Physical Therapy for Neck and Shoulder Pain
No massage education is complete without extensive coursework in physical therapy. After all, many of your patients will suffer from neck and shoulder pain, and only by having a deep understanding of the human anatomy and how the muscle groups work, can you hope to help your patients recover from chronic fatigue, stress, and pain.

Why Is Physical Therapy so Important for Massage Therapy?
Both physical therapy and massage therapy are effective treatments for fighting various ailments and injuries. But while massage therapy is useful for immediate results, physical therapy is necessary for long-term recovery. If a person has bad posture, no amount of massage bodywork can correct that. Physical therapy and constant diligence are important for sustained relief.

More on Neck and Shoulder Pain
Because neck and shoulder pain is usually a symptom of some larger problem (poor sleep, bad diet, bad posture, stress buildup, etc.) you need to employ both physical therapy and traditional massage bodywork in order to produce the best possible results.... massage therapy for immediate relief and physical therapy for long-term relief.

Massage Therapy School and Physical Therapy
When researching different massage therapy schools, make sure you look at programs that offer extensive coursework in physical therapy. Most of the better programs recommended on this web site have excellent physical therapy classes, but if you have any specific questions, feel free to contact the schools directly. You can request a free catalog to get a better understanding of what classes they offer if you are unsure.