Massage therapy within BC’s regulated health system
Massage therapy is a regulated health profession in British Columbia. Under the current Complementary Health Professionals Regulation, the massage therapy scope includes assessing physical health for the purpose of care, preventing, treating and managing disorders and conditions of joints and soft tissue by manual methods, and advising on the health and care of joints and soft tissue.
The primary purposes of massage therapy include promoting, maintaining and restoring physical health, rehabilitating and improving physical function, and relieving pain as those purposes relate to joints and soft tissue.
Assessment comes before treatment
A professional RMT appointment is not simply a generic massage session. An appropriately licensed practitioner assesses the patient within the profession’s scope, considers the patient’s goals and relevant health information, and develops an individualized plan of care.
Manual methods and home-care guidance
Massage therapy may include manual techniques involving soft tissue and joints. Current BC guidance also recognizes certain adjunctive therapeutic procedures when the practitioner has the knowledge, skill and competence to use them within scope, including hydrotherapy and therapeutic exercise for home care.
Professional standards matter
BC massage therapists are expected to practise within their professional and individual scope and to ensure public-facing information is accurate and not misleading. Patients can verify a practitioner’s current status through the College of Complementary Health Professionals of BC public register.