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Tuesday, August 10, 2010

Letter to the Board of Chiropractic and Massage Therapy Examiners concerning renewal requirements.

The following letter was sent from the Board of the AMTA Maryland to the Board of Chiropractic and Massage Therapy Examiners on August 2, 2010. Please feel free to use this information in formulating your own letter to the Board of Chiropractic and Massage Therapy Examiners to express your concerns.


Kay B. O’Hara, D.C., President
Maryland Board of Chiropractic and Massage Therapy Examiners
4201 Patterson Avenue, Suite 301
Baltimore, Maryland 21215-2299

Subject: Maryland Renewal Reminder Post Card

Dear Madame President,

The Maryland Board of Chiropractic and Massage Therapy Examiners sent out a post card entitled “Maryland Renewal Reminder.” The American Massage Therapy Association – Maryland Chapter believes that information contained within the post card can be confusing and misleading.

The post states “…ALL CEU COURSES MUST BE BOARD PRE-APPROVED TO OBTAIN CREDIT;…” This statement is not consistent with COMAR Title 10, Subtitle 43, Chapter - 20 Massage Therapy-Continuing Education Requirements, Regulation 02 - Approval of Continuing Education Programs, which states:

“A. The Board shall approve credit for the following:
(1) Courses approved by the National Certification Board for Therapeutic Massage and Bodywork (NCBTMB);
(2) Courses offered by Maryland schools accredited by the Maryland Higher Education Commission (MHEC); or
(3) Courses determined by the Board to meet professional standards and educational needs for certified massage therapists and registered massage practitioners.
B. The Board shall approve as having met all requirements, certificate and registration holders who have a current, valid NCBTMB certification, provided the cited hours in the specified curriculum in Regulation .01 of this chapter are met.
C. The Board may approve for renewal credit a program or course consisting of one or more of the following subjects in live, audio, or electronic mode:
(1) Risk management;
(2) Professions ethics and jurisprudence;
(3) Client and patient relationships and professional boundaries;
(4) Massage therapy theory, technique, or practice;
(5) Massage therapy contraindications;
(6) First aid and cardiopulminary resuscitation; or
(7) Any other course or program determined by the Board to meet the professional and educational requirements of the certificate and registration holders.”

This regulation has not changed since the last renewal cycle and it is widely understood by the massage therapy community that, as the regulation states, the regulatory board shall approve NCBTMB courses.

Additionally, the post card states that “(…ALL must hold an active Provider Level CPR Certification).” This statement is not consistent with COMAR Title 10, Subtitle 43, Chapter - 20 Massage Therapy-Continuing Education Requirements, Regulation 01 - Required Continuing Education Hours, which states:
“… B. In addition to the requirements of §A of this regulation, at the time of renewal, a certificate or a registration holder shall possess a certification of qualification in cardiopulminary resuscitation (CPR).”

The above regulation does not require massage therapist to have a specific level of CPR Certification. This regulation has not changed since the last renewal cycle and as such it is widely understood that any level of CPR training is accepted as it was at the last renewal cycle. During the previous renewal cycle, the Board specifically clarified that any level of CPR was acceptable.

Should the regulations change, we would hope that the regulatory board would provide more than 30 days notice prior to renewal. As of this date, most massage therapists/practitioners have already completed their required training according to the above mentioned regulations.

Monday, August 9, 2010

Maryland Regulations and Laws concerning Massage Therapy

Get the facts: What do the Code of Maryland (state law) and the COMAR (Code of Maryland Annotated Regulations) actually say?

Here are the links:


To view the regulations:
The following are specific to Massage Therapy:
(Regulations are developed by Board of Chiropractic and Massage Therapy Examiners)

To view the Law:

Subtitle 5A