Our Vision...a deeper dive into the Why of The Body Mechanics
At the time of writing this, October 2022, The Body Mechanics is the culmination of: 16 years experience as Licensed Massage Therapist, 12 years experience as a Licensed Athletic Trainer, 4 prior unsuccessful Massage Therapy Practices, 8 years between 2 collegiate Athletic Training rooms, working with top physicians and physical therapy teams, hundreds of hours on the sidelines, and thousands of classroom hours.
In those years plenty of mistakes have happened, teaching their lessons and growing my skill set and clinical reasoning.
This practice is where all those experiences come full circle and find a place to share value with the community. We are finally, 16 years later, stepping into the full vision and gaining momentum as more people are starting to take in the view.
What is the vision? Well, that takes a little background to understand.
This industry has changed significantly since my personal entry in 2006. The requirements for licensure eligibility have nearly doubled in Texas, going from 300 to 500 classroom hours. The range of treatment techniques have broadened to include specializations for every injury, identity, and medical condition under the sun. Corporate chains have sprung up bringing Massage Therapy to the public's line of sight while teaching us branding and marketing skills to be viewed seriously as an industry.
As the public has become more comfortable with massage therapy. The standards and expectations have risen for everything falling under the branch of "Medical Massage." At least for some they have.
What makes this practice unique in an ever changing market is that where we are headed is strongly rooted in where we began.
A unique aspect of our background is deeply rooted in the world of Sports Medicine. Sports medicine is a branch of Western medicine unique in its approach as a true wellness model. For example, Athletic Training is built on a foundation of 5 fundamental aspects of its practice.
The first of which is Prevention.
This makes sense, as it is very difficult to win games and establish sucessful athletic programs with injured athletes. There is tremendous pressure riding on keeping those athletes healthy. In the instance of an injury, returning athletes safely to play as quickly as possible becomes the secondary goal.
Return to play is a noteworthy skill of Athletic Trainers that requires the profession to work with the body's healing process through different modalities, targeted exercise and working with a network of professionals.
A version of the team aspect of having a network of professionals is the second unique aspect of Sports Medicine that we at The Body Mechanics aim to bring to the public. As massage therapy has grown and expanded we have learned that the range of conditions that benefit from massage is more extensive than what we previously believed. After seeing firsthand how multiple professionals, working in their expertise leads to improved outcomes, we've made it our goal to create a culture that supports this through specialized massage therapy techniques. We believe that by having multiple therapists and treatment options we can improve how well we can serve our clients.
Our goal here is client outcomes. We believe that by supporting and encouraging therapists to grow and specialize we can better serve our clients. At The Body Mechanics, we believe specialized, skilled massage therapy deserves a seat at the table for treating and managing many chronic pain, and other health conditions. Simultaneously, we understand we will have to prove ourselves. We are building a culture that encourages, supports and rewards therapists for specializing and becoming experts in specific techniques and conditions so that we can assure the highest quality of care.
In the future, we hope that clients find us and other highly specialized and skilled practices before getting to the end of their proverbial rope. That massage therapy is considered early in management and treatment strategies by physicians and other early intervention health care providers in an effort to prevent damage and invasive treatment techniques when appropriate.
Our vision for massage therapy is for the future of health and wellness care. Our goal is to provide the highest quality care in order to one day be a part of bringing that vision into reality.