Insurance and the Initial Treatment

Roughly three quarters of individuals who frequent massage therapy do so through their extended health coverage. 

There are a variety of companies and just as many policy types.

Massage therapy is a common coverage, but it is not a basic service. It is advised that the potential client find out what the parameters of their coverage are before the first appointment. For example, a doctor’s prescription may be needed for the insurance company to reimburse the funds. Depending on  the coverage, individual and group plans vary.

The wide span of different coverages typically range anywhere from $300 per month to $1200. Other specifications include a percentage maximum. For example, an insurance company claim may only cover 80%. That means that for a $75.00 treatment, the insurance company will reimburse the client $60.

A commonly seen insurance coverage, Medavie Blue Cross, includes the convenience of the direct billing option. With the insurance card in hand, the therapist can log on to the computer and file the treatment immediately after the appointment.

The computer work is done in just minutes and eliminates the step of mailing the receipt for reimbursement. Ask your therapist if this service is offered.

With the clarity of the individual’s insurance policy, the completion of the health history form and assessments, the therapist will show the client to the treatment room.

Prior to the treatment, the positions and sequence of the massage will be agreed upon. 

The therapist leaves treatment room to wash their hands as the client gets undressed and onto the massage table. There is a top sheet and a bottom sheet for the privacy of the client.

Returning to the treatment room, the therapist will knock before entering and only uncovers what area of the body to be treated.  Placement of pillows will add comfort to the client as well.

An invitation to stop, change or modify any parts of the treatment is a responsibility of the therapist.

The beginning of the session generally is lighter, to warm up the tissue and get the client accustom to the therapists’ touch. If deeper techniques are performed without this step, the tissue itself will often either kick back or tighten up to prevent what the tissue senses as potential damage.

Once the deeper techniques are being used, a check in on the client to see if the pressure is satisfactory will help the therapist gauge whether or not to modify at that point. Clients are encouraged to speak up and express if the pressure is preferred or not.

The treatment will end with more subtle techniques again, allowing the body to cool down. After the treatment, the therapist leaves the treatment room to wash their hands and allows privacy for the client to get dressed.

Prior to the client leaving the clinic, the RMT will instruct on some useful stretching and exercise to enhance the therapy and the recuperation of the body.

Call the toll free number located on your insurance card to discover what your coverage is. Invest some time for yourself and book a massage appointment today.

Before the Table: Assessments

Massage therapy appointments can be generalized into two types; relaxation and therapeutic.

For a therapeutic massage treatment there is a bit more work to do before getting on the table. With the health history form complete, the therapist is then ready to start the investigation. This is done by a collection of the health history information, the interview process between client and therapist, and assessments, or tests.

Assessments are the foundation of the treatment process. It creates a guideline for tracking progress in the series of treatments for a specific condition. RMTs run tests to seek out what is going on to create the symptoms at hand. It is mostly like a process of elimination. Doctors are trained to assess as well as interpret laboratory tests and x-rays, and therefore diagnose conditions, RMTs are not.

Clients should be made aware of the general type of test they will do. This will allow an opportunity for the client to better understand the condition, there for allowing a more active role in the recovery process.

As mentioned before, the findings during the assessment phase do not permit the RMT to diagnose a condition. RMT’s don their investigative hat. They are trained to perform orthopaedic tests and interpret them. Even if a client arrives at an initial appointment with a diagnosis from a doctor, the therapist will likely want to run a few tests as well. This allows the discovery of what is potentially creating the problem and highlight other structures involved. The symptom area may not be the same area as the root of the problem. The therapist may treat both areas, or only focus on one.

Patience with the work at the assessment portion of the hour (or half hour) will make for the appropriate treatment. If the issue being addressed through massage therapy requires a series of appointments, the original assessments will serve as a reference point to chart progress further down the road. Reassessment after a series of appointments is good practice as well. This is a great way for the RMT to gage the productivity of the treatment plan and gives a chance for the client to see the positive effects (or otherwise) of the therapy.

The assessments vary with therapists regarding the amount, type and frequency of the tests. For example, one therapist may seek what they are looking for by a manual tests and another RMT might find what clues they need by simply looking at the structures of the body. The issue presented by the client will have an influence on which tests to perform.

It is ideal for the therapist to incorporate this foundational step into the first treatment and charge accordingly. If in doubt, ask the therapist if it is part of the hour, half hour, etc. Just as with the health history form, a solid understanding of the situation resulting in an efficient approach to the speed and accuracy of the recovery. 

Observe your body today and seek massage therapy to ease those aches and pains.

Worth the Work; Health History Forms

Our world is overrun with paper and many a tree has met an untimely end for a few moments of printed glory, only to be glanced at then merely tossed away.

Health history forms are worth the paper and they are worth the work.


Correctly filling out the health history, also termed client intake form or case history, is one use of paper that is worth its weight in gold. It is an important first step for an effective massage appointment. The initial interview between client and therapist can be very productive providing that the form is filled out in its entirety.

Honestly checking off diabetes, for example, would lead to the trained therapist to ask specific questions regarding the client’s history with the disease. A common side effect for diabetes is experiencing altered sensations in certain areas of the body. Those areas would then be treated with due caution and modifications would be made accordingly.

Another important section of the health history is the area to list medication use. In some instances there is a temptation to omit prescriptions. This is unwise. Being honest and upfront about which pills are being taken is very important for the best interest of the client’s health and the productivity of the treatment.

There may also be a tendency not to mention a drug in efforts to keep a condition private. A registered massage therapist is well educated in how to alter massage techniques to accommodate drugs in all of the systems of the body.

