Medical Massage vs Relaxation Massage
There is currently a movement in the massage profession to
create a separate division for so called "medical massage
therapists".
What is the definition of medical massage? There are many
variations.
Byregion.net
Massage
Today: Orthopedic Massage vs. Medical Massage: Are We Using the Correct Terminology?
By James Waslaski of http://www.orthomassage.net
Medical Massage A Marriage or a MonsterBy Deane Juhan
Is it massage for medical conditions? Is it massage done
when billing insurance companies? Is it a specific technique that must be
learned?
My issue with creating a medical massage division is that it is
really more about dividing the profession even further. Who has the right
to determine what is medical or not? Is Reiki not medical? What
about polarity therapy or other
therapies? Are Structural Integration methods not medical when they are used
to realign posture that is causing dysfunction? There are literally hundreds of
different kinds of massage techniques. Who is to say that they don't
create medically necessary results? Is someone who has 1500 hours of education
more qualified to touch than someone with 250 hours of basic massage education
that does include pathology?
The other issue is do we as a profession really want to become
part of the medical system? I for one have been participating as a
contracted health care provider for major medical insurance companies and what I
have seen is our allowable fees have been reduced (from $99 per hour when I
first started in 2001 to $68). We are constantly being challenged and
questioned. Even Doctors are opting out of provider networks because of
the headaches of getting paid. The insurance industry is in crisis.
Why do we want to even participate in such a network? (You can read more
about my opinions in Issues
and Ethics of Working with Insurance Companies.)
Some massage therapists seem to have created the medical massage
division thinking that they could charge more for their services because they
have to do more charting, paperwork etc when dealing with an insurance
client. This further creates a problem in our profession and is really
more about what we charge. Massage Therapists should charge what they need
to make per hour depending on their expenses, education level, and their need
for income. Most massage therapists tend to undercharge. It is
illegal to charge an insurance client more for the same service than you would
charge a person paying cash. The medical massage term allows massage
therapists to create a difference in what they do. I for one, don't throw
away everything I learned when doing so called "relaxation
massage". I treat every client the same. Relaxation clients
have health issues that I need to know about and deal with too.
This whole medical massage movement concerns me. Any one
else?
How can we get back to the basics of accepting massage therapist
for our common bond - using touch to be of service.
