Medical Massage Therapy
Medical Massage Therapy
What is Medical Massage Therapy?
Medical massage therapy is treatment by skillful manipulation of the soft tissues of the body performed by a qualified professional medical massage therapist. The goals of treatment may include reducing pain, swelling, and muscle spasms, as well as improving range of motion and the ability to perform daily activities.
To achieve these goals, medical massage therapists may use various techniques such as deep tissue massage, lymphatic drainage, or acupressure, depending on your individual needs.
How do I get started?
Ask your health care provider if medical massage therapy is right for you.
You can also reach out to your local Whole Health Point of Contact to learn more about complementary and integrative health care availability.
How can Medical Massage Therapy help you?
Medical massage therapy can be helpful for managing a variety of conditions, including low back pain, headaches, joint pain, and myofascial pain (pain in the muscles and soft tissues). It is also often used to relieve swelling and improve the flexibility and appearance of scar tissue.
What can I expect during a session?
During a session, you may be asked to lie face up, face down, or on your side, depending on the area being treated. If lying down is uncomfortable, treatment can also be done in a seated position. You may need to remove or adjust clothing to allow access to the area being treated, but your comfort and privacy will always be respected.
Medical massage therapy tends to provide the best long-term results when combined with other strategies such as pain education and self-care between sessions. Your provider may recommend exercises, self-massage or acupressure techniques, or complementary practices like yoga to support your progress.
How is medical massage therapy recommended for use?
Currently in VA, medical massage therapy is recommended for conditions for which there is an evidence base. Each Veteran and their condition is unique, so guidance must always be applied in the context of clinical judgment and the needs of an individual patient. Effective medical massage therapy treatment can usually be accomplished with 8-10 visits over 12 weeks.
Policy and Research
Background and Policy in VA
Medical massage therapy is one of the evidence-based, complementary and integrative health (CIH) approaches within the VHA Whole Health System of care covered by the Veterans medical benefits package when deemed clinically necessary by their care team per VA Directive 1137 — Provision of Complementary and Integrative Health (recertified December 2022).
If you are a Veteran interested in learning more about CIH services that may be available at your facility, connect with your care team or contact your local VA and ask for the Whole Health Point of Contact.
Highlighted Publications
Citation: Mak, S., Allen, J., Begashaw, M., Miake-Lye, I., Beroes-Severin, J., De Vries, G., Lawson, E., & Shekelle, P. G. (2024). Use of Massage Therapy for Pain, 2018-2023: A Systematic Review. JAMA Network Open, 7(7), e2422259.
Summary: This systematic review aimed to map systematic reviews, conclusions, and certainty of evidence for massage therapy outcomes for painful adult health conditions from 2018 to 2023. Out of 129 systematic reviews found, 17 reviews covering 13 health conditions were mapped. The study concluded that despite numerous randomized clinical trials, only a minority of conclusions were rated as moderate-certainty evidence, and high-certainty evidence for massage therapy being superior to other active therapies was rare.
Citation: Munk, N., Daggy, J. K., Slaven, J. E., Evans, E., Foote, T., Laws, B., Matthias, M., & Bair, M. J. (2024). Care Ally-Assisted Massage for Veterans with Chronic Neck Pain: TOMCATT Results. JMIR Research Protocols, 11(9), e38950. 20202020
Summary: The TOMCATT study investigated the effectiveness of a care ally-assisted massage (CA-M) approach for Veterans with chronic neck pain compared to a waitlist control. Despite challenges with participant engagement and retention, CA-M led to statistically significant reductions in pain-related disability and pain severity at 3 and 6 months. The findings suggest that future research should focus on strategies to better engage Veterans and their care-allies in such interventions.
Learn more
Learn more about other complementary and integrative health care options by visiting the Complementary and Integrative Health overview page or clicking the links below.