For example, there is a need for alterations in a massage treatment when a client is taking pain medication. In this case, the therapist’s pressure must be altered to ensure a healthy response from the tissues. If during a treatment the client is enjoying deep techniques, and the therapist is unaware of any pain killers, it is likely that the tissue may experience local trauma. The effectiveness of the drug may very well be disguising this local disturbance in the body. This could further impair the healing process for the original complaint as well as create further destruction to the system. In the days to follow the client could have likely have additional discomfort.

A prescription for mental illness is a commonly left out drug on the health history form. These conditions are very common and every client should be aware that massage therapists are strictly guided in maintaining high confidentiality concerning a client’s personal information. If a therapist is in breach of this standard please contact either of the two provincial associations to report any concerns.

Being as thorough and honest as possible while filling out a health history form is a wise first step in getting a treatment off to a good start. A more efficient beginning to massage sessions leads to a more productive set of appointments, naturally leading to an appropriate use of the client’s funds and ultimately a timely recovery.

Put good use to the paper in the yellow pages to find a massage therapist and book an appointment today.

Massage therapy in New Brunswick

In New Brunswick, massage therapy is making a move in the right direction as a health care profession. In 2004 massage therapy became recognized as a medical service under motor vehicle insurance policies, a positive step toward legislation in the province. Two associations are working together to ensure upcoming legislation to regulate the profession and the organizers are optimistic it will occur within the next couple of years.


Legislation is vital for all health care professions, as this serves as protection for the public where any issues should arise concerning the integrity of the professional or any treatment. As it stands today, any individual qualified or not, is able to set up a clinic and advertise as a massage therapist. The associations are working against this occurrence, but are not able to enforce a regulation without the law to protect it. Having legislation in place will eliminate the option for any unqualified individual to lead a client into a treatment that could potentially harm that client.

Stress reduction and relaxation are two very common goals for massage treatments, but these are merely the tip of the iceberg. It would be a more specific list to name the conditions for which massage would not be advised. High fevers, communicable diseases and advanced kidney failure are but a few. An educated therapist would know not to treat a person with such conditions which when combined with massage may put the client in danger.

The education standards in our province strictly follow those of Ontario, a province legislated since 1991. The minimum 2200-hour college certificate offers thorough training which covers extensive study of human anatomy, physiology, biology, pathology, neurology and pharmacology as well as practical courses, student clinic and community outreaches.

Massage therapy is suitable for all ages, ranging from pregnancy massage to geriatric massage. Additional training courses are plentiful and in fact are mandated by both associations.

In keeping with all health care professions, massage therapy is generally available during regular business hours. Some therapists opt to offer appointments after hours, in evenings and sometimes early mornings. Employers are encouraged to see massage appointments as productive absences from work. Visits are scheduled one client at a time so waits in the sitting room are short and minimal.

Most extended health care plans cover massage therapy. Depending on the insurance company and therapist, direct billing is a convenient payment method. Some health care plans require a doctor’s prescription before the initial treatment, others do not. The individual can contact their insurance provider for clarification. For motor vehicle accidents, a doctor’s prescription is a must.

The web site for the Association of New Brunswick Massage Therapists is www.anbmt.com and for the New Brunswick Massotherapy Association is www.nbma-amnb.ca . Readers are invited to visit these sites to seek a therapist in their area and enjoy a massage today.

A New View in the Valley

Carleton County is well supplied with registered massage therapists. This is great news for a potential client .Unlike other health care providers, there are options with selecting the right fit of therapist. Currently there are almost a dozen RMTs in the valley, from Florenceville to Woodstock. One could say that this is a competitive market. The reality is that competition in the valley is more related to tolerant individuals who accept chronic pain, a lack of awareness about the wide variety of applications of massage therapy and of course the reliance on pain medications.


Through this blog the intention has been set to broaden the understanding of the scope of the profession; the variety of treatments offered with massage, the conditions treatable, the therapists in the region and their specialties as well as answers to common questions and curiosities.


The history books reference massage in society in China as early as 3000 BC. More recently, during World War 1, soldiers suffering from shell shock were treated with massage. Eventually, massage lost its reputation from the deplorable image with the use of “massage parlours”. Leading in alternative therapies, massage therapy is making a reputable return to health care.


Combating stress through relaxation is best associated with massage therapy. A general treatment offers many rewards; relaxing tense muscles, renewing energy levels, increasing circulation,thus improving the immune system and aiding in removing toxins and waste products from the tissues. In combination with these benefits massage helps in restoring a calm mind and feeling of well-being.


Beyond pampering and relaxation, registered massage therapists are trained to understand, assess and treat symptoms of many conditions. It is important to note that within the scope of massage therapy, RMTs are not permitted to diagnose conditions.


Among the more common conditions are musculoskeletal injuries such as scar tissue or whiplash, overuse injuries such as tendinitis or frozen shoulder, postural dysfunction such as scoliosis, joint dysfunction such as degenerative disc disease, conditions of the central nervous system such as multiple sclerosis and conditions of the peripheral nervous system such as nerve lesions or carpal tunnel syndrome.


Of symptoms of conditions somewhat less commonly understood to be treatable by massage are respiratory pathologies such as sinusitis or asthma, circulatory pathologies such as hypertension or gastrointestinal concerns such as constipation or inflammatory bowel disease. Fibromyalgia, diabetes mellitus, cancer – the long list goes on.


When seeking a RMT, prospective clients are suggested to ask what to expect during the session, if the therapists has treated the condition or complaint, if a receipt can be issued for insurance reimbursement, and if the therapist belongs to a provincial association.


Set sail for a journey through the vast and infinite sea on the particulars of therapeutic massage. In the weeks to come, enjoy a regular commentary on a wide variety of topics – from conditions to techniques, history and movement of the profession.


What is happening in our region concerning massage therapy? Curious? Find out first hand and book an appointment today.