Wisconsin has a new massage licensing law!  Finally the massage profession has grown up to full adulthood in Wisconsin.  There is much to celebrate about this development.

Now, instead of the public paying top dollar for massage from people who have never studied at all, which is happening all over, anyone in the state performing massage work will have to be licensed as a healthcare professional.  Licensure will require formal training, testing, carrying of insurance and continuing education. 

The full law is available at:

http://www.legis.state.wi.us/2009/data/AB-588.pdf

My heartfelt thanks goes to all of you who helped to get this done by calling and writing your legislators. 

The human body is a very complex organism which we don't even fully understand yet.  Massage therapy, although quite non-invasive compared to many other types of healthcare, is still an application to the body.  It is good that people receiving massage therapy in Wisconsin will always have a therapist who has studied the body systems, how massage can be used to enhance health, and when/where/how massage should not be used because it could harm health.  Yes, believe it or not, if one is ignorant of the damage that massage could cause under the wrong circumstances, there is a chance that damage could occur with massage work!

The law doesn't go into effect immediately.  Please check the credentials of your massage therapist to make sure they are currently state certified.  You can do this by checking http://online.drl.wi.gov/LicenseLookup/IndividualCredentialSearch.aspx

As an aside, are you growing great greens to make luscious summer salads?  If not, check out sorrel, pictured at right.  It is a super-easy perrenial to pop in the ground right now.  You'll be enjoying it all summer in your salads!