There are many places where students can study massage therapy in the United States. One of the most prominent among them is the Austin School of Massage Therapy in Texas.

What The School Has to Offer

The Austin School of Massage Therapy (ASMT) has been educating massage therapists for more than twenty years. They were among the first schools in the nation to recognize the viability of a career in massage therapy. More than 8,000 students have graduated from the program at Austin.

ASMT has gained international recognition for its programs and boasts the title of the largest massage therapy program in the United States. Innovative program offerings prepare students for a number of lucrative careers in massage therapy; with the inclusion of an online store, the ASMT has truly proven themselves as a full-service school.

ASMT offers students

• Choice of class locations
• Exclusive programs of specialization (which can greatly increase earning potential up to as much as $75.00 per hour) including pregnancy, childbearing, and infant massage, spa massage, sports massage, clinical and pain management massage. Specialization certifications are open to new students and to practicing professionals.
• The “500-hour Clark Comprehensive Program”
• Full tuition scholarships
• An online massage therapy supply store

Support for ASMT students does not end with program completion. Austin offers career assistance and job placement assistance for life to its graduates. Also, ASMT offers continuing education programs and classes that help students meet licensure and certification renewal requirements, and helps them to stay updated in the latest industry and professional techniques and advances.

Austin School Of Massage Therapy – Location, Location, Location

Austin has been able to earn its designation as the largest U.S. massage therapy program by expanding its program outreach. It operates at 12 different locations throughout Texas. Students can attend classes in 12 major cities in the Lone-Star state.

And a fun added benefit? Both students and private citizens can book an appointment to schedule a massage! Austin has made every effort to streamline their offerings, and has included a convenient online scheduler for this task.

The reputation of the Austin School of Massage Therapy precedes it far beyond the borders of Texas; with an internationally recognized program dedicated to the field of massage therapy and to student success, ASMT is one of the most sought-after schools for massage therapy in the United States and beyond.

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The way people view massage and massage therapy today has changed
dramatically as there has been a growing acceptance of massage therapists
as trained professionals performing a valid and important health service.  The
increasing number of well-trained and certified or licensed massage therapy practitioners and the public demand has set a trend today that has validated
massage therapy as a widely known and accepted therapeutic practice with
many health benefits.

E. Houston LeBrun, president-elect of the American Massage Therapy Association
(AMTA) says the following:

"There’s a very clear and growing acceptance of massage therapy.  A New England Journal of Medicine article reported in 1993 that a third of Americans are spending more than $10 billion a year out of pocket on alternative therapies, and massage therapy is one of the top three alternative therapies."

According to the AMTA, the current research shows a tremendous growth trend
in massage therapy as it is becoming much more mainstream than ever before,
appealing to more and more people.  Nowadays practically everyone understands
that there are great therapeutic benefits gained from massage besides reducing
stress and relieving aches and pains.

The proof of the growing acceptance of massage is substantial.

    * More insurance companies are covering massage therapy, from Oxford Health Plans on the East Coast, to Kaiser-Permanente, in California.
    * Even Doctors are now recognizing the many benefits and often they refer
patients to massage therapists, especially to help them deal with pain and to
reduce the negative effects of stress.   A national survey conducted by the State University of New York at Syracuse found 54 percent of primary care physicians and family practitioners said they would encourage their patients to pursue massage therapy as a treatment. And, at least 38 of the 120 U.S. medical schools now offer courses on alternative medicine.
    * The National Institutes of Health’s Office of Alternative Medicine recently spent $10 million to establish 10 centers in the United States to study alternative therapies, including massage. All are affiliated with major institutions, including Harvard Medical School and Stanford University.
    * AMTA’s membership of professional therapists is more than 28,000, a nearly four-fold increase in a decade.

"Professionalism in the field of massage therapy has been elevated greatly in the last 10 years," said Marjorie J. Albohm, MS, ATC, director of sports medicine and orthopedic research at the Center for Hip and Knee Surgery in Indianapolis. "In many ways, it is a new profession."

Massage therapy is particularly growing in several venues, including sports massage and massage in the workplace.

Many professional athletes — including basketball icon Michael Jordan — rely on massage to help them recover from injuries and muscle soreness, and more than 100 massage therapists provided massages to Olympic athletes, as part of the official medical services team, during the summer games in Atlanta in 1996.

Increasingly, companies are offering massage at work. Employees typically sign up for 15-minute mini-massages, and report feeling not only less stressed, but more alert.