Massage Therapist’s Complete Guide to Massage CEUs - Section 6: CEU Course Selection Questions

Section 6: CEU Course Selection Questions

What are the best CEU courses for massage therapists?

The best CEU course depends on your license requirements, professional interests, and learning goals. A good CE course should satisfy your state's requirements, cover a relevant subject, come from a legitimate provider, and provide documentation of completion.

Massage therapists can choose from many different types of continuing education, including massage techniques, anatomy, pathology, ethics, business, client conditions, and specialized populations.

For example, MassageTherapyCEU.com offers courses such as:

We currently offers more than 110 massage therapy CE courses, along with state-specific CE packages.

The best CEU course isn't necessarily the most popular course—it's the course that meets your renewal requirements while providing education that is useful to your massage practice.

How do I choose a massage therapy CEU course?

When choosing a massage therapy CEU course, start with your state's licensing requirements. Before considering price or topic, make sure the course can actually be used toward your renewal.

Look for these factors:

State acceptance – Make sure your state accepts the course and delivery format.
Provider approval – Check whether the provider is approved by an organization recognized by your state.
Required topics – Determine whether you need ethics, laws, CPR, cultural competency, or another mandatory subject.
Number of CE hours – Make sure the course provides enough hours for your renewal needs.
Course topic – Choose education that is relevant to your professional goals.
Learning format – Decide whether you prefer online, self-paced, or mailed materials.
Testing requirements – Find out whether the course requires an exam or other assessment.
Certificate – Make sure you will receive documentation of completion.
Cost – Compare the total cost, including materials and shipping when applicable.
Provider reputation – Look for an established provider with clear contact information and approval information.

We recommend verifying provider approval, state acceptance, topic fit, testing, certificates, total cost, and customer support before enrolling.

What topics can massage therapists take for CEUs?

Massage therapists can take continuing education in a wide variety of subjects, although the topics accepted for license renewal and scope of practice vary by state.

Common massage therapy CE topics include:

Anatomy and physiology
Kinesiology
Massage techniques
Pathology
Ethics
Professional boundaries
Business and marketing
Client communication
Pain management
Specialized massage techniques
Massage for specific health conditions
Essential oils
Acupressure
Sports massage
Cupping
Reflexology
Pregnancy and labor
Hospital and medically frail populations
Cultural competency
Communicable diseases
Laws and regulations

Remember that a topic being offered as a CE course doesn't necessarily mean your state will allow it to count toward your renewal or that it falls under the scope of practice of massage therapy. Always check your state's requirements.

View a full listing of our courses here.

Can massage therapists take anatomy CEUs?

Yes. Anatomy is a common continuing education subject for massage therapists.

Advanced anatomy CE courses can help massage therapists strengthen their understanding of muscles, bones, joints, connective tissue, movement, and the structures involved in massage therapy.

For example, we offer Musculoskeletal Anatomy and Physiology, as well as Applied Kinesiology and Functional Anatomy: Advanced Palpation.

Anatomy and kinesiology courses can be particularly useful for therapists who want to strengthen their understanding of body mechanics, assessment, movement, and treatment planning.

Can massage therapists take business CEUs?

Yes. Business and practice-management courses can be valuable continuing education for massage therapists, and some states allow them to count toward CE requirements.

Business CE courses may cover topics such as:
Marketing
Business management
Financial management
Documentation
Insurance billing
Professional communication
Social media
Client retention
Practice policies
Record keeping

We offer courses including Business Management, Business Finance, All About Marketing, and Social Networking for Massage Practice. The current catalog also includes business ethics and communication/documentation courses. View a full listing of our business & professional development courses here.

However, business CE isn't automatically accepted for license renewal in every state. Some states restrict the types of subjects that can count toward massage therapy CE.

Can massage therapists take ethics CEUs?

Yes. Ethics is one of the most common mandatory continuing education subjects for massage therapists.

