How are Mainers Open to Massage Therapy? (Bangor: health insurance, how much)

[Danmac]

I'm moving to Maine in the next couple years and I will be practicing massage and I'm wanting to find out how open Mainers are to Massage Therapy.

I was surprised to learn those in the NC region where I'm currently practicing are very open to it and the medical benefits associated w/ massage.

So over all; do those in Maine seek out Massage for therapy and a form of complimentary treatment w/ their western medical treatments?

My hope is to bring the Medical Massage practice I ran successfully in Florida up to Maine, it offers affordable massage to the public, realizing not everyone can afford 80 plus for a massage we offer it at a more affordabel rate.

Your takes and Opinions are very appreciated!

[starwalker]

I am a transplant and can only speak for myself. I am very open to massage therapy; I like to have regular appointments with a LMT, and used to do so as often as ever other week, when finances permitted. More recently, I traded my services (graphic design and web work) with an LMT who I saw 8X a year for the Hot Stone massage.

I have had, maybe 2 massages since moving to Maine. The primary reason I have not had more is $$. My income has dropped to the point where I can afford only only rarely, almost as an emergency treatment when working on myself and using heat and a vibrating massager doesn't help at all.

I suspect to find a large and stable enough client base, you will have to locate in a populated urban area (coast/southern ME) and "fight your way up the food chain" as there are already local LMTs practicing almost everywhere. Even in the rural area north of Bangor where I live, I have my choice of at least two that I know of with certainty in each of two small towns.

[shadowfax1997]

I LOVE massage. I have had 4 now, usually once per year. Spending close to $100 for an hour is pricey, but I do like it. But, and this may seem wrong, but I want a young lady working me, not a guy.

[mainebrokerman]

what shadow said

[maureenb]

I would benefit from a massage right this minute! I think there is at least one LMT school in the midcoast area, and quite a few massage therapists of various disciplines advertise locally. Massage therapy seems to be a part of the local fabric, but I don't know how busy therapists stay.

[Maine Writer]

There's an MT in my chiropractor's office. She seems busy when I'm there.

[retiredtinbender]

We used to have one in town adn I believe he did quite well. DW said he was very good and referred a lot of folks. We even gave some as gifts. But he had family that needed him and had to leave.

[Acadianlion]

Originally Posted by Danmac

I'm moving to Maine in the next couple years and I will be practicing massage and I'm wanting to find out how open Mainers are to Massage Therapy.

I was surprised to learn those in the NC region where I'm currently practicing are very open to it and the medical benefits associated w/ massage.

So over all; do those in Maine seek out Massage for therapy and a form of complimentary treatment w/ their western medical treatments?

My hope is to bring the Medical Massage practice I ran successfully in Florida up to Maine, it offers affordable massage to the public, realizing not everyone can afford 80 plus for a massage we offer it at a more affordabel rate.

Your takes and Opinions are very appreciated!

Massage therapists abound in Maine. There are many people who claim to be "professional" massage therapists, but do other things to make a living.

During the 1990's after retiring, I became very much involved in getting myself into decent physical condition, and fell madly in love with "the black iron disease". I lifted weights three days a week under the supervision of a professional trainer, and ran and swam. I was in the gym at least five days each week and sometimes seven, until the gym manager and my trainer told me to cool it. I had a GREAT time, and over five or six years got myself into terrific condition.

A byproduct of this training, plus the normal construction work that I was doing in my new business/hobby, left me very, very sore many times. I saw a massage therapist once per week, and over the five or six years that I was training intensely, I saw quite a few of them. Of the dozen or so that I saw, two were truly professional, and really, REALLY good. One was a young man who had large powerful hands. He was the best. But one woman whom I saw only once had the hand strength needed to do the job properly.

Both of those were full time, highly trained professionals. Today, my circumstances are entirely different, and I no longer seek the services of a massage therapist. Would I under some circumstances? Unlikely, I think, due to othe priorities for the rather high cost per session that real therapists charge.

You are making a dangerous assumption and that is that your Florida practice can translate to Maine. You need to do a LOT more research, beginning with studying, visiting and learning about the nature of the state of Maine and its population. Right after that, you need to study information about the average income level of Maine people. Finally, you will need to carefully examine your bank account to determine whether or not you can afford to live in Maine for two or three years on the strength of your savings while you gain the connections well enough to sell your massage services.

Maine is quite a lot like Florida in terms of physical size. But there are one fifth as many people in Maine as there are in Florida. Imagine how far you will have to be able to travel to meet the potential market for your services in Maine that you have right where you now live in Florida. And the general services economy in Maine is as much smaller than Florida, too.

You will need to come to Maine and travel around a lot. But I doubt that you will be encouraged by what you find in terms of opportunity and competition for your services. Maine also has a horrendous issue with the cost of health insurance, made even worse by the current economic recession. It may get better at some point, but for now, you could look forward to competing with individuals and families that must make a choice between medical services and everything else.

By all means, come to Maine and travel around. I highly recommend that you do so in February, and cover as much of the varied areas in the state as possible. But do so after you have learned as much as possible about the people who live here, WHERE they live her, and how much "opportunity" exists here for optional health services such as you offer.

[Maineah]

I knew a woman who was trained as a professional massage therapist tending bar at a local Amvet's hall before she finally gave up and moved back to Ireland. She works sporadically over there but so does everyone else there.

[Danmac]

Originally Posted by shadowfax1997

I LOVE massage. I have had 4 now, usually once per year. Spending close to $100 for an hour is pricey, but I do like it. But, and this may seem wrong, but I want a young lady working me, not a guy.

Yeah I have found that alot here in the Mtns of NC that women tend to be afraid of Male Therapists for some unknown reason, usually ignorance! If you could set your bias and predjudice aside you'd find that those Male Massage Therapists are very good. Betcha 9 out of 10 women's Gyno's are Male Doc's right but there never seems to be a problem w/ that is there, just a tidbit from a male Nurse whose had to fight his way thru biggotry in both my careers now!