The General Assembly acknowledges that the practice of massage therapy is a therapeutic health care service delivered by health care professionals that affects the public health, safety, and welfare of Georgians. Massage therapists must have a knowledge of anatomy and physiology and an understanding of the relationship between the structure and function of the tissue being treated and the total function of the body. Massage is therapeutic, and regulations are necessary to protect the public from unqualified practitioners. It is in the interest of the public to set standards of qualifications, education, training, and experience for those who seek to practice massage therapy; to promote high standards of professional performance for those licensed to practice massage therapy; and to protect the public from unprofessional conduct by persons and entities licensed to practice or teach massage therapy.
(Code 1981, §43-24A-2, enacted by Ga. L. 2005, p. 1251, § 1/SB 110; Ga. L. 2019, p. 591, § 1/HB 242.)
The 2019 amendment, effective May 6, 2019, in the first sentence, substituted "is a therapeutic health care service delivered by health care professionals that affects" for "affects" in the middle and added "of Georgians" at the end; inserted a comma near the beginning of the third sentence; and inserted "and entities" and "or teach" near the end of the fourth sentence.