Massage Therapist in many states are licensed as ‘Healthcare Professionals’. The enormous benefits of medical massage has been proven over the past many centuries, especially in recent years, by the evidence-based research at Beaumont Health System, Mayo Clinic, Duke Health System, Veterans Administration, National Institute of Health, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Nationwide Children’s Hospital, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, and many other reputable organizations.
The American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP) has endorsed Massage Therapy for Pain Management as a non-pharmacological approach, for opioid addiction and for addictions in general.
More than 100 health conditions have been found to benefit from Therapeutic Massage.
The American Medical Massage Network (AMMN) is a national network of qualified specialists in Medical Massage. AMMN would like to partner with you to help you with the best patient outcome. The Massage Therapist do not diagnose, hence after you have done the diagnosis and initial treatment, please consider referring your patients to our local massage therapist. As an adjunct therapy, we can assure you, that most patients would be happy with the massage therapy.
Whether you are a hospital, clinic, medical doctor, chiropractor, physical therapist or healthcare provider, we would like to partner with you, for the benefit of our patients, and to help reduce the cost of burgeoning healthcare expenditure.
Most Insurance Companies, including VA & Workmen’s Compensation are now covering massage. CMS is expected to cover massage in the very near future.
Because the Massage Therapist do not diagnose, we would appreciate if you could give specific instructions about the health conditions, your goals and any contraindications. A copy of the Massage Therapists evaluation/assessment, plan of care and progress report will be promptly sent to your office, if requested
AMMN staff will;
We would also like to invite you to kindly participate in our:
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- Medical Massage Research – Research funding is available from NIH, VA, AHRQ and hundreds of public & private foundations, including Massage Therapy Foundation. A compendium of Research Papers in Massage Therapy is being compiled by AMMN Research Department. Meanwhile please browse through the current list here. (https://americanmedicalmassage.org/forms/medical-massage-research-by-various-organizations.pdf)
- Global Health Programs, visiting & helping indigents in Africa, Asia, the Caribbean, Europe, Latin America, the Middle East and the Pacific Region. We are affiliated with the Multicultural Council of America, a 501(c) (3) organization, and together with many other non-profit organizations, our teams of volunteer healthcare professionals depart for Global Health medical missions almost every month.
- Teaching Opportunity: AMMN is a part of The American Academy of International Education, licensed as a 2-Year vocational college. We offer nearly 100 Seminars/Workshops on Health Conditions & Diseases to the Consumers, and to Massage Therapists & other health professionals. If you would like to teach, we would love to talk to you. A list of the seminars can be found in the Consumer section of this website. https://americanmedicalmassage.org/consumer/
- Internship/Externship/Practical Training: To enhance their knowledge in Medicine, our Massage Therapists would love to shadow-you-around or spend a little time at your clinic. If you can accommodate one or more of them, it would be of great help to them to learn about your specialty.
- Personal Medical Record Journal: We encourage patients to write down all their health events from birth-on, by completing this exclusive Personal Medical Record Journal. Although Electronic Health Records are the best, until HERs become available nationwide to all healthcare providers, this simplified & comprehensive family & medical history can be easily brought to your office for a quick review, avoiding any errors, omissions. It also includes information about prevention, adult vaccines and sample forms for Advance Care Planning & Organ Donation. Patients can buy this Personal Medical Record Journal for $12 from their Massage Therapist or directly from AMMN.
* For marketing or giving it as a Gift to your patients or loved-ones, you may wish to order bulk copies (min. 500 copies) of the Personal Medical Record Journal with Your name, address & tel. # or a special message printed on the front cover.
Healthcare Providers Referral Form
AMERICAN MEDICAL MASSAGE NETWORK
https://www.americanmedicalmassage.org
info@medicalmassagenetwork.org
Tel: 248-822-6000
Therapeutic Medical Massage Specialists:
Scope of Practice
The Scope of Practice for Medical or Rehabilitative Massage, delivered within the health care setting and massage in conjunction with specific athletic training protocols is as follows:
Massage Therapists develop, maintain, rehabilitate, or augment physical function; relieve or prevent physical dysfunction and pain; and enhance the well-being of the client.
Methods include assessment of the soft-tissue and joints, as well as treatment by soft-tissue manipulations, hydrotherapy, and client self-care programs.
Massage can help support stress management in clients who find themselves faced with extraordinary stress loads. If the person cannot alter the situation causing the dysfunctional stress, massage can be a way to ease physical stress and a beneficial coping measure when combined with other medical, behavioral and emotional coping techniques.
Massage does not deal directly with the physical, emotional or spiritual state contributing to the stress, rather, it supports the physical & mental systems so that the person can better withstand stress.
