April 2003 [Volume 2, Issue 4]
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In this issue of To Your Health:
Massage in the Classroom
"Children who massage one another do not fight!" says Rolf Elmstrom, who helped coordinate the ongoing "Massage at Preschools and Schools" program by the Axelsons Gymnastiska Institute in Stockholm, Sweden. The following are excerpts from his article on this program:
"We
felt it important to spread this knowledge, particularly to young people,
and therefore we started at kindergartens. We have trained about 8,000
teachers throughout Sweden in the past five years. Every day, we hear
reports of what a great difference massage makes in the children's groups:
children become calmer and less aggressive; fight less; can concentrate
more easily; develop more empathy; and learn to say no to unwanted physical
contact.
The following are comments from children involved in our program:
- 7-year-old girl: "The autumn term was good because we started massaging each other."
- 9-year-old boy: "This is life!"
- 9-year-old girl: "When my father is angry, I give him massage and then he is not angry anymore."
And here is a teacher's comment after taking our course: 'This is the best further-training course I have been on, and I have been on many. Since I took this course, the children in my class have had 20 minutes every day to massage one another. The first term the children practised together with me, but now they work two-and two in their own rhythm directly at their desks.'
The Axelsons Institute organizes courses for all people who work with children. The purpose of these courses is to provide the theoretical knowledge and practical skills needed to introduce massage in schools. The courses include elementary massage; how to massage; the strokes used; where and when not to massage; how often you can massage; etc. Course participants learn how to give and receive whole-body massage and massage sitting on a chair; how to massage children and how to teach children to massage one another; and how to integrate massage into everyday schoolwork."
So, who needs massage? Everyone! If you don't regularly receive massage from a qualified professional, schedule an appointment with one today. To locate a massage therapist in your area who can provide you with more information on the benefits of massage, go to www.massagetoday.com/locator. To learn about some of the many different forms of massage therapy, go to www.massagetoday.com/aboutmt.
Reference: Massage at preschools and schools: "Children who massage one another do not fight!" Massage Today, April 2003:3(4), p1. www.massagetoday.com/archives/2003/04/04.html.
Does Your Insurance Plan Cover Massage?
Does your health insurance include coverage for massage therapy? More and more insurers are doing so, and those that aren't are facing tough consequences. Take for example Group Health Cooperative, a Seattle, Washington-based insurance provider, which recently settled a class-action lawsuit by agreeing to reimburse members for money spent on visits to massage therapists, acupuncturists and naturopaths from June 1996 - December 2002. Members will be reimbursed for the full amount paid per visit during that time period (minus an $8.65 copayment).
The settlement stems from a class-action lawsuit that accused Group Health of illegally requiring that members exhaust medical treatment before receiving treatment from massage therapists and other alternative care providers. Washington's 1996 "Every Category of Provider" law requires insurers to cover services provided by all of the state's licensed categories of health care providers on an equal basis.
Group Health touts itself as "The nation's second largest consumer-governed, nonprofit health care system," providing coverage for approximately 585,000 of the state's nearly 6 million residents. It is the third major insurer to settle following alleged violations of the 1996 law, joining Premera Blue Cross, which settled for $2.9 million, and Regence Blue Shield, which settled for $30.4 million. In a prepared statement, Group Health noted that it would be making changes to its alternative care benefits "similar to those made by [the] other insurers."
Find out if your insurance provider covers massage, and what the law in your state says about it. Millions of people believe in the value of massage — does your insurance company? If they do cover massage, let them know how much you appreciate it ... and if they don't, ask them why, and let them know you want it covered in the future.
Reference: Ensuring Equal Access to Massage: Washington's "Every Category of Provider" Law Upheld Again. Massage Today, April 2003:3(4), p.1. www.massagetoday.com/archives/2003/04/01.html.
This Month's Massage Q & A
Question: I am in school to become a massage therapist and I am interested in sports massage. How can I get into the business (and what do I need to know) before I graduate?
Answer: My suggestion would be to go to the coaches of local high-school teams (or college, if there is one near you that doesn't have an athletic trainer program) and offer to help out for free. As for what you will need to know, it depends on how much your school focuses on sports massage. You will learn most of what you need to know by doing it.
Question: I'm a massage student who aspires to work with kids with disabilities. What disabilities benefit from massage?
Answer: In some sense, all disabilities do, in that massage therapy reduces stress and stress-related hormone production. Some disabilities may benefit more specifically from muscle work than others. It's much too complex a field to give specific details here, but I suggest you check out a massage research Web site such as www.miami.edu/touch-research for a start.
Note: Information provided in the Massage Q & A section is drawn from comments posted on the "Ask a Massage Therapist" forum, where massage therapist James (Doc) Clay fields questions on the profession. The forum is located at www.massagetoday.com/ask/.
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