Maryland Board-Approved Continuing Education
Handheld Tools & Percussive Therapy for Massage
Approved for 8 CE hours by the Maryland State Board of Massage Therapy Examiners. Learn online at your own pace, then put it all into practice in person at Virtuous Wellness Center in Arnold, MD.
Your Hands. Your Judgment. The Right Tool.
Board Approval
Approved for 8 CE Hours by the Maryland Board
The Maryland State Board of Massage Therapy Examiners ratified approval of Handheld Tools & Percussive Therapy for Massage at its open session on September 23, 2026, and confirmed it in writing to Virtuous Wellness Center on September 24, 2026. The approval covers the full course for 8 CE hours.
The approval letter identifies the course by its title and the date it was ratified. It does not carry a separate approval number. If your employer or records need proof, we’re happy to share a copy. Email wecare@virtuouswellness.com and ask for the approval letter.
Maryland Now Requires Training Before You Use Handheld Tools
The Board’s new rule, COMAR 10.65.12 Handheld Tools, took effect on June 22, 2026. If you use a massage gun or a scraping tool with clients, it applies to you. Here’s what it asks of you, in plain language.
- It covers two tool types. Mechanized vibration instruments and muscle-scraping tools count. Tools used only for your own self-care, such as thumb-savers, don’t. (COMAR 10.65.12.02B(2))
- Training comes first. You need at least 8 hours of instruction that substantially covers six named content areas. (COMAR 10.65.12.03A and B)
- Your licensure hours don’t count toward it. This training is in addition to the 750 contact hours required for licensure. (COMAR 10.65.12.03C)
Your assessment, not the tool, decides what your client needs.
What You Will Learn
Eight Modules, From the Rules to a Live Capstone
Modules 1 to 7 are online, so you can work through them at home, around your clients. Module 8 brings everything together in person. Together they make up the 8 CE hours the Board approved.
Module 1
Foundations, Philosophy, and Maryland Jurisprudence
What counts as a handheld tool, how the Maryland rule works, and why assessment, not the tool, decides its use.
Module 2
Indications, Contraindications, and Patient Selection
A five-question framework to decide when a tool helps a client, and when to modify, avoid or refer.
Module 3
Anatomy, Safety Boundaries, and Occupational Safety (MOSH)
Safe placement, areas to avoid, intensity control and the STOP, REASSESS, DETERMINE response.
Module 4
Mechanized Vibration / Massage Gun Technique
Controlled movement, attachment selection, the full application sequence and device cleaning.
Module 5
Muscle-Scraping Tools Technique
Grip, angle and stroke, skin inspection before treatment, reassessment and tool cleaning.
Module 6
Case Management, Informed Consent, and Professional Boundaries
Explaining the tool to clients, tool-specific written consent, and holding boundaries when asked to go further.
Module 7
Documentation and Recordkeeping
Treatment notes and records that meet Maryland requirements, and fixing notes that fall short.
Module 8
Integration, Competency Demonstration, and Examination
Hands-on technique practice, then a live capstone scored by an assessor at VWC.
What You Leave With
Skills You Can Use With Your Next Client
Built for Maryland Licensed Massage Therapists (LMT) and Registered Massage Practitioners (RMP) who use, or plan to use, massage guns, percussive devices or scraping tools. Every skill keeps whole-person care at the center: the tool is one option in your plan, never the plan itself.
- Decide whether a handheld tool is right for a client, before you pick one up
- Screen for contraindications and keep to safe anatomical boundaries
- Apply controlled movement, appropriate intensity and continual patient feedback
- Recognize an adverse response and apply STOP, REASSESS, DETERMINE
- Explain the tool and obtain tool-specific written consent
- Clean the tool and write a treatment note that meets Maryland standards
How It Works
Five Steps to Your Certificate
- Join the waitlist. Sign up now to hear first when enrollment opens.
- Enroll and pay online. Payment unlocks Modules 1 to 7 and lets you book your in-person place.
- Learn online. Work through Modules 1 to 7 at your own pace, from Friday, November 20, 2026.
- Attend in person. Four hours at VWC in Arnold: technique practice, then your capstone.
- Get your certificate. Pass the capstone and receive your certificate for 8 Board-approved CE hours.
Four Hours of Hands-On Practice and a Live Capstone
Module 8, In Person
The session runs in two parts. First, you practice mechanized vibration and muscle-scraping technique hands-on, with feedback. Then you complete the capstone: one full clinical encounter, from deciding whether a tool is right, through consent, safe application and responding to a change, to cleaning the tool and writing the treatment note. An assessor scores it live.
Small groups keep the practice personal. You’ll train alongside no more than five other Maryland therapists, and you’ll need to finish Modules 1 to 7 before you come in.
- Sessions (choose one), each 9:00 AM to 1:00 PM: Saturday, December 12, 2026; Saturday, December 19, 2026; or Saturday, January 9, 2027
- Where: Virtuous Wellness Center, 273 Peninsula Farm Road, Building 2, Suites B and C, Arnold, MD 21012
- Places: 6 per session
- Your instructor: Amy Owens, LMT, PTA
Learn where physical therapy and massage therapy work side by side, in a calm and peaceful setting.
Our Testimonials
Real People. Real Relief.
Frequently Asked Questions
Maryland Licensed Massage Therapists (LMT) and Registered Massage Practitioners (RMP) who use, or plan to use, massage guns, percussive devices or muscle-scraping tools with clients.
Yes. The Maryland State Board of Massage Therapy Examiners ratified approval of Handheld Tools & Percussive Therapy for Massage at its open session on September 23, 2026, and confirmed it in a letter dated September 24, 2026.
The full course, Modules 1 to 7 online plus the in-person Module 8, is approved for 8 CE hours.
No. The Board’s approval letter identifies the course by its title and the date it was ratified, without a separate number. Just ask if you’d like a copy of the letter for your records.
The rule calls for at least 8 hours of instruction covering six named content areas. This course was designed around those content areas and is Board-approved for 8 CE hours.
The online modules open on Friday, November 20, 2026. In-person sessions run from 9:00 AM to 1:00 PM on Saturday, December 12, 2026, Saturday, December 19, 2026, and Saturday, January 9, 2027.
Yes. Please finish Modules 1 to 7 before you come in, so your four hours at VWC go on hands-on practice and your capstone.
You pay online through the VWC website, which unlocks the online modules and in-person booking. The course fee is $199. Join the waitlist to be told when payment opens.
We run three in-person sessions, each from 9:00 AM to 1:00 PM: Saturday, December 12, 2026, Saturday, December 19, 2026, and Saturday, January 9, 2027. When you join the waitlist, choose your preferred date and tick any you can’t attend, and we’ll do our best to place you.
Once you’re booked, you can move to another session at no charge if you let us know at least 7 days before your date, as long as there’s space. Changes with less than 7 days’ notice, or a missed session, can be rebooked for a $50 fee.
Your payment is non-refundable, because it gives you immediate access to the online modules. If we ever need to cancel a session, we’ll move you to the next available date or give you a full refund.