CONFERENCE OF MASSEURS

Press, Volume LXXI, Issue 21436, 30 March 1935, Page 18

CONFERENCE OF MASSEURS

SIR HUGH ACLAND'S ADDRESS RELATION WITH MEDICAL PROFESSION The fifth Dominion conference of the New Zealand Trained Masseurs' Association was opened yesterday at the Public Hospital. Delegates attended from all over New Zealand. Miss Mary McLean, chairwoman of the Canterbury branch, presided, and extended a welcome to those present. The Deputy-Mayor, Mr J. K. Archer, welcomed the visitors to the city. He paid a tribute to the value of massage treatment, which he said had a long history, going back even to Scriptural times. Need for Organisation

Sir Hugh Acland, who is the president of the Canterbury branch of the association, formally opened the conference. He spoke of the importance of organisation under the association in the practice of massage. The doctor and the masseur went hand in hand, and it was desirable from the point of view of the public that masseurs should meet as at present and put their work on a sound basis. Medical men could then send their patients with confidence to properly trained masseurs. Sir Hugh Acland said he was concerned most with massage in the treatment cC fractures and other injuries, and it was in this sphere that the work had been so valuable during the war.

Massage, which should be based on sound knowledge of anatomy, was particularly valuable in that it helped to restore the normal functions after a fracture, not merely to knit the bones. The possibilities of developing the work and making room for new ideas should be closely watched. There was always a danger of quackery in new cults, but the association should distinguish between the good and the bad. An important parL of the masseur s work was the influence of his personality on the patient. Nature effected the cures, and all that could be done professionally was to assist nature a little.

Co-operation with Doctors In conclusion. Sir Hugh Acland emphasised the need for close co-opera-tion with the medical profession. Masseurs would do well, both for the public's sake and their own, to consult a doctor in all important cases. The medical profession might have been to blame for lack of co-operation through not having made sufficient use of massage. but it was very necessary for the masseurs to obtain a medical diagnosis. A short; address followed by Dr. T Fletcher Telford, medical officer of fffealth for Canterbury. He dealt with, the value of massage treatment, and went on to speak of the change in medical practice brought about by extended travel facilities, especially air travel. . . Miss M. L. Roberts, principal of the Dunedin Training School of Massage, spoke of the work of the school, the Massage Council, and the. Masseurs' Registration Board. Miss A. K. Allan, vice-president of the New Zealand Trained Masseurs' Association. spoke of the value of the association, and the necessity for co-operation among members. She expressed regret at the decrease; in membership of the association during the vear and at the withdrawal of one branch, which had disagreed with the other branches. Tt was to be hoped that the branch would unite with Ihc association again.

Registration of Masseur-. Mr J. W. Buchanan, secretary of th-> Masseurs' Registration Hoard, outlined the functions of the board and summed up the legal position as concerning the registration of masseurs. The boai d supervised the training of masseurs, controlled the examinations, and carried out the provisions of Ihe act covering registration. The board, however, had no control over unregistered practitioners, who were permitted to act as masseurs though they could not advertise themselves as such. The board had taken up the matter of securing reciprocity with Great Britain in the training of teachers. The object was to secure more students with teaching certificates, and it was suggested that students should take