There is so many different names for practitioners in our field. There's names like "sports massage therapist, myotherapist, masseur, Soft tissue therapist, deep tissue therapist, remedial massage therapist. I've decided to break down each name and explain what they are and almost basically rank them in order of expertise in my eyes and the eyes of other therapists I have talked to.
Masseur or masseuse:
This is a common name that we get called and some do have issue with it because it can be regarded as not professionally trained or even part of the dirtier side of our industry. I have personally never been offended by called a masseuse because it usually doesn't come from a place of disrespect.
Sports massage therapist:
A therapist that specialises on sports treatments. Most commonly being part of a sports team and often travels with the team for pre and post sports games massage.
Myotherapist:
This is a branch of massage therapist that heavily specialises on myofascial release work. The technique is a very dry massage where the therapist hooks into the skin and very slowly drags across the structure from attachment to insertion to help muscle activation and the reverse for assisting in muscle relaxation. It is our most powerful technique at our disposal however it is hard on our hands so it is common for therapists to do regular massage styles as well during a session such as oil or wax massage.
Remedial massage therapist: (RMT)
This is a trained massage therapist who focuses on helping clients recover from injury or different conditions. the focus is massage for recovery and can involve postural assessment. muscle testing and mobility assessment. A treatment from a RMT will usually involve a treatment plan with more sessions planned and homecare advise given. Most of us call ourselves remedial massage therapists or soft tissue therapists.
Soft Tissue Therapist:
This is mostly our name of choice. a soft tissue therapist is an expert in all methods of massage from MFR to trigger point and from relax to lymphatic drainage massage. This does not mean that they do soft light massage though. This is a common misconception. Soft tissue is just muscle.
Deep Tissue therapist: This is a silly name and does not make sense but we get called this because it is thought of as getting a firmer, harder massage. Deep tissue is not something a massage practitioner will be working with.
Hope all this helps. Might be silly but it is a common question I get asked.
John Power
Remedial2you
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