What is it like working as a Massage Therapist at a chiropractor's office?

[fiestyredhead]

I am thinking about going to school for massage therapy. I am interested in working in healthcare someplace like a chiropractors office.

I was wondering about what it is like working at a doctor's office. And what the pay would be.

 

[Irish Girl]

I own my own Therapeutic Massage and Body Therapy Business. I hold a Bachelors in Massage Therapy and Kinesiology. I thought it would be up my alley to work for a chiropractor because of my degree and I specialize in Medical Massage. I live in the suburbs outside of Chicago and Chiropractors pay $10.00 average. I went to some Chiropractor Offices to give their massage therapists classes for their continuing education. The last one was Reflexology.

1. I found out right away what they got paid. I think they were frustrated because they asked me what a spa paid and what I pay. Well I was not going to answer them. I told them it varies all over the board. I pay 60-40. Why? I do most of the work. Other spas I applied at after college were 50-50, 60-40, some charged booth rent on top of that. I had one interview at a spa that wanted me to pay $300 a week both rent and I got to keep what I made. She wanted me there from 9am-8pm Monday-Friday Saturday 7am-6pm, Sunday noon-6pm! This was for to sit there and wait on walk ins! So, I found it was better to fly on my own! The average massage here at all salons and spas is between $60-$80 hour. But the economy has hurt that part big time. That is why I specialize in medical.

2. So these Chiropractors are billing insurance companies $75 hour and paying their massage therapist $10 hour! Trust me after massage school you are worth more than that.

3. Some massage therapist get to apply ultrasound to the inflamed area. You will learn more about that in school. It is not like you give to pregnant women : ) You are sometimes able to use the Electrical Stim Unit. The massages are isolated to the back or legs (usually back) for a very short time. Like 5-15 minutes. In school you will learn to give a full body massage for 60 minutes and you will learn in Kinesiology, and Anatomy and physiology why it is best to do the entire body even if you spend only a few minutes there and the spend most of your time correcting and massaging the problem areas that need more work.

4. I massage in my own little office space I rent that is perfect for massaging and I have access to the hydrotub and Visci Shower that I use from the school I graduated from. It is through another door. I massage where I rent 3 days a week. The other two days are non-stop for me. I massage for a psychiatric office. In school you will learn how massages help people with depression and other forms of mental health conditions. At first I wasn't getting paid much because I had to pay the medical billing and coding lady a huge percentage. My daughter is a medical office manager so she takes the doctors script and does all that for me. We are independent contractors there. I hope to work there full time but my daughter needs insurance. So she has to keep her regular job. Not many benefits in the massage field but I love it. I dropped out of law school to be one.

If you would like to add me as a friend, I can give you all kinds of advice and I tutor students for the National Exam as well. There is so much to know before you start up.

 

[ivy_lmt]

I have worked with a chiropractor (my dad) for 10 years. There are a lot of variables and different working relationships for massage therapists working in chiropractic clinics, too many to name here. Your hours, flexibility, and income largely depends on your work situation (employee, independent contractor, or referral relationship). You may make $10--40 an hour depending on the hours, arrangement, duties, or if there is insurance reimbursement. Also some MT's work as chiropractic assistants. They may develop x-rays, take appointments, or perform other non-massage therapies (stretching, ultrasound, muscle stimulation), and perform massage.