Kivivi Blog

Thirty-two percent of Americans get massages for medical and health reasons, according to the 13th annual consumer survey sponsored by the American Massage Therapy Association® (AMTA®), compared to 31 percent last year.

• Twenty-five percent of Americans ages 35-44 have talked to their doctor or healthcare provider about massage therapy this year, compared to 14 percent in 2008.
• Seeking a massage for medical or health reasons is now tied with relaxation and stress reduction as the top reasons why Americans get massages.
• Of those who discussed massage therapy with their doctors, 52 percent say their doctor strongly recommended/encouraged them to get a massage.
• Eighty-six percent of Americans agree that massage can be effective in reducing pain.
• Eighty-five percent of people agree that massage can be beneficial to your health and wellness.

Massage therapy for stress reduction

• This year, 32 percent of Americans said they got a massage for stress and/or relaxation in the last five years; compared to 36 percent last year.
• Fifty-seven percent of Americans say they are more stressed this year than they were a year ago.

Massage therapy and Income

• Forty-seven percent of those making $35,000 to $50,000 a year say they have considered massage to manage stress.
• Thirty-four percent of those making less than $35,000 a year got massage for medical/health reasons. This group is the second largest income bracket of those who had a massage for medical/health reasons.
• Forty-nine percent of those making $75,000 to $100,000 choose massage for medical or health reasons.

Older Americans are most likely to seek massage for its medical and health benefits rather than for relaxation or stress reduction

Older Americans are most likely to seek massage for its medical and health benefits rather than for relaxation or stress reduction

• Among those who have had a massage in the last five years, 41 percent of those over 65 years of age and 41 percent of those between the ages of 55 and 64 received their last massage for medical or health reasons.
• In contrast, only 13 percent of those over 65 and 28 percent of those ages 55 to 64 had massage for relaxation/stress reduction.

Massage considerations and recommendations

• Fifty-seven percent of 35-44 year olds who had a massage in the previous 12 months have considered massage to manage stress.
• Sixty-two percent of Americans have or would recommend massage therapy to a relative or someone else they know.

The purpose of massage therapy varies according to the practitioner. As a result, the intended goal also differs. Yet, the aim of all massage therapy includes an increased sense and actuality of a person’s well-being. This includes various physical, emotional and spiritual effects. The benefits one is to reap from therapeutic massage range from general to specific health effects to a more ephemeral sense of physical, emotional and psychological feeling of welfare. In this sense, although it does depend upon the techniques of the practitioner and the type or school of therapeutic massage, massage therapy falls into the holistic approach to health and welfare currently embraced by an increased number of people in the medical professions.

Massage therapy is unique in that it is a profession with one foot in health care and another in the service industry. This bridging of worlds brings a certain set of responsibilities to not only massage therapists, but also to their clients.

In keeping with my previous postings concerning the therapeutic relationship, I have decided to enlighten massage therapy clients as to what constitutes behaviours which massage therapists appreciate and those which we don’t. A little give, take and understanding of what massage professionals go through on a daily basis might help you establish a better relationship with your therapist, putting you on the top of the pile for preferred days and times, as well as getting “squeezed in” on short notice.

Here are the top things you can do to establish a great relationship with your therapist:

1) Show up on time. Massage therapists really appreciate a client who arrives on time and ready for treatment. It helps our day go smoothly, ensuring we don’t get behind. It also demonstrates to us that you respect our time and profession, which we really appreciate.

2) If you are late, expect that you will pay the full fee even if your therapist can only treat you for the remaining time. And, some therapists will not treat clients at all who are more than 15 minutes late for the appointment.

3) Please call 24 hours in advance if you have to cancel. We understand that life happens, and if you don’t give 24 hours notice and this is an isolated incident, it’s not usually too big of a deal. However, do expect the cancellation policy to be enforced, and if you fail to pay the balance owing, you may be “discharged” from your therapists care.

4) Know your insurance policy, if you have one, before the treatment. There are many different plans which may or may not cover massage therapy treatments, sometimes even within one organization, such as the government. It is your responsibility, not ours, to know how much coverage you have, if a medical referral is required, if direct billing is allowed etc. A therapist, even if he or she does permit direct billing, has the right to ask for payment up front if you are not sure of what is covered or don’t have the appropriate information. A therapist may also only direct bill for certain insurance companies. While most therapists do their best to accommodate clients (within reason), It is our prerogative to decide how to run our business.

I advise calling your insurer well before your appointment and asking them things such as 1. to what association does my therapist need to belong for me to get reimbursed, 2. do I need a medical referral to get my treatments covered, 3. how much coverage do I have and how much will I get reimbursed per treatment,

As stress rates increase, more people are turning to massage therapy for relaxation, according to the 12th annual consumer survey conducted by the American Massage Therapy Association. The survey found that 59 percent of Americans are more stressed this year than last year, and stress and relaxation are the top reasons Americans received their last massage. These survey results are announced in advance of National Massage Therapy Awareness Week, October 19-25.

"People continue to seek massage because it provides multiple therapeutic benefits, including stress relief, at an affordable price," says M.K. Brennan, RN, AMTA president. "Massage therapy has not only been shown to reduce anxiety and depression, but it can also relieve stress symptoms like chronic migraines and high blood pressure."

Thirty-six percent of Americans received massage for stress reduction and relaxation in the last five years, compared with just 22 percent last year. Additionally, 38 percent of Americans say they have considered regular massage to manage stress.

Shiatsu is just one of the many types of massage therapy. In English, the word shiatsu means ?finger therapy? and is considered to be a Japanese form of bodywork.

Similar to acupuncture, this type of massage therapy is based on the holistic system of traditional Chinese medicine because those who practice it believe that a person does not feel well due to imbalances in the life force.

To fix it, the massage therapist uses finger and palm pressure to energetic pathways known as meridians to improve the life force.

Scientists have a better explanation for this by saying that shiatsu calms the overactive sympathetic nervous system. By doing so, it helps improve blood circulation, relieves stiff muscles and alleviates stress.

For shiatsu to be effective, the massage therapist has to apply pressure in a continuous rhythmic sequence. Unlike other types of massage therapy, the pressure feels more localized so certain points feel tender. If at any time you feel pain, you can tell the therapist to adjust the pressure so it is comfortable to you.

As unemployment rises, and more people are forced to explore new career opportunities, massage therapy, one of the nation’s fastest growing professions, is luring prospects to established schools in the San Fernando Valley such as the National Holistic Institute in Encino.

Student enrollment there has increased 35 percent so far this year, said campus manager Joe Bob Smith, and despite the crumbling economy, job listings are as robust as ever.

“We’re placing 95 percent of our graduates in massage jobs, which for a vocational school is almost unheard of,” Smith said.

Massage has moved out of sleazy backrooms to become an accepted healing technique with therapeutic and rejuvenating benefits. According to the American Massage Therapy Association, almost one-quarter of adult Americans had a massage at least once in the last 12 months, and employment for massage therapists is expected to increase 20 percent by 2016. And with the anxiety of widespread unemployment, housing foreclosures, and rising prices, massage can help manage stress.