[HISTORY: Adopted by the Board of Town Commissioners
of the Town of Bel Air 3-11-1980 by Ord. No. 310 as
Ch. 6, Art. 3 of the 1980 Code. Amendments noted where applicable.]
Unless the particular provision or the context
otherwise requires, the definitions and provisions contained in this
section shall govern the construction, meaning and application of
words and phrases used in this chapter:
An individual who is certified by the State Board of Chiropractic
Examiners to practice massage therapy.
The use of manual techniques on the soft tissues of the human
body, including effleurage (stroking), petrissage (kneading), tapotement
(tapping), stretching, compression, vibration, and friction, with
or without the aid of heat, limited to hot packs and hearing pads,
cold water, or nonlegend topical applications, for the purpose of
improving circulation, enhancing muscle relation, relieving muscular
pain, reducing stress, or promoting health and well-being. "Massage
therapy" does not include the diagnosis or treatment of illness, disease
or injury or the adjustment, manipulation or mobilization of any articulation
of the osseous structures of the body or spine.
To engage professionally and for compensation in massage
therapy.
To engage professionally and for compensation in massage
therapy that is not in a health care facility.
An individual who is registered by the State Board of Chiropractic
Examiners to practice nontherapeutic massage.
A registration issued by the State Board of Chiropractic
Examiners to practice nontherapeutic massage.
In accordance with the Health Occupations Article
of the Maryland Annotated Code, Title 3, Subtitle 5A, Certification
of Massage Therapists, no individual shall engage in or carry on the
business of massage therapy or nontherapeutic massage unless he or
she has valid certification from the State Board of Chiropractic Examiners
that he or she has been authorized to practice as a certified massage
therapist.
The state certification received by a massage
therapist or a nontherapeutic massage practitioner must be displayed
in an area visible by the customers of the place of business. The
Chief of Police of his/her designee may inspect a business offering
massage therapy without notice to assure certification is current
and posted.
In compliance with state law, any individual
who violates a provision of the state certification is guilty of a
misdemeanor and on conviction shall be subject to a penalty as provided
in § 3-5A-11 of the Health Occupations Article of the Annotated
Code.
