What is an Evidenced-Based Massage Practice? The typical massage office, that most people think of, is what would be considered a Wellness based practice. This means that clients come in to receive various massage modalities to maintain their overall health, rather than to address a specific concern.
Most wellness based massage therapists do treat acute injuries or stubborn, specific complaints brought up by their clients. The difference is more in the treatment and what to expect from a session. Wellness sessions are generally 60 or 90 minutes, and they are less frequent. An evidence based massage practitioner, however, will determine the length and number of sessions based on outcomes desired.
An outcome based massage therapist uses a systematic approach to provide an intervention, with the goal of achieving a specified outcome, tailored to the client/patient. In this type of clinic, there are goals, benchmarks, evidence of improvement, and the patient is involved in the process. For these reasons, most insurance pays, or reimburses for things such as an auto accident. Medical massage therapists are trained in documenting cases to show the efficacy of the treatments.
At New Beginnings Massage and Wellness, LLC, and specifically New Beginnings Medical Massage and New Beginnings Performance, our therapists are all medical massage certified. Dawn focuses her medical massage training on helping with post surgical clients and lymphatic and gut issues. John focuses his medical massage training on helping those involved in auto accidents, post injury, workers compensation, and general athletic performance issues.
John and Dawn also love to work with your medical provider to achieve the outcome you are looking for. That’s where the medical massage certification stands us apart from the average wellness massage office. Your health and recovery is a team effort to get you back to your optimal function. Your provider can also rest assured that we will not perform any techniques that will hinder your improvement, as we have received special training.
Our offices do not accept insurance, but we do follow the evidence and outcome based guidelines that your insurance providers look for. By providing you and your insurance provider with appropriate documentation, your likelihood of reimbursement is higher. We have not had one turned down yet, but check for yourself as to what they will pay and what they require.