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Medical Massage or Wellness Massage… The Difference Wellness Massage is great for relaxation, easing aches and pains, soothing tired muscles, improving circulation, and promoting a general sense of well being. It is commonly used with good results by those who are well and want to remain well. Wellness massage is paid for at the time of service by the client. It is usually booked in 60 or 90 minute increments for a whole-body treatment. Medical Massage is used to treat specific health conditions which are always diagnosed by your family physician or specialist. They are typically associated with a diagnosis directed at scoliosis, adaptive myofascial shortening injuries, joint replacement, back pain, stroke victims, cancer patients, etc. and focus on three areas of the body (torso, upper extremities and lower extremities). In all cases, a prescription is required from a physician and only those areas identified by your physician are treated. In many cases, a Medical Massage could possibly be covered by your personal insurance. Benefits of a Medical Massage If recovering from soft tissue injuries or other conditions involving muscle tissue, a medical massage is worth considering and will be beneficial. We commonly see patients recovering from automobile accidents in which they suffered whiplash or other sprain/strain injuries of the torso, arms, and legs. We also treat patients recovering from surgeries, sports injuries, carpal tunnel syndrome, thoracic outlet syndrome, scoliosis, and fibromyalgia, to name just a few. Expectations from a Medical Massage During your first session, your condition will be evaluated. We will assess through palpation as well as by using a series of range-of-motion tests in which we will be looking for your passive (we move the muscle groups for you), active (you move the muscles yourself), and resisted (you move the muscles against resistance) range of motion. We will check for symptoms or conditions, known as contraindications (something (as a symptom or condition) that makes a particular treatment or procedure inadvisable) for medical massage, assess your stage of healing, and formulate a plan of care based on the diagnoses your physician has given, the physician's orders, and the findings of the evaluation. At your first visit, you will also fill out paperwork relating to your case and your insurance information. Following the evaluation, you will probably receive a treatment. Depending on your stage of healing and your physician's prescription, this may consist of regular massage, the application of hot or cold packs, trigger point therapy, assisted stretching, muscle-energy techniques, strain-counter strain therapy, or other manual therapies. Receiving a Medical Massage and Physical Therapy Simultaneous therapy is a common medical practice. It has been found that doing them together generates the most improvement and speeds up recovery. This is ultimately up to your physician. Just be cautious that your Physical Therapy appointments are not on the same day as your medical massage appointments, or your insurance company may choose to not pay for one or the other, and it may be several months of regular treatment before you find out your insurance company won't pay. Insurance Reimbursement Plain and simple, coverage and reimbursement is determined by your insurance carrier. All automobile accident insurance policies are required to pay for what your doctor finds medically necessary. This is called Personal Injury Protection. Some other types of policies will also pay for medical massage. We would be happy to call your insurer and find out about yours for you if you would like. Code of Ethics Followed In Their Entirety We believe in, and follow a strict code of ethics from Medical Massage training. Length of treatment is determined by the areas diagnosed by you for treatment. On each date of service, a maximum of two physical medicine Current Procedural Terminology (CPT) procedures (15 minutes each) per body area, with a maximum of four total CPT codes per date of service, may be billed to insurance. The three body areas that are considered industry standard for physical medicine billing are the axial skeleton, torso, upper and lower extremities. Four total CPT codes would require that a minimum of two or more body areas are diagnosed to be treated. If three body areas are diagnosed for treatment, the maximum CPT usage is still limited to four. If we are given four diagnosis codes, but all of them are in the axial skeleton, the patient is still allowed only two CPT codes per date of service. This is also why it is inadvisable for the patient to see us and the physical therapist on the same day. Note: If we achieve Maximum Medical Improvement (MMI) for that day of service before the allotted time allowed by the Medical Massage standards, we will go with the lesser time instead. |