Ah, there’s the rub: Medicine catches up with what clients always knew about the health benefits of massage

Our Review Summary

The story discusses massage therapy for physical and emotional well-being. One of the reasons massage isn’t covered as frequently by insurance as other alternative therapies, such as acupuncture and spinal manipulation, is that there is relatively little evidence of benefit in well controlled studies. The article implies that the problem is licensing. Massage proponents argue that licensure might lead to insurance coverage. But the story doesn’t discuss the lack of studies examining massage for certain conditions compared to placebo and active treatments. Personal testaments should not be enough to drive health care policy in a time when health care costs are rising – at least in part because of the widespread use of tests and treatments of limited or no value.

It is likely that massage may be better for certain conditions than others. The fact that there may be benefit in premature infants doesn’t directly translate into adults with shoulder pain. It is also likely that the alternative treatments vary dependent upon the condition. While the story notes that there are medical studies which have looked at the benefits of massage for certain groups of people, no data from these studies are cited.

The story does not mention things that can go wrong during a massage, especially with people who are already injured, or who have orthopedic or other biomechanical issues. Practitioners who are not adequately trained might risk further injury to these massage clients. Oversight of massage practice via licensure might prevent some of these harms; however, the story only focuses on the negative public image of massage (i.e. ties to the adult entertainment industry).

Though the story does not provide the actual cost of massage for those described, it does mention that massage is often not paid for by insurers. Again, one of the points of the article is that by accrediting massage therapists, insurers will be more likely to cover treatment by such providers.

The story cites both a massage therapist and an orthopedic surgeon to provide perspective on the role of massage in prevention and treatment of injury. However, the story is weighted heavily on information from those in the field of massage, so another perspective on massage as possible adjunct to evidence-based treatments would provide balance to the story. As is mentioned, massage has its place, but it is not a panacea.