CMT, LMT? What do they mean?

If you've seen any massage therapist's business cards or advertisements, you've most likely seen the letters of CMT or LMT after their name. Did you wonder what these letters stood for? Sometimes titles can be confusing if you are not in the industry of what these titles mean, like counselors or psychologists... I never know what all those letters mean after their names.

CMT stands for 'certified massage therapist' and is a therapist that is certified from a credited school of massage therapy and/or certified through a national certification process. LMT means 'licensed massage therapist' and is a therapist that is either licensed in their state, county or city, depending on where they live. Thirty-nine of our states have laws passed to regulate massage and the bodywork profession. California is not one of those states. A massage therapist in California must pay for their licensing in either the county or city that they choose to work in.

Does it mean a lot to have these titles after your name. I personally don't think so. In my almost 7 years of practice I have only been asked once if I'm licensed. And that wasn't even by a potential employer. I can't recall where someones actually asked me what they might mean either. However, now that I think about it, I don't use these titles after my name anyway, lol. I just choose not to. However, do the legal thing and I am certified and I am licensed in my county.

Ergonomic Massage Table

About two years ago I needed to upgrade my massage table. I did the usual Internet search to check out various tables. However, I knew for me being a hands-on type of person, I needed to go to the massage specialty store and check out the various tables as well as laying down on them to get a feel for the size and weight of the table as well as how soft that they may be. By the time I went to the store, I had a pretty good idea of what I wanted. That is until I went into the store. At the store, the employee showed me a table that was ergonomic for females. Besides this table having the ergonomic aspect of it, it also fit the other requirements I had of size and weight. The ergonomic part of the table means that the table has padding cut-outs that pop out so that a woman's breast are 'dropped' down into these specific holes. I know this may seem like quite a silly or odd topic, and it's not one I usually discuss. Yet I've realized that it is something that I can promote that makes me a bit unique compared to other therapists or spas.

In my practice, I have a few large breasted clients, as well as a few with implants and that is what this table is mostly designed for. As a female and getting massaged, we usually get what I call the 'squish factor.' I'm pretty sure you can figure that out. If I am doing bodywork on a large breasted client, not only is she getting the 'squishing' of the breasts as I work on her back, her back is also very much curved up and not quite flat which can be a hindrance for the massage therapist as well as not being able to receive massage in the best form to get into the muscles they way the client might want or need. This table helps relieve that curving and squishing, whether you have implants or have large and even small breasts. Just these simple cut-outs relieve so much pressure on our bodies during massage. And when a client is not thinking (or maybe even hurting) from the pressure that is being placed on her during the massage, then the client gets to relax even more. It's just one more thing to think about when you make your next massage appointment... do they have ergonomically correct massage tables?