Madison College Massage Clinic opens

A student practices massage on a client at the clinic.

Jessica Deegan, News editor
October 24, 2017

The Madison College Massage Clinic opens Oct. 25, and will provide professional, low cost massages for the entire community.

The Therapeutic Massage Program is a one-year program with 28 credits and 800 hours. “It is an accelerated program, as the students are in class about 25 hours a week,” said program director, Amy Nicholson. The students are quite busy and within the eight weeks, perform about 800 massage sessions.

Generally, the Massage Clinic is booked within two weeks of opening for the entire eight weeks of clinical practice. It is first come, first serve in regards to appointments, but they do, however, have a waiting and cancelation list where individuals will be called if an appointment becomes available. The cost is $35 for a one-hour session and $25 if you are a student with a current OneCard.

If appointments become available and someone from the cancelation list cannot fill the spot, the clinic will try and catch students in the hall to see if they have time to spare and would like a massage. Occasionally, the clinic offers those appointments that weren’t filled to be free of charge. The goal isn’t to necessarily get money from the sessions, but, instead, to benefit the therapeutic massage students.

“It’s really about our students and their learning. It’s an amazing service that we provide to the community, but ultimately, our goal is to provide the most optimal learning environment for our students,” said Nicholson.

The clinic has an online scheduling system available on the Madison College website. “People know when we are opening and they have their calendars marked,” said Nicholson. The clinic does, however, have a limit of four massages per person, to allow the service to be available to as many people as possible.

Before the health building opened in 2013, the Massage Clinic was located at the downtown campus. Nicholson mentions that, due to their remarkable program, the location doesn’t seem to matter as they have always had a loyal following. With the faithful cliental the clinic is so grateful to have, students have no trouble fulfilling their hours needed for completion.

“There are so many different reasons why people want to receive massage,” explains Nicholson. Many come for specific pain management issues, such as, headaches, low back pain, shoulder issues, etc. Several athletes come to improve their performance and much of the treatments are simply for stress reduction.

“There are so many benefits to receiving massage,” said Nicholson. In fact, “two chair massages a week were found to improve cognitive ability and function on math tests,” explained Nicholson. Massage manages stress, down regulates your nervous system and is good for the immune system.

A variety of people come into the clinic with different issues that help give the students a wide range of people to work on. Cliental who are seen include, cancer patients, amputees, athletes, kids, geriatric clients, etc. “We also see a lot of pregnant clients,” said Nicholson. “It is an awesome way for the mom to be quiet and bond with the baby.”

The students are quite mindful on adjusting pressure so it is therapeutic, and not painful for the patient, making sure they understand how to get on and off the table as well as how to undress.

“It is very professional in terms of offering privacy,” said Nicholson. “We use very professional draping procedures and all of our students do a really great job of thoroughly explaining.”

Students are tested on several procedures that go into making someone feel safe and relaxed during the session. The client fills out a confidential health intake form when they arrive, so the student can abide by any medical condition they may have.

The doors remain open to every session room and are supervised by a faculty member from the hallway. Following the session, the client completes an evaluation form on the student.

This semester, the clinic is offering complimentary chair massages during clinic hours, starting with the health building and going around campus. On Dec. 7, from 11:30 to 2:30, the clinic will be hosting a Stress Reduction Workshop, so the program students can complete their final project.

The majority of current students in the program have come from referrals of past students. There is a 100 percent pass rate on the national board exam and graduates are highly desirable in terms of employment in the Madison area, explains Nicholson.

“A lot of our advisory board members, stakeholders and business holders in the community will come into our clinic and recruit students directly from clinic,” said Nicholson.

Several students have even started their own practices shortly after graduation.