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Combining Massage Therapy & Opioids
- Victoria Zorich
- Mar 1, 2021
- 3 min read
Updated: May 5, 2021
Making people aware of the problem does not change the fact that people still need help managing chronic and debilitating pain.
When discussing the opioid epidemic the concern is almost always solely focused cost. Not just financial, but on the lives lost. What is not discussed is the role of patient demand for more comprehensive approaches to managing pain. Patients have a desire for alternatives to opioids and there are numbers to back this up. A 2019 Health Checkup Survey done by the Mayo Clinic recorded that 94% of the patients surveyed prefer an alternative to opioids, and many of which specifically mentioning massage and integrative therapies.
“Even when patients do need opioids, massage as a complementary therapy can be very beneficial,” explains M.D. Halena Gazelka, chair of the Mayo Clinic's Opioid Stewardship Program. In AMTA's May 2020 consumer survey, 72% participants noted they would likely return to the therapist they just saw for another treatment session. “Universally, the patients tell us that they find significant benefit—and many of them come to see our massage therapists as very important members of their treatment team, developing relationships with them as they do with their physicians and nurses.”
The role of Massage therapy in integrative health care is becoming more widely accepted by those in the medical field. As the evidence supporting the benefits massage therapy for many important patient health conditions, its inclusion as treatment and pain management grows.
In the 2019 Winter AMTA Massage Therapy Journal statistics showed that 46% of Physicians recommended massage to patients that had discussed the subject with them. This statistic also included Chiropractors at 51%.
“An integrative approach for chronic pain across various disciplines, utilizing one or more treatment modalities, is encouraged when clinically indicated to improve outcomes,” says Bruce Schoneboom, Ph.D., who currently serves on the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services National Advisory Council for Nursing Education and Practice and the HHS Inter-Agency Pain Management Best Practices Task Force.
When it comes to the treatment of clients, whether