Massage therapy is treatment and not a luxury

August 20, 2016, Kitchener, Ontario

Posted by: Robert Deutschmann, Personal Injury Lawyer

Handy Information on Massage Therapy

Why patients should consider massage therapy as a treatment rather than a luxury

Knead more information about massage therapy? Here are the basics of massage therapy without having to go through a beating to find it.

According to the Canadian National Standards of Practice, massage therapy is the “assessment of the musculoskeletal system and that treatment and prevention of physical dysfunction, injury, and pain through manual methods to promote health.” This means that through the use of specialized hand movements over skin or clothes, muscles are worked to help relieve stress, physical signs of mental distress, the over-exertion of muscles, and re-occurring symptoms of pain.

The practice and sue of massage has been demonstrated throughout history in many different cultures including Greek and Roman, but it wasn’t introduced into Western culture around the 18^th century when the Swedish massage was invented by Per Henrik Ling. In the 20^th century, it was first documented in the United States being used to treat soldiers in World War 1.

Besides being used to deal with pain in the muscles, massage therapy is also used to improve joint mobility and circulation, reduce symptoms of depression and anxiety, deal with chronic stress, muscular tension, and improve lymphedema (fluid retention and tissue swelling).

People who are qualified to perform this procedure are massage therapists. Anyone can become a massage therapist, but since massage therapy is considered a regulated health profession (according to the Registered Massage Therapists’ Association of Ontario), a massage therapist in Ontario is required to have a diploma that is approved by the Interjurisdictional Practice Competencies and Performance along with 2,200 hours.

To help a patient reach full well-being, massage therapists work with other health professionals to obtain and use important information in regards to the patient’s health. They also do research and apply that research to their practices. When going to a massage appointment for the first time, a massage therapist will inquire information about the illness or injury to create a productive treatment. Consent is an important part of massage therapy, as consent is needed to perform therapy. The National Standards of Practice outlines the rules of procedures, and states that therapy can stop at any time if the patient asks due to discomfort.

For those who have suffered a personal injury, or have been in a car accident, massage therapy can be a great way to help improve injuries. Normally, private companies cover massage therapy in their insurance plans; however, it is important to note that OHIP will only cover part, or none of message therapy as it is a service that can be offered by other health care providers.

Hopefully no one suffered a muscle spasm trying to understand what massage therapy is! Booking the first massage therapy appointment should be easier now that the basics are covered.

Article prepared by Ariel Deutschmann

All information and more form this article can be found in the following links:

http://www.crmta.ca/doc/National%20Standards%20of%20Practice%20APPROVED(1).pdf

http://www.cmto.com/about-the-profession/about-massage-therapy/

https://secure.rmtao.com/massage_therapy/regulation_of_mt/massage_therapy_in_canada.htm

http://www.naturalhealers.com/massage-therapy/history/

https://on.bluecross.ca/health-insurance/health-tips/233-understanding-the-limitations-of-ohip-coverage

https://www.google.ca/search?q=lymph+edema&oq=lymph+edema&aqs=chrome..69i57.1015739j0j7&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8#q=lymphedema

http://www.massageschoolnotes.com/glossary-of-terms/

About Deutschmann Law

Deutschmann Law serves South-Western Ontario with offices in Kitchener-Waterloo, Cambridge, Woodstock, Brantford, Stratford and Ayr. The law practice of Robert Deutschmann focuses almost exclusively in personal injury and disability insurance matters. For more information, please visit www.deutschmannlaw.com or call us at 1-519-742-7774.