Working in An Acupuncturist's Office
Massage Therapy Careers

Working in an acupuncturist's office is yet another option for your massage therapy career. Massage and acupuncture compliment one another. Many people who are interested in one type of treatment are also interested in the other. So you can refer clients to one another.

Acupuncture is a form of Traditional Chinese Medicine that uses needles to unblock qi (chi). Acupuncture is one of the oldest forms of medicine. Practitioners believe that the body is full of a life force or energy called qi. This qi travels throughout the body along pathways called meridians. Each meridian runs through an organ in the body and is named after the organ it runs through.

Acupuncturists insert needles through the skin to stimulate points along your meridians to allow the qi to flow more freely. Blocked qi is believed to cause illness and disease. If qi is running freely through the body you are healthy.

Most acupuncturists incorporate a form of traditional Chinese massage called Tuina into their practice. This vigorous massage focuses only on the area of pain. A massage therapist trained in this type of massage will do especially well in an acupuncturist's office, but you don't necessarily have to know a style of Chinese massage to work in one.

In most situations, working in an office with an acupuncturist usually means that you're working for yourself and simply renting space. This means that you'll have to find your own clients. Being in an office with another natural health professional will make the task a bit easier though, especially if that person is already quite busy.

When I first graduated from massage school, I rented space from an acupuncturist. While he referred a lot of his patients to me, it still wasn't enough to get my business running and being fresh out of school I was unsure about how to promote myself at the time. So my stint in his office only lasted 6 months. Then I worked in a health clinic where I got a 50/50 split in payment and had to pay no out of pocket rent. That worked out better at that point. It allowed me to learn how to market myself and get regular clients without feeling as freaked out about paying office rent every month.

Learning how to market your business is an important part of being a massage therapist. There's no way to get around it really. If you want to make a good amount of money and work for yourself you have to learn marketing.

If you are interested in learning about how to market your own massage business, I sugguest checking out this ebook. It contains a lot of good information that will help you build a successful practice. Find out about it here.

Additional Articles

Starting a Massage Business--Learn the steps you need to take to start your own massage business. This article includes marketing ideas.

Share Your Career Advice--Do you have any advice for new massage therapists? Share it here and read the advice others have given.

Chinese Massage--Learn about the various forms of massage that started in China.