. Owen Donohoe, R-39th (Vice Chair) Shawnee, 785-296-7695 

Rep. J. Stephen Alford, R-124th Ulysses, 785-296-7696

Rep. Bob Bethell, R-113th Alden, 785-296-7616 

Rep. Barbara Bollier, R-25th Mission Hills, 785-296-7686 

Rep. Terry Calloway, R-3rd Pittsburg, 785-296-7677

Rep. David Crum, R-77th Augusta, 785-296-7639 

Rep. Jim Denning, R-19th Overland Park, 785-296-7665 

Rep. Phil Hermanson, R-96th Wichita,  785-296-7500

Rep. Peggy Mast, R-76th Emporia, 785-296-7685 

Rep. Kelly Meigs, R-17th Lenexa, 785-296-7656 

Rep. Susan Mosier, R-67th Manhattan, 785-296-7690

Rep. Bill Otto, R-9th LeRoy, 785-296-7656 

Rep. Brian Weber, R-119th Dodge City, 785-296-7646 

Rep. Geraldine Flaharty, D-98th (Ranking Member) Wichita, 785-296-7651 

Rep. Ann Mah, D-53rd Topeka, 785-296-7668 

Rep. Ed Trimmer, D-78th Winfield, 785-296-7122 

Rep. Jim Ward, D-88th Wichita, 785-296-7697 

Rep. Valdenia Winn, D-34th Kansas City, 785-296-7657 

  
Massage Therapist Resources - How to Find and Contact Your Legislators

Find A Copy of the Bill
You can find a copy of House Bill 2564 at the following link: House Bill 2564: Massage Therapy Licensure

Find Your LegislatorsGo to this website to locate your legislators. You only need to enter your address and it will provide you with your member of the State House of Representative Member and State Senator.

Contact Legislators at their office email or telephones. If you do not receive a response, contact them at their home email address.

Telephone NumbersOffice and personal phone numbers can be found at the following website for your legislators.

Email Addresses
All Senator and House of Representative member email addresses are the same: first name.last name@senate.ks.gov, for example john.doe@senate.ks.gov or john.doe@house.ks.gov.

Massage Benefits #2

The Today Show aired a small piece about "Back Pain".  Dr. Nancy Snyderman gives her opinion on massage and acupuncture for back pain.

Watch her video from 2/26/2012: "What your back pain really means"

Massage Benefits #1

Everyone knows massages feel good, but how many of you know that massage is good for you!! New research is pointing out the key features a great massage can bring and the healthy reaction that your body has.

The New York Times published the latest article:

Well: How Massage Heals Sore Muscles  By NICHOLAS BAKALAR

A massage after vigorous exercise unquestionably feels good, and it seems to reduce pain and help muscles recover. Many people — both athletes and health professionals – have long contended it eases inflammation, improves blood flow and reduces muscle tightness. But until now no one has understood why massage has this apparently beneficial effect.

Now researchers have found what happens to muscles when a masseur goes to work on them.

Their experiment required having people exercise to exhaustion and undergo five incisions in their legs in order to obtain muscle tissue for analysis. Despite the hurdles, the scientists still managed to find 11 brave young male volunteers. The study was published in the Feb. 1 issue of Science Translational Medicine.

On a first visit, they biopsied one leg of each subject at rest. At a second session, they had them vigorously exercise on a stationary bicycle for more than an hour until they could go no further. Then they massaged one thigh of each subject for 10 minutes, leaving the other to recover on its own. Immediately after the massage, they biopsied the thigh muscle in each leg again. After allowing another two-and-a-half hours of rest, they did a third biopsy to track the process of muscle injury and repair.

Vigorous exercise causes tiny tears in muscle fibers, leading to an immune reaction — inflammation — as the body gets to work repairing the injured cells. So the researchers screened the tissue from the massaged and unmassaged legs to compare their repair processes, and find out what difference massage would make.

They found that massage reduced the production of compounds called cytokines, which play a critical role in inflammation. Massage also stimulated mitochondria, the tiny powerhouses inside cells that convert glucose into the energy essential for cell function and repair. “The bottom line is that there appears to be a suppression of pathways in inflammation and an increase in mitochondrial biogenesis,” helping the muscle adapt to the demands of increased exercise, said the senior author, Dr. Mark A. Tarnopolsky.

Dr. Tarnopolsky, a professor of pediatrics and medicine at McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario, said that massage works quite differently from Nsaids and other anti-inflammatory drugs, which reduce inflammation and pain but may actually retard healing. Many people, for instance, pop an aspirin or Aleve at the first sign of muscle soreness. “There’s some theoretical concern that there is a maladaptive response in the long run if you’re constantly suppressing inflammation with drugs,” he said. “With massage, you can have your cake and eat it too—massage can suppress inflammation and actually enhance cell recovery.”

“This is important research, because it is the first to show that massage can reduce pro-inflammatory cytokines which may be involved in pain,” said Tiffany Field, director of the Touch Research Institute at the University of Miami Medical School. She was not involved in the study. “We have known from many studies that pain can be reduced by massage based on self-report, but this is the first demonstration that the pain-related pro-inflammatory cytokines can be reduced.” she said.

Getting a massage from a professional masseur is obviously more expensive than taking an aspirin. But, as Dr. Field points out, massage techniques can be taught. “People within families can learn to massage each other,” she said. “If you can teach parents to massage kids, couples to massage each other. This can be cost effective.”

Dr. Tarnopolsky suggests that, in the long run, a professional massage may even be a better bargain than a pill. “If someone says “This is free and it might make you feel better, but it may slow down your recovery, do you still want it?” he asked. “Or would you rather spend the 50 bucks for a post-exercise massage that also might enhance your recovery?” 

A Brief History

Welcome to Sveta's Skin &  Body Therapy. September of 2000 we opened our doors in the Bradley Fair Shopping Center in Wichita, KS

In 2006 we launched our private skin care line and spiced up our logo

In 2010 we expanded! Adding a couples room, double pedicure room, 5 extra massage rooms, and a relaxation room.

In 2012 we launched an extension of our private line that is Organic! Who knows what the rest of the future will hold for Sveta's skin & Body Therapy!!