Massage therapists are feeling the pain.

The City of Santa Barbara has proposed increasing annual fees, making annual inspections and requiring a new certification that would force some therapists to go back to school.

The city is attempting to strengthen requirements for therapists as part of an effort to address human trafficking, prostitution and other illegal activities.

However, some massage therapists contend that the changes punish the legal, law-abiding therapists, instead of cracking down specifically on illicit massage parlors.

“I wake up every day and I get to help people,” massage therapist Kathy Gruver said. “It’s fun to help people with that healing aspect of their lives.”

Under the proposal, annual fees would jump from $25 to $275 for sole proprietors and to $375 for massage establishments. Therapists also would have to get certified by the California Massage Therapy Council, which includes training for 500 hours. Members of the Santa Barbara Police Department also would make annual inspections, either by surprise or appointment.

Letters went out to massage therapists earlier this month, and the city has since faced a major pushback from the massage therapist community. The proposed changes are still in play, and the matter must go through the city’s Ordinance Committee.

Santa Barbara Police Chief Kelly Gordon said the current ordinance has not been updated since 1976, and the proposed changes are intended to enhance community safety and ensure that there are appropriate enforcement mechanisms in place.

“We are currently in the process of incorporating feedback received during the recent public meeting at the Fire and Police Commission meeting,” Gordon said. “Based on that input, we are making revisions before the ordinance is presented to the Ordinance Committee.”

Gruver has emerged as somewhat of a spokeswoman for the massage therapy industry. She has spoken on an episode of “Dr. Phil” against sex trafficking at massage parlors. When she found out about the city’s proposal, she turned to Facebook to spread information to other therapists.

“I would love to stop the illicit massage parlors here in town,” Gruver said. “I understand why they are doing it. I don’t think this is the way to go about it.”

Gruver said authorities know the places that are committing illegal activities and should focus their resources on them. She said there are dozens of places that are “doing sex.”

“They are open, they are running and they are pretty obvious,” Gruver said. “There are websites that show you where they are. If they truly want to crack down on this, let’s get rid of the known ones first.”

Gruver said sole practitioners such as her who are highly educated and have a strong reputation in town aren’t the problem. She has performed about 15,000 massages in her career and does hypnotherapy.

“If I am in the middle of a hypnosis session with someone who has dealt with trauma, I can’t have someone knocking on my door,” Gruver said.

Mohammed Abdul has been a massage therapist for about 20 years. If the new law goes into effect, he said he would have to get about 200 more hours of training to get certified by the California Massage Therapy Council.

He has daughters in college, he said, and cannot afford to stop working to go back and get new training.

Abdul performs Swedish, ayurvedic and deep tissue massages. He has clients locally as well as in San Francisco and Malibu. He said he doesn’t advertise and makes a living on word-of-mouth only.

He said he doesn’t see how he is going to be able to support his family and still undergo new training.

“You can’t do both at the same time,” Abdul said. “How can I make money and feed my family?”