Retraining as massage therapist?

[nomorespaghetti]

I’m a SAHP / carer currently, my kids are 6 & 4 and the youngest has just started school. My eldest is disabled, and caring for her was the reason I decided to SAH. Now she’s a bit older and doesn’t need me as much, but she’s not currently able to tolerate wrap around care.

My background is in science (biology). I actually have a PhD, but the academic life was not for me, I’m not cut out for it at all. After my PhD I went into medical writing, but I just found it so dull. I really struggle with sitting behind a computer and prefer to be doing something manual really.

I have an interest in sport and exercise, I’m currently really into yoga, and have been a runner for a long time. I’ve done marathons and relied heavily on physios and massage therapists to get through the training. I was thinking of retraining as a massage therapist, probably specialising in sports massage. There’s an ITEC accredited course near me run over 5 full days (spread across a few months) with the anatomy and business bits done online.

Any advice from any masseurs out there? Is an ITEC accredited course the way to go? I’d want to work for myself really, around the kids. Thank you!

Bump

Hopeful bump!

I have a level 3 diploma and a level 4 certificate in sports massage plus a certificate in stretching. I did the training because I wanted to do something fitness related and didn’t want to train as a PT. I don’t work as a masseur, I did it mainly for interest. The course was all weekend, every other weekend for six or seven months. You would find the academic side of it fairly easy. Cost around £2500.
It was quite fun and I do use it for family and friends and folks from the gym.
Once qualified if you’re intending to practice as a job you will need to rent a room, you’ll need decent quality equipment (couch, lots of towels etc) and insurance. Plus fees for association. You have to keep your paperwork too.
I can’t say I know anything of ITEC, there are loads of providers. I’d recommend checking who the awarding body is - you should look for a reputable one such as City and Guilds. Do your research on that.

ITEC isn’t the best for sports, they’re still very much holistic based and when I did their course their teaching about what sports massage actually does used quite outdated research. If you’re keen to continually learn then it’ll be ok, it’ll give you the qualification to use your massage skills then get yourself on loads of CPD training!

you’ll have to know people in gyms/clubs. It is so hard getting clients just from traditional advertising. Word of mouth and being visible at sports events/clubs/gyms is the best thing you can do to start getting people through the door. People are more likely to visit you at a clinic as opposed to home/home visits.

might be worth training in circuits/kettlebells so you’ve got your foot in the door at local gyms?