When I hear people discussing their various pains and ailments, and ask whether they have tried massage their most common response is something like “I went to my chiropractor and that helped for a while, but now it hurts again”. Huh? Massage and chiropractic are not the same. They are different modalities practiced by different professionals. The same goes for physical therapy. The intention in massage practiced by PT’s is very different from that of a LMT.
My theory on why people get confused is because they automatically turn to modalities that their health insurer will pay for rather than modalities that work for their condition. That’s the same reason someone will subject themselves to surgery for carpal tunnel when in the majority of cases it is not effective in resolving the symptoms. Insurance will pay for surgery but not therapeutic massage by a LMT. I’m actually glad the high deductible plans are becoming more prevalent because I hope people will begin to evaluate their treatment options based on efficacy instead of insurance coverage since they will have to pay a bigger share of expensive procedures. No more MRI’s for a sprained ankle. No more CAT scans for simple muscle tears. MD’s should start to improve their palpation and diagnostic skills and rely less on costly technology to CYA. People might begin to understand that a less invasive more gradual treatment is cheaper and more effective in the long term.
Why do you think people resist getting massage?
MJL Therapeutic Massage 