What does a massage therapist do?
Massage Therapists are professionals who practice in treating chronic pains like back pain, neck pain or headaches, and physical stress. Their main focus is on the general wellness of their patients. They help rehabilitate injuries by administering therapy treatments to patients with the power of touch using hands, fingers, forearms, elbows, and sometimes even feet. They often use aiding products like scented oils, lotions, and also offer information about additional relaxation techniques or exercises to practice such as stretching, postural improvement, strengthening, and other rehabilitative exercises. They work either in private, and public settings, and some are required to travel to clients' homes or offices to provide service.
Massage therapist responsibilities
Here are examples of responsibilities from real massage therapist resumes:
- Manage employees and office, administer payroll.
- Manage confidential client health information in accordance with the HIPPA act.
- Perform massage therapy and Reiki on palliative care patients
- Work in a professional center performing massage therapy, energy therapies, hot stone therapy, and reiki.
- Provide therapeutic massage, reflexology and relate services to enhance customer health and wellness
- Provide massage therapy in various therapeutic settings including several chiropractic offices, in-home appointment (s) and at charity/sponsore events.
- Set patients up on traction and roller tables.
- Start as student, hire on as CMT and promote to manager.
- Volunteer in chair massages as a group for the company @ Summerfest grounds.
- Serve as LMT for a variety of ongoing studies on the effects of touch.
- Administer traction to relieve neck and back pain, using intermittent and static traction equipment.
- Work one-on-one with clients, practicing deep tissue, intuitive energy work, Thai techniques and reflexology
- Perform Swedish, deep tissue, seat massage and acupressure techniques on walk-in patients at school clinic
- Work with a child on the autism spectrum on academic skills such as reading and math.
- Complete form to create client records with information such as treatments, products used particular problems and allergies.
Massage therapist skills and personality traits
We calculated that 24% of Massage Therapists are proficient in Customer Service, Cleanliness, and Strong Customer Service. They’re also known for soft skills such as Communication skills, Empathy, and Integrity.
We break down the percentage of Massage Therapists that have these skills listed on their resume here:
- Customer Service, 24%
Exemplified excellent customer service and built steady clientele by participating in marketing events and posting and passing out marketing materials.
- Cleanliness, 14%
Maintained professionalism and cleanliness of therapy room and common areas in accordance with guidelines.
- Strong Customer Service, 13%
Maintained a strong customer service policy while providing a professional service.
- Work Ethic, 7%
Maintained a positive work ethic and moral that increased productivity and overall workplace interactions.
- Wellness Benefits, 6%
Perform therapeutic consecutive 50-80 minute customized massage session while promoting upgrades offered with emphasis on health and wellness benefits.
- Massage Therapy, 5%
Provide exceptional client centered massage therapy treatments; render service that exceeds expectations and forges lasting professional relationships.
"customer service," "cleanliness," and "strong customer service" are among the most common skills that massage therapists use at work. You can find even more massage therapist responsibilities below, including:
Communication skills. One of the key soft skills for a massage therapist to have is communication skills. You can see how this relates to what massage therapists do because "massage therapists must listen carefully and convey information clearly in order to ensure that clients achieve desired results through massage sessions." Additionally, a massage therapist resume shows how massage therapists use communication skills: "offer a variety of massage modalities with an exceptional work ethic, and excellent interpersonal communication skills. "
Empathy. Another soft skill that's essential for fulfilling massage therapist duties is empathy. The role rewards competence in this skill because "massage therapists often treat clients who are in pain." According to a massage therapist resume, here's how massage therapists can utilize empathy in their job responsibilities: "maintained sensitivity to age and gender related issues during all client interactions assisted in collections of fees and scheduling appointments. "
Integrity. This is an important skill for massage therapists to perform their duties. For an example of how massage therapist responsibilities depend on this skill, consider that "massage therapists often have access to clients’ medical histories and other privacy information." This excerpt from a resume also shows how vital it is to everyday roles and responsibilities of a massage therapist: "maintain cleanliness and professionalism.demonstrate a strong ethical compass. ".
Physical strength and dexterity. For certain massage therapist responsibilities to be completed, the job requires competence in "physical strength and dexterity." The day-to-day duties of a massage therapist rely on this skill, as "massage therapists must be strong and able to exert pressure through a variety of movements when manipulating a client’s muscles." For example, this snippet was taken directly from a resume about how this skill applies to what massage therapists do: "assisted patients with their muscle tension, joint quality and functions, helped improve range of motion. "
Time-management skills. A commonly-found skill in massage therapist job descriptions, "time-management skills" is essential to what massage therapists do. Massage therapist responsibilities rely on this skill because "massage therapists must be effective in using the time allocated for appointments to help each client accomplish his or her goals." You can also see how massage therapist duties rely on time-management skills in this resume example: "started and ended massage sessions on time maintained a clean and organized massage room and front desk listened to clients' needs"
The three companies that hire the most massage therapists are:
- Massage Envy4,220 massage therapists jobs
- BetterHelp1,706 massage therapists jobs
- Soothe1,353 massage therapists jobs
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Compare different massage therapists
Massage therapist vs. Reiki master
There are some key differences in the responsibilities of each position. For example, massage therapist responsibilities require skills like "customer service," "cleanliness," "strong customer service," and "work ethic." Meanwhile a typical reiki master has skills in areas such as "yoga," "relaxation techniques," "crystals," and "stress reduction." This difference in skills reveals the differences in what each career does.
The education levels that reiki masters earn slightly differ from massage therapists. In particular, reiki masters are 21.0% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree than a massage therapist. Additionally, they're 1.3% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Massage therapist vs. Licensed massage practitioner
In addition to the difference in salary, there are some other key differences worth noting. For example, massage therapist responsibilities are more likely to require skills like "customer service," "cleanliness," "strong customer service," and "work ethic." Meanwhile, a licensed massage practitioner has duties that require skills in areas such as "cpr," "soft tissue," "medical history," and "patient care." These differences highlight just how different the day-to-day in each role looks.
Licensed massage practitioners earn higher levels of education than massage therapists in general. They're 5.4% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 1.3% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Massage therapist vs. Therapeutic massage technician
There are many key differences between these two careers, including some of the skills required to perform responsibilities within each role. For example, a massage therapist is likely to be skilled in "customer service," "cleanliness," "strong customer service," and "work ethic," while a typical therapeutic massage technician is skilled in "patient care," "autism," "medical appointments," and "soft tissue."
When it comes to education, therapeutic massage technicians tend to earn similar degree levels compared to massage therapists. In fact, they're 4.8% more likely to earn a Master's Degree, and 0.7% more likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.Massage therapist vs. Masseuse
Even though a few skill sets overlap between massage therapists and masseuses, there are some differences that are important to note. For one, a massage therapist might have more use for skills like "customer service," "cleanliness," "strong customer service," and "work ethic." Meanwhile, some responsibilities of masseuses require skills like "soft tissue," "client service," "acupressure," and "sexual abuse. "
In general, masseuses hold similar degree levels compared to massage therapists. Masseuses are 1.7% more likely to earn their Master's Degree and 0.7% less likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.Types of massage therapist
Updated January 8, 2025
