American Massage Therapy Association^®

AMTA, IHPC Partner on Low Back Pain Conference

Evanston, IL – The Board of Directors of the American Massage Therapy Association (AMTA) has approved financial support for the Integrative Healthcare Policy Consortium (IHPC) to propose that the National Institutes of Health (NIH) hold a consensus conference on massage for low back pain. Through its involvement, AMTA seeks to improve the integration of massage therapy into a variety of settings, while creating better practice environments for massage therapists.

The proposal by IHPC is designed to move policy makers into action and will recommend the conference take place in 18 to 24 months.  The long term goal is a federal statement that indicates massage is effective for low back pain. 

If the conference goal is reached, AMTA believes Medicare and Medicaid may have enough data to justify the coverage of massage for low back pain.  “Because Medicare and Medicaid coverage influences what health insurance companies cover,” said Mary Beth Braun, President of AMTA.  “We hope in a not too distant future that massage for low back pain will be widely accepted by the healthcare community.”

It has been more than ten years since the National Institutes of Health (NIH) conducted a consensus development conference on treatments for chronic low back pain (LBP).  At that conference, the expert panel concluded that research supported the use of chiropractic care for LBP, but that too little evidence existed to assess whether massage was of benefit.

In the past seven years, a number of studies have indicated that massage is beneficial for people with chronic LBP.  Massage has been shown to reduce pain and increase functionality; and, it may decrease other medical costs for LBP.  While this research has been published in prominent peer-reviewed journals, and has been reviewed by the prestigious Cochrane Collaboration, it has not had the impact on policy that it should.

With more than 55,000 members, the American Massage Therapy Association works to serve its members and to advance the massage therapy profession through ethics and standards, public education, and promotion of fair and consistent licensing of massage therapists in all 50 states. The association is directed by a volunteer Board of Directors, chosen through a national election and helps consumers and healthcare professionals locate qualified massage therapists nationwide, through AMTA’s Find a Massage Therapist free national locator service available at www.findamassagetherapist.org.

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