In most cases, Medical Massage Specialists must be monitored carefully and supervised by a healthcare professional, especially if the client is taking medications. In such cases massage intervention supports healthcare approaches; a comprehensive treatment and care plan is developed with massage therapy as one of the treatment approaches. Often massage is used primarily for palliative (comfort) care, and supervision by the primary health care professional is necessary.
The Medical Massage Specialists of AMMN Network are credentialed & evaluated for 3-Levels of expertise, depending upon their academic & practical training, experience, participation in Continuing Medical Education, and Research. They generally have additional training in Anatomy & Physiology, Pathology, Pharmacology, Psychology and Clinical Reasoning Skills, to be able to help integrate appropriate type of massage into an overall health care plan, which is shared with the healthcare provider who has referred the patient for massage therapy.
We also encourage Healthcare Providers and their staff members to experience a complimentary message, visit our facilities or invite Massage Therapists to their offices, and perhaps even allow them to shadow them to enhance their knowledge & clinical skills, for a better patient outcome.
Practice Settings:
Medical Massage Specialists practice in a broad range of inpatient, outpatient, and community-based settings, including the following:
• Hospital (e.g. critical care, intensive care, acute care, and sub-acute care settings)
• Outpatient clinics or offices
• Rehabilitation Facilities
• Skilled Nursing, extended care, or sub-acute facilities
• Patient’s Homes
• Education or Research Centers
• Schools & Playgrounds (pre-school, primary, and secondary)
• Hospices
• Corporate or Industrial Health Centers
• Industrial, workplace, or other occupational environments
• Athletic Facilities (Collegiate, amateur, and professional)
• Fitness Centers & Sports Training Facilities.
• Home (Own-home or Patient’s home)
In most cases, the Health Insurance Company or 3rd Party Payers pay the fee for massage when there is a referral from an approved healthcare provider.
If you could kindly provide us with the appropriate ICD-10 code on the script, it will be of great help, enabling the providers to invoice the 3rd party payers.
In case the patient does not have health insurance, or has insurance which does not allow massage therapy, the patient may have to pay the fee directly to the massage therapy provider.
o There is a question, or
o If I, as a healthcare provider, or one of our staff members wish to experience a massage, or
o We wish to offer ‘Shadowing a Healthcare Provider’ or ‘Clinical Skills’ to AMMN affiliates, or
o I wish to teach, offer seminars or workshops to the consumers or Massage Therapists
Please contact us with questions or comments using our convenient Contact Form. We appreciate your help.
ADVERTISING OPPORTUNITIES:
To support AMMN & Our Members, Please consider Advertising in our website and/or Magazine.
For the media-kit & advertising rates for Medical Massage Magazine, please click-here or contact info@americanmedicalmassage.org
Who is referring the patients to
Massage Therapists *
• 46% Patients had discussed massage therapy with their doctors or healthcare providers
• 47% of the doctors referred their patients or highly recommended them for a Therapeutic Massage
• 51% of the Chiropractors referred their patients to Massage Therapists
• 46% of Physical Therapists referred their patients for Massage.
65% of massage therapists received at least one referral every six months or less from a Hospital or a medical office in 2017.
* According to AMTA research 2019.
What is Medical Massage?
Therapeutic Medical Massage is the scientific art and system of assessment and systematic, manual application of a technique to the superficial soft-tissue of the skin, muscles, tendons, ligaments, and fascia, as well as to the structures that lie within the superficial tissue, by means of the hand, foot, knee, arm, elbow, and forearm.
The manual technique involves systematic application of touch, stroking (effleurage), friction, vibration, percussion, kneading (petrissage), stretching, compression, or passive & active joint movements with the normal physiologic range of motion.
Also included are adjunctive external applications of water, heat, and cold for the purpose of establishing and maintaining good physical conditions and health by normalizing and improving muscle tone, promoting relaxation, stimulating circulation, and producing therapeutic effects on the respiratory & nervous systems.
These intended effects are accomplished through the physiologic, energetic and mind/body connections in a safe, non-sexual environment that respects the client’s self-determined outcome for the session.
Find A Medical Massage Therapist In Your State.
Associate Business Membership
Healthcare Providers, Suppliers & Providers of services to the Massage Community and/or Consumers, can be a member of AMMN, as Associate Business Members.
• The Annual Membership Fee is $500.00
• There is no listing, but ABM are encouraged to buy a Banner Ad or an Ad in our web-pages for each state where you operate, and/or in our ‘Medical Massage bi-monthly magazine.
• Please complete the ABM membership form below.
• All rules, regulations and agreements of AMMN for regular membership also apply to Associate Business Membership.