Medical MassageWhat is medical massage therapy? Medical massage therapy is the deliverance of a massage in a medical environment. This means that a doctor actually prescribes massage as a necessary form of treatment and the doctor monitors the results of that treatment. In many cases, insurance will pay for a medical massage. This may sound unbelievable, but there are many situations that might call for a prescription for massage that would be covered by insurance. Picture the following scenario: a man injures himself while at work and it is a worker’s compensation claim. The man can’t work for months and he has to have surgery, etc. In order to go back to work, the man must regain full use of whatever part of the body was injured, and massage would very likely speed that along (think possibly massage in conjunction with physical therapy). If the doctor writes a prescription for this medical massage therapy, and the worker’s compensation insurance company does not pay for it, the patient will likely never receive the therapy. If this happens, the man cannot go back to work as soon as he would if he had the therapy. This means that the entire time he is off work, worker’s compensation would have to pay him a weekly check, and this could possibly last for a much longer time than necessary. Since this is the case, they will usually go ahead and accept that the doctor wrote the prescription because the medical massage is necessary and they will likely authorize covering payment. While not every situation is like this, many insurance companies will pay for medical massage just to prevent more medical bills later. What are some conditions that medical massage can help? • Whiplash If you feel that you could benefit from a medical massage, contact your physician to ask if they provide referrals. Just be sure that you know whether or not your insurance will cover the massage in advance so that you are prepared. |