no
Massage therapy is only indicated if prescribed as treatment by the physical therapist.
The cost of massage therapy varies according to geographic location, experience of the massage therapist, and length of the massage.
The correct term is massage therapist.
The American Massage Therapy Association provides many different services. It allows one to find a massage therapist and also provides information on how to become a massage therapist.
The are massage therapy schools. There you can obtain the training at master the skill needed to be a good massage therapist.
If you want to do massage therapy professionally you will need a license. There are different designations in different parts of the country and in different states. You may be a licensed massage therapist (LMT), a certified massage therapist (CMT), a licensed massage and bodywork therapist (LMBT), or just massage therapist.
A person can have a great career in the therapy field. Some jobs that a person can get in this field are, a physical therapist, occupational therapist, massage therapist, or a counselor.
Massage therapy sessions at a client's home or office may cost more due to travel time for the massage therapist.
A massage therapist is a person who performs massage therapy. Massage therapies are different modalities, or types, of massage; such as Swedish, Deep Tissue, Acupressure, Thai Yoga, Shiatsu, Reflexology, etc.
At this point medicare does not cover massage therapy (part A). Some of the supplemental plans (part B and C) do cover massage therapy. You would need to check with your provider to see if they cover "massage therapy provided by a licensed massage therapist." Insurance companies do not make decisions based on type of massage but perhaps who is performing it. Sometimes physical therapists' and chiropractors' massages may be covered and a massage therapist's may not be covered. But yes it depends on which part of medicare you are talking about. Supplemental medicare plans may cover massage therapy (and deep tissue massage therapy).
There are many different types of massage therapy and many different services, depending on the facility that is offering them. The duties of the massage therapist would be predicated on the specific job description. This site describes the scope of massage therapy: http://altmedicine.about.com/od/treatmentsmtoq/a/massage.htm
Yes, you do need to be certified to be a massage therapist. Check out the National Certification Board for Therapeutic Massage & Bodywork website (http://www.ncbtmb.org/) or the American Massage Therapy Association website (http://www.amtamassage.org/).