Massage Therapy: Economy Causing a Priority Shift
Does today's troubled economy mean fewer massage therapy clients? Here's what you can do about it.
by Nicole Cutler, L.Ac.
Whether years of easy credit, a highly inflated real estate market, faulty economic policies or banking institutions devoid of capital are to blame, our current financial crisis affects everyone. Even if you don't depend on investments, lines of credit or banks for sustenance, the domino effect of what has been likened to the greatest economic recession since the Great Depression will eventually impact all healthcare professionals, including massage therapists. Recognizing how this dramatic change in our economy will affect consumers and businesses will get you thinking about plans for safeguarding your career.
Published in the November 2008 edition of Massage Today, Ralph Stevens, B.S., LMT, NCTMB gives us some insight into the big financial picture in his article Economic Crisis: Be Aware: Get Prepared. As Stevens describes, "Many businesses and industries have run aground because they had the wrong perception of their place and purpose in the market, especially during times of economic change and crisis. For example, at one time railroad companies thought they were in the railroad business. They didn't realize until it was almost too late that they were really in the transportation business. Once they adapted to that larger paradigm, the ones that survived did much better.
In the example Stevens lays out, the way to outsmart a seemingly dismal trend is to figure out what the consumer is looking for. When it comes to the railroad business, people were not particular about riding a train - they just wanted the best deal for getting where they wanted to go. By transposing this perspective on the massage therapy profession, it appears that people will not be particular about receiving massage - as long as they get the best deal for their desired wellness objective.
For all but the wealthiest families, finding the least expensive option for health and wellness will become increasingly common. In times of financial stress, a preferred modality for health maintenance or prevention emerges as less critical than its effect. Thus, choosing massage therapy, acupuncture, chiropractic, reiki or nutritional support for achieving a goal will depend on the bottom line - which therapy delivers results for the least amount of money. Hence, the most cost-effective therapies will dominate complementary and alternative healthcare.
If you can demonstrate that massage's expense will save your clients money in the long run, your position in a consumer's budget moves from luxury to prudent buy. Prior to the explosion of massage therapy studies proving the therapeutic applicability of bodywork, massage was often considered a luxury. Unfortunately, those who have not kept up with recently published research may not be aware of massage's medical value. Because luxuries are first to be axed out of a strained budget, relaxation-based massage sessions may be considered an excessive expenditure of cash for those who don't know about its potential influence on their health. However, massage therapists who educate people on the value of their work and promote the cost-effectiveness of their treatments will benefit most from today's financial crunching.
Sparing those covered by a few honorable insurance companies, most American consumers bear the entire cost of complementary therapies out-of-pocket. Even though massage therapy makes an ideal candidate for cost savings due to its avoidance of high technology and reliance on the body's natural ability to heal itself, there is little conclusive evidence demonstrating its cost-effectiveness over traditional medical approaches. However, there are a couple of exceptions.
1. Post-surgery - Published in the May/June 2007 edition of Clinical Nurse Specialist: The Journal for Advanced Nursing Practice, a study of cardiac surgery patients found that massage therapy improved client's mobility post-surgery by:
· decreasing pain
· reducing stress
· increasing overall sense of well-being
The authors concluded that massage therapy was cost-effective due to the consequences of increased mobility - namely by enhancing the patient's motivation to get well, which sped up the patient's safe dismissal from the hospital. Although the application of this study first appears narrow, it can open up many opportunities for promoting massage therapy's cost-effectiveness by reducing reliance on expensive Western medical treatments or facilities.
2. Back pain - Published in the June 2003 edition of the Annals of Internal Medicine, researchers evaluated the effectiveness, safety and costs of the most popular complementary and alternative medical therapies used to treat back pain. Although categorized as just a preliminary conclusion, the investigating team found that massage therapy, but not acupuncture or spinal manipulation, was able to reduce the cost of care after only one therapeutic session. This information is extremely valuable to those suffering with back pain. Since one or several massages could help back pain just as much or more than a full, costly series of a different modality, consumers are likely to recognize massage therapy as the more affordable choice.
With so much uncertainty and fear about the economy, it's easy to panic that your regulars might become less regular and that new clients will be harder to find. However, by understanding why your services would become even more attractive during this global financial hardship, you can begin your campaign to educate consumers and businesses. Once people understand that massage therapy will reduce their overall health expenditures, your services are sure to be a priority in an increasing number of household and corporate budgets.
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References:
http://www.annals.org/cgi/content/abstract/138/11/898, A Review of the Evidence for the Effectiveness, Safety, and Cost of Acupuncture, Massage Therapy, and Spinal Manipulation for Back Pain, Daniel C. Cherkin, PhD, et al, Retrieved October 29, 2008, Annals of Internal Medicine, June 2003.
http://www.massagetoday.com/mpacms/mt/article.php?id=13886, Economic Crisis: Be Aware, Get Prepared, Ralph Stephens, BS, LMT, NCTMB, Retrieved October 29, 2008, Massage Today, November 2008.
http://www.nursingcenter.com/prodev/ce_article.asp?tid=719639, Massage Therapy: A Comfort Intervention for Cardiac Surgery Patients, Patrica G. Anderson, MS, RN, et al, Retrieved October 29, 2008, Clinical Nurse Specialist: The Journal for Advanced Nursing Practice, May/June 2007.
http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/articlerender.fcgi?artid=1182346, Is complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) cost-effective? a systematic review, Patricia M Herman, et al, Retrieved October 29, 2008, BMC Complementary and Alternative Medicine, June 2005.