Some states require a specific number of ethics hours, and NCBTMB currently requires 3 ethics CE hours as part of its 24-hour Board Certification renewal requirement.

We offer several ethics options, including:

Always verify your specific state's ethics requirement before selecting a course.

Can massage therapists take pathology CEUs?

Yes. Pathology and health-condition courses can be an excellent way for massage therapists to expand their knowledge of conditions they may encounter in practice.

Pathology-related CE courses may help massage therapists better understand:

Common medical conditions
Contraindications and precautions
When massage may need to be modified
When referral may be appropriate
Client communication
Safe professional practice

We offer courses covering a variety of conditions and clinical topics, including:

These types of courses can be especially useful when a therapist wants to learn more about working safely and appropriately with particular client populations.

As always, check your state's rules to determine whether pathology or condition-specific courses qualify for your required CE hours.

Can massage therapists take self-care CEUs?

Yes. Some states allow massage therapists to use self-care or practitioner wellness courses toward continuing education, but acceptance varies.

Self-care education can address topics such as:

Body mechanics
Injury prevention
Stress management
Practitioner wellness
Ergonomics
Burnout prevention
Maintaining a sustainable massage career

Self-care can be especially relevant to massage therapists because massage therapy is physically demanding work.

However, do not assume that every self-care course qualifies for state renewal credit. Some licensing boards require CE content to directly relate to massage therapy practice or limit the amount of self-care education that can be counted.

Can I take the same CEU course twice?

Generally, you should not assume that you can receive CE credit twice for completing the same course. However, the same course can usually be completed again as long as it is not in the same renewal period.

Continuing education is intended to provide new or continuing professional education. Many licensing organizations and certification bodies have rules preventing therapists from receiving credit more than once for the same course or from carrying the same hours into another renewal period.

For example, NCBTMB states that continuing education cannot be used multiple times within or across renewal periods and cannot be carried over for Board Certification renewal.

If you are considering retaking a course because you enjoyed it or want to review the material, you may certainly find educational value in doing so, but you should not automatically expect to receive CE credit again.

Can massage therapy CEUs be used for multiple licenses?

Sometimes, but it depends on the requirements of each licensing board.

For example, a massage therapist who holds licenses in two states may be able to use the same CE course for both licenses if both states accept the provider, course, subject, number of hours, and delivery format.

However, one state may have requirements that the other does not.

For example:

State A may require 24 CE hours.
State B may require 24 CE hours plus 3 ethics hours.
State C may limit online CE hours.
State D may require a specific state-law course.

In that situation, completing one 24-hour package may not satisfy all four licenses.

The safest approach is to compare the requirements for each license individually before choosing your courses.

We offer state-specific packages designed around individual state requirements, including state CE packages.

If you hold multiple licenses, keep your CE certificates and course information. You may need to provide documentation separately to different licensing boards.

How do I know if a CEU course is legitimate?

A legitimate CE course should provide clear information about the provider, approval status, course hours, course requirements, and documentation of completion.

Before purchasing a course, look for:

A verifiable provider

The provider should clearly identify its approval organization and provider number when applicable.
MassageTherapyCEU.com is an NCBTMB Approved Provider, #409296-00.

Clear course information

The course should tell you:
How many CE hours it provides
What you will learn
What materials are included
Whether an exam is required
How you receive your certificate

State approval information

A provider should make it reasonably easy to determine whether its courses are accepted in your state.
Don't rely solely on a statement such as "accepted nationwide." Check the specific requirements of your licensing board.

A certificate of completion

You should receive documentation showing that you successfully completed the course.
We provide certificates after course completion and uses an open-book exam with a 70% passing score for its courses.

A real way to contact the provider

A legitimate provider should provide contact information and customer support if you have questions about the course, certificate, or approval.

Current information

State licensing requirements can change. A reputable provider should make an effort to keep its state information current and encourage therapists to verify requirements with their licensing board.