Washington Administrative Code › Title 246 - Health, Department of › PROFESSIONAL STANDARDS AND LICENSING › Chapter 246-830 - Massage therapists › EDUCATION › Section 246-830-430 - Education and training

Current through Register Vol. 24-14, July 15, 2024
(1) A
				  massage school, massage program, transfer program, or apprenticeship program
				  education and training must have a curriculum and system of education and
				  training consistent with its particular area of practice. The education and
				  training in massage therapy will consist of a minimum of six hundred
				  twenty-five hours. An hour of education and training is defined as fifty
				  minutes of actual instructional time. Certification in American Red Cross first
				  aid and American Heart Association CPR or the equivalent is required. CPR
				  training must be in person. This requirement is in addition to the six hundred
				  twenty-five hours of education and training in massage therapy. These six
				  hundred twenty-five hours are to be completed in no fewer than twenty-four
				  weeks and must consist of the following minimum requirements:
(a) Ninety hours of anatomy and physiology,
				  to include orientation to the human body, and the integumentary, skeletal,
				  fascial, muscular, nervous, cardiovascular and other body systems.
(b) Sixty hours of kinesiology to include
				  muscle identification and palpation, location and attachment(s), actions, range
				  of motion, and joint classification and function.
(c) Seventy hours of pathology to include
				  general terminology and classification of diseases, the indications,
				  contraindications, cautions and common adaptations to massage including, but
				  not limited to, arthritis, bursitis, cancer, headaches, skin cancer and other
				  skin conditions, diabetes, fasciitis, sprain, strain, tendinopathy, nerve
				  compression syndromes, osteoporosis, stress, fibromyalgia and other chronic
				  pain syndromes, common neurological diseases, autoimmune disorders, bloodborne
				  pathogens, common cardiovascular diseases, reproductive systems, pregnancy, and
				  any other health care issues as they relate to the practice of massage as
				  defined in
				  RCW
				  18.108.010.
(d) Two hundred sixty hours of theory,
				  principles, and practice of massage to include history of massage, benefits and
				  effects, techniques and strokes, body mechanics of the therapist, application
				  methods and styles, concepts of basic research, session planning and the
				  adaptation of techniques appropriate to stages of healing, to include the safe
				  use of superficial heat, cold, lubricants and salts, and considerations
				  relevant to special populations.
(e) Fifty hours of mandatory student clinic
				  to be directly supervised as defined in WAC
				  246-830-005(9)
				  and in accordance with WAC
				  246-830-420(1)(d),
				  with a ratio of no less than one instructor to no more than six students who
				  are actively performing massage. For those education and training programs
				  beyond six hundred twenty-five hours, in no case may the number of student
				  clinic hours exceed seventy-five hours.
(f) Fifty-five hours of clinical/business
				  practices, at a minimum to include hygiene, sanitation, draping,
				  record-keeping, billing and insurance concepts, medical terminology, business
				  models and management, and laws and rules relevant to massage and massage
				  businesses.
(g) Forty hours of
				  professional ethics to include the therapeutic relationship of the massage
				  therapist and client or patient, human behavior, communication skills,
				  professional boundaries, standards of ethical practice, and state laws and
				  rules related to massage and health care ethics.