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Medical Massage: The application of physical medicine
by a qualified massage therapist who practices in Accordance
with the standards of the American Medical Association, the
applied physical medicine being deemed medically necessary
and ordered by a Physician who has diagnosed the patient and
provided a treatment plan via prescription.
Definition
in a nut shell - The application of physical medicine
by a medically trained massage therapist working within the
guidelines set by the physician to assist with curative outcomes.
An
Overview of Qualifications for Practicing Medical Massage:
An appropriate internship in medical massage requires the
supervision and training in the areas of orthopedic evaluation,
curative physical medicine treatments, and the proper documentation
of treatments as proof that curative care has taken place.
An internship should also include education in the interpretation
of diagnosis (ICD) and procedure codes (CPT), and how ICD
codes direct while CPT codes reflect the time and course of
treatment.
To
learn more about the preparation and qualifications to be
nationally certified visit the Medical
Massage National Certification Board.
Why
is a prescription necessary to perform Medical Massage?
In order for Massage Therapists to state that they are treating
someone, they must first be able to legally determine what
it is that they are actually treating. Since it is beyond
Massage Therapists' scope of practice to diagnose, they must
work from a doctor's prescription if they are claiming to
treat a specific condition.
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