Letter on HB 81 — United States Trager Association, Jim Noriega (May 21, 2021)

Summary

Letter dated May 21, 2021, to Chair Dick Stein and the House Commerce and Labor Committee regarding HB 81, written on behalf of the United States Trager Association (USTA) and in support of 13 Certified Trager Practitioners in Ohio. It states the USTA does not oppose the intent of the bill to better regulate the massage therapy profession, but that the very broad definition of massage therapy could be interpreted to include practitioners of The Trager Approach. It states there is no record of harm from the practice and that licensing would be regulatory overreaching. It requests suitable exemptions for non-massage practices, and the signature block names Jim Noriega, Law & Legislation Committee Chair.

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Full text

May 21, 2021

The Honorable Dick Stein, Chair
House Commerce and Labor Committee
Ohio State Legislature
77 South High Street, 12th Floor
Columbus, OH 43215

Re. HB 81 to revise laws governing massage establishments / massage therapy

Dear Chair Stein and members of the Committee:

I am writing on behalf of the United States Trager® Association (USTA) and in support of our 13
Certified Trager Practitioners in Ohio who may be adversely affected by HB 81 as currently written.
The Trager Approach® is a method of movement education that helps people find greater ease and
freedom as they move through daily life. We invite you to visit our website for more information:
http://www.tragerapproach.us

The USTA does not oppose the intent of this bill to better regulate the massage therapy profession and
curb illegal activities associated with illicit establishments. However, the very broad definition of
massage therapy in the bill could be interpreted to include practitioners of The Trager Approach as
massage therapists. This would be incorrect. The Trager Approach is not part of massage therapy and
is not recognized as such by massage therapy programs. The Trager Approach is based on an
educational model, not a therapeutic one, and we do not use the terms “massage” or “therapy” to
describe or advertise our work. Because training in massage therapy is not relevant to or necessary for
the practice of the Trager Approach, mandatory massage therapy licensing would place a burden of
unnecessary training and expenses on our Practitioners. Our Practitioners love this work and are
certainly not in it for the money – which is not a lot. This extra expense and loss of income would be
no small matter for them. This would also be unfair restraint of our profession by discouraging
prospective Trager trainees or Practitioners moving in from other states who may not be able or
willing to undertake unnecessary massage therapy training to practice.

Moreover, professional state licensing for Trager Practitioners is not needed. There is no record of
harm from the practice of the Trager Approach and there has never been a case of our Practitioners
being involved in illegal activities in Ohio or any other state. Certified Trager Practitioners doing The
Trager Approach are simply not a part of the problems this bill addresses, and imposing this on us
would be regulatory overreaching.

We request the inclusion of suitable exemptions for non-massage practices based on those in place in
most states that regulate massage therapy and supported by national AMTA policy and the Federation
of Therapeutic Massage, Bodywork and Somatic Practices Organizations. (federationmbs.org) For
movement-education based practices, such as The Trager Approach, Feldenkrais and Somatic
Education we suggest the following amendment be placed in Sec. 4731.15 (F):
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(F) The following persons are not required to hold a license to practice massage therapy issued under
this chapter:
        ………………..
        (5) A person who:
        (a) uses touch, words, and directed movement to deepen awareness of existing patterns of
        movement as well as to suggest new possibilities of movement; provided that their services are
        not designated or implied to be massage or massage therapy.
        (b) and is recognized by or meets the established standards of either a professional
        organization or credentialing body that represents or certifies the respective practice based on
        a minimum level of training, demonstration of competency, and adherence to ethical standards

Exemptions using, or based on, this language are in place in most states that regulate massage therapy.

Thank you for your consideration. HB 81 is a significant bill dealing with many issues that may seem
more important than this, but to our Practitioners this is indeed a big deal. Please feel free to call on
me for any information or assistance I can give.

The USTA is the 501(c)(6) professional membership organization that trains and certifies practitioners
of the Trager Approach in the U.S. We enforce the professional and educational standards, and code
of ethics for Certified Trager Practitioners and serve the professional needs of our members. We also
defend the right of our Practitioners to practice without inappropriate and burdensome regulation.


Jim Noriega
Law & Legislation Committee Chair
702.378.9530 / legislative@tragerus.org

United States Trager® Association
3755 Attucks Drive, Powell, Ohio 43065
http://www.tragerapproach.us     440.834.0308


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