Massage Therapy Gets New Protections Under Florida Law

Practiced for a thousand years, massage therapy traces its origins to India as the Hindu tradition of Ayurveda. This form of holistic healing combined medicine, meditation, relaxation, and aromatherapy that healed injuries and relieved pain while often preventing and even curing illnesses.

Other ancient cultures in Egypt, Greece, Rome and China had their own massage approaches and practices, with just the slightest variations. Along the way, Japan developed pressure point shiatsu and in Scandinavia, Swedish massage was created as a way to heal sore muscles and promote relaxation, techniques still used today.

In Florida, there are plenty of places that offer massage, but not all of them have valid licenses or employ licensed therapists. In fact, all over Lake, Sumter and Marion counties, there is ambiguous, opaque storefront signage covertly helping nefarious individuals masquerade as legitimate operators when in reality they could be engaging in illegal activities.

To address this on-going issue, the Florida State Legislature passed HB-197, a comprehensive bill aimed at eliminating illicit schemes, protecting healthcare practitioners and regulating certain establishments who may be operating under the guise of massage therapy.

State Senator Dennis Baxley was more than happy to cast his “yay” vote for the bill, which passed unanimously this year and came into effect July 1.

“This is red-hot right now and was an easy sell because it sets out to protect the vulnerable, which is my number one priority,” says Senator Baxley, who turned to massage therapy several years ago after a shoulder injury.

“What I discovered is that people in the industry have a tremendous burden because they are serious about their profession,” he says. “Unfortunately, the lines can be blurred when trying to avoid dubious actors pretending to be massage therapists who are actually engaging in illicit sex or worse, using a front to traffic in women and children.”

Senator Baxley says the best way to ensure you have located a legitimate practice is to call or go online and connect with the owner or an employee and ask if they are licensed to practice in Florida.

He also notes that enforcement is still a while away.

“Once it goes through appropriations,” he says, “we will see a marked improvement in this situation because money will be diverted to the Florida Department of Health to enforce the laws and that will help tremendously.”