I’ve been in physical therapy a couple of times, most recently for fixing a “frozen shoulder” that resulted from wearing a cast on a broken wrist. The therapist definitely incorporated massage along with other body manipulation, heat packs, teaching me stretch exercises, and using the thing that makes your muscles jolt with electricity. Massage seems to be fully integrated into physical therapy, on an as-needed basis.
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I am prone to developing a knot under my right shoulder blade. I have no injury, I don’t know what brings it on other than some heavy farm work of various sorts, but that’s just a guess, since it’s never “omg I just moved wrong and now it hurts” - I only start feeling it at the end of a day and by morning it can be excruciating.
I’ve had my DH work on it, I’ve gotten on the foam roller, used a heating pad, etc, and the ONLY thing that gets it gone is a real MT who isn’t afraid to make me cry a little :lol:
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Why isn’t massage therapy every bit as valid as other modalities that treat symptoms but don’t effect a cure? Pain medication is only temporary, after all, and also can be addictive, but is covered by most insurance plans. If massage provides pain relief and helps a patient rely less on drugs, it’s a legitimate treatment. Unfortunately, massage therapy is expensive and it’s not something that can be mass produced in India or China, so maybe that’s part of why insurance plans usually don’t cover it.
A large percentage of doctor visits are to manage chronic conditions. One of the biggies is arthritis, which causes all sorts of muscle pain and spasms. Massage certainly helps me deal with mine! I’m going to fire up my shiatsu massage pad right now because my back hurts.
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The problem with vets is that they are not given extensive training in dentistry unless they choose it as a specialty. I love my vet. Really. But he’s not an expert on teeth. Two years without a float would have turned into three years without a float and I felt the horses really needed to be floated.
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My BC/BS pays for massage therapy. My PCP is a DO, his wife on staff is a DC. They have a massage therapist, personal trainer and dietician on staff. Since the massage is under the direction of a physician it is covered. I don’t need to have an adjustment that day either. I have had the massage first then the adjustment or just the massage. Same $25 copay.
I think with insurance the difference between a nice soft massage that has no therapeutic value and is only relaxing versus a deep tissue massage that has therapeutic value. How do you determine which one to pay for? Both practioners have the same licensing. I think Horizon BC/BS has decided that as long as it is done under the supervision of a doctor it has therapeutic value.
As far as vets and floating I have always had a non-vet horse dentist do my floats. One of my previous vets actually used the local horse dentist for all of his horses floats. He did not like doing them, didn’t have the decades of experience doing them that she did and she had more hours of training.
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