Is massage therapy right for your physical therapy practice?
The average healthcare consumer in the United States knows much more about what massage therapy is and what the benefits are, than they do physical therapy. I am pretty sure that I am not the only physical therapist out there that has had patients ask me if I’m a massage therapist or a personal trainer; and when I tell them I am not, the follow up question is usually “well, what’s the difference?”
Clearly I know very well how to articulate the difference to my patients, but it brings up a very interesting point. If the consumer is aware of what massage therapy is and the perceived benefit it will have on them AND they are willing to pay for it, then it seems like a logical thing to do is to GIVE THE PEOPLE WHAT THEY WANT!
As a physical therapist since 2006, I strongly agree that massage therapy is a adjunct or addition to most conditions that I treat. Can you name many people or conditions that do not benefit from massage? Sure, there’s a few. But for the most part, massage therapy can be a huge benefit, even if you don’t have any ailments at all! For me, as a practice owner, it was a super easy segway into adding an extra cash-pay service to our practice and our patients love it.
