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Phoenix area residents speak out about massage therapy, medical insurance, and health care reform
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President Obama speaks on health care. AP Photo, Jason Reed pool
As health care reform is being debated in Congress, many Phoenix area residents feel that this is the time to speak out about the lack of medical insurance coverage in many valid fields of health care including medical massage therapy. In this second part of a special series on health care reform, medical insurance, and massage therapy, two local residents will share their story of how vital medical massage therapy has been in their lives and why they feel insurance companies should pay for this vital medical service.
Jen Scherr of Avondale, AZ suffers from Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome (EDS) and Chiari Malformation and spends over $3,000 per year on massage therapy. Jen says,
Massage therapy is one of the tools in my toolkit to help me manage my pain and lead a "normal" life. Unfortunately, EDS is a degenerative condition and continues to get worse. The use of massage therapy, along with pain medications and meditation, allows me to manage my pain better than before; which lets me have a somewhat active life. Since starting the weekly massage therapy sessions, I have been able to start hiking with my husband almost every weekend, my longest hike to date is 10 miles. I never thought I would be able to go that far, especially since it was not too long ago that I had to use a wheelchair to do anything that would have required me to be on my feet for any length of time.
Thanks to a cervical fusion with a chiari decompression and massage therapy after the surgery, I recovered amazingly well and my quality of life has improved. Unfortunately, I still have days where the pain is too much for me to be able to do anything, but those days have gotten to be less frequent since starting the weekly massage therapy sessions. Also, thanks to the weekly massage therapy sessions, I have not needed to increase my pain medications as often as I did before starting these sessions. I have even decreased the amount of the break though pain medication I need to manage the pain.
My doctor writes me a prescription to receive massage therapy since he recognizes the benefits I receive from it, but even with that my health insurance does not cover the charges, causing me to pay for my sessions out of pocket. This means that I have to cut back on other expenses to be able to afford the massage therapy, since without it my quality of life would decrease.
More information:
- Part I of Health Care Series
- Insurance pays for Vicodin but not real treatment
- Medical Massage
- Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome
In addition to being the Phoenix Massage Therapy Examiner, Steve Ibach is a licensed massage therapist and is nationally certified in therapeutic massage. Steve specializes in advanced medical massage therapy as well as Hawaiian Lomi Lomi massage which he studied on Maui, HI. Steve is also a fitness consultant and is currently writing a book on fitness and exercise. He is the owner of Hawaiian Experience Spa in Scottsdale, Arizona. Please contact the spa at 480-661-2991 if you would like to make an appointment with Steve or one of his therapists.
Important: All information and advice published by Steve is general in nature only and should not be used as specific medical advice. Always consult with a doctor for medical advice. All articles are copyrighted to Steve Ibach and may not be reproduced without his written consent.
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