Pulse Legacy Archive January / February 2012 | Page 60

ASK THE EXPERT Barbara Thomley continued How effective was massage therapy in providing: ● STRESS RELIEF: 76% Very Effective ● RELAXATION: 82% Very Effective ● PAIN RELIEF: 64% Very Effective and 31% Somewhat Effective ● GENERAL FEELING OF WELLNESS: 82% Very Effective 5. What can the spa industry do to help medical professionals embrace Complementary Alternative Medicine? Share the results of studies such as this (and nine others) done at Mayo Clinic and other reputable academic centers with spa professionals and their clients. This “grassroots” approach can help build the critical mass needed to help shift our national thinking away from investing all of our medical resources into fixing things when they are broken—and starting to emphasize keeping people healthy in the first place. 6. What other opportunities do you see for spa professionals to serve recovering patients? Knowledge! Spa professionals generally recognize the deleterious effects of stress. Sharing that knowledge and the growing scientific research on the effects of stress with clients can help them start to discover the importance of managing stress and the value of modalities such as massage, meditation or similar services offered at many spas. COMMENTS FROM PATIENTS 4. As far as integrating spa concepts into conventional medicine is concerned, what do you see are the challenges in this area? A major hurdle is the current payment structure for medical care in the United States. Most consumers are accustomed to having most (or all) of their health care costs covered by insurance (whether from their employer or from a government program). The concept that we should invest personally in our health is still an emerging understanding for many people. Since a financially strapped medical system is unlikely to soon embrace adding coverage for modalities like massage, it is going to require a shift in thinking for more and more people to see the value of massage, and then be willing to invest in obtaining massage on a regular basis. 58 PULSE ■ January/February 2012 “My pain was reduced by my massage, it helped more so than that of my pain medications.” “This is a wonderful hands-on therapy that benefits the patient emotionally and physically.” “This is an excellent complement to the standard health care provided by the doctors and nurses.”