Massage Therapy and the Affordable Care Act.

If I were searching for a controversial topic, unfortunately it wouldn’t be too difficult. So this brings me to the Affordable Care Act (ACA), a.k.a. Obamacare, oooh bad word! If I can manage to side step the controversy, it’s my gateway to continue the focus on prevention and wellness.

The ACA, in part, shifts the focus of health care from sickness and disease to prevention and wellness. Further, it ensures Americans have access to quality, affordable health insurance by requiring that health plans offer a comprehensive package of items and services, known as the essential health benefits (EHBs). There are 10 categories that fall under the EHBs, and I will only focus on #9 which is preventive and wellness services and chronic disease management.

Licensed massage practitioner, Diana L. Thompson, was enlisted to help prepare a list of research citations that support the inclusion of massage therapy in the EHBs. Obviously as a massage practitioner, this is of great interest to me so this component of the ACA really caught my attention. In Massage & Bodywork magazine, Ms. Thompson says that “inclusion as a wellness intervention is only possible because a cadre of research already exists providing evidence that somatic therapies are critical components of health care. The ACA, in section 3502, demands that health care delivery include integrative approaches: ‘Insurers must establish community health teams that include complementary and alternative providers.’”

Not only is it exciting to see that health care reform places emphasis on preventive and wellness services, but specifically I know the benefits of massage therapy as a client and practitioner.

Research is beginning to reflect common applications of massage therapy such as pre- and post-surgical massage, massage for acute inflammation due to trauma, and massage for labor and delivery. An evidence-based clinical guideline that reviewed 10 studies concluded that “therapeutic massage can decrease pain, tenderness, and improve range of motion for sub-acute and chronic neck pain.” Ms. Thompson says that “research suggests that massage therapy may interrupt inflammatory processes contributing to neck and shoulder pain. ‘The best available evidence for treatment of neck pain includes…massage therapy.’”

Sick Care vs Health Care

Shifting our focus to prevention and wellness is critical to the sustainability of our health care system. As we face a crumbling “sick care” system in America, maybe we should reflect on the old saying, “an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.”