The news about Chayada Prao-hom, a singer who recently passed away from injuries thought to be sustained after having a so-called "neck-cracking" massage, was shocking.
However, what's even more surprising was the response from the Public Health Ministry, which showed its lack of oversight and the need to introduce a mechanism to protect customers from malpractice.
A day after the singer's death was announced, deputy director-general of the Department of Thai Traditional and Alternative Medicine, Thewan Taneerat, said the department would send officials to inspect the massage shop in Udon Thani, where Chayada received the massages. He said the department would determine if the shop was licensed and its masseuses were certified to provide traditional Thai massages.
Dr Thewan also urged the public to "do some research before receiving a massage".
The problem is, despite the eagerness of the government to promote Thai massage as an important part of the nation's wellness industry and as a soft power commodity, there isn't much information available on what customers need to look out for before getting a massage.
Very little information is available, for instance, about the minimum training and qualifications required to be a licensed Thai massage therapist.
In order to be a licensed Thai massage therapist, an individual must undergo at least 330 hours of training. However, for a therapist to be able to provide advanced treatment that requires specific movements and joint manipulations, he or she must have received 800-1,300 hours of professional training.
In comparison, a masseuse only needs to complete about 150 hours of training to be licensed to provide basic massages.
The training curriculum is set by the Thai Traditional Medical Council under the Department of Thai Traditional and Alternative Medicine.
In reality, however, there are actually many ways for a therapist to learn the ropes without getting accredited. A quick look on the internet will show various associations offering a variety of training courses -- from one-day courses to intense, 400-hour advanced massage training -- for those interested.
This makes it hard for customers, many of whom are tourists and office workers who have little time (or don't care enough) to do thorough research before getting a massage.
Furthermore, many customers (and therapists) aren't aware of certain medical conditions that a massage session could aggravate.
While the Thai Traditional Medical Council does warn individuals with underlying conditions, such as osteoporosis and other chronic ailments, to refrain from getting a massage, many of them don't care enough to tell their therapists, who, in turn, often do not even bother to ask.
As Thai traditional massage is now a big business, there is an urgent need to implement strict guidelines.
There have been previous reports of people getting injured after receiving an improper massage.
In 2017, a 59-year-old woman -- who had osteoporosis -- suffered a broken leg after receiving a strong pressure massage from an unlicensed therapist. The masseur, who was fined and jailed, told the media that the customer did not inform him about her condition.
Make no mistake, Thai massage can help patients with serious ailments and promote overall well-being. However, strict controls are needed to ensure what happened to Chayada does not happen again.