Legal Definitions

Baaaa!

Ready for a sheepish confession to complete this silly pun?

It turns out that the Department of Health website links that I was complaining about earlier work just fine - if you're using Internet Explorer. If you're a Firefox user such as myself and you want to see these links, you'll need to open up a different browser.

The waiver at the bottom of my intake form is based on
the legal definition of massage therapy, and looks like this:

"I have listed all my known medical conditions and physical limitations and will inform my massage therapist of any change in my physical health at the start of each session.

I understand that a massage therapist must be aware of any and all existing physical conditions to ensure appropriate treatment.

I further understand that a massage therapist neither diagnoses conditions nor prescribes treatments, nor performs thrusting joint or spinal adjustments.

I understand that this massage does not involve touch of a sexual nature, and that I may halt or end the session at any time if I feel uncomfortable."

Basically what this means is that massage therapy:

- does affect the body, and could harm you if the therapist doesn't know about certain health conditions beforehand

- is not the same as seeing a doctor - we can't diagnose or prescribe, nor are we chiropractors

- is not sex work, and should not been seen as a way to work with sexual energy/needs

and

- is something that you, as the client, are ultimately in control of - if something isn't working for you, please let us know so that we can change it, or stop entirely if that is what you need.

For a more in-depth accounting of what massage therapists should and shouldn't be doing, there is a longer list of laws, as well as information about how and when to make a complaint.

I hope that this helps ewe ;)