Wednesday, February 18, 2009

Rub you the wrong way?

Massage therapists state-wide are up in arms (no pun intended) about a bill in the Illinois House that would allow unlicensed and untrained persons to give massages in offices of physicians and chiropractors. What do you think?

House Bill 64, introduced on January 14, 2009, by Rep. Angelo Saviano (R-77th District), River Grove, Illinois. HB64 would allow doctors and chiropractors to hire and use unlicensed massage practitioners as long as they were working under their auspices and direction.

The Illinois Chapter of the American Massage Therapists Association (AMTA) believes this change could seriously impact patient safety.

Massage therapists study hundreds of hours to become certified in Illinois, and they learn through study, practice and experience how to help you with what ails you. Illinois-licensed massage therapists could lose their licenses by not complying with educational requirements of continuing education, plus there is a requirement of educational hours that must be fulfilled to apply for state licensing and the hours must come from an accredited school.

Do you want to pay your doctor to tell an untrained person to “rub, twist or stretch that body a certain way and hope it helps”?

Contact your Illinois State Representative and let him know how you feel about this bill.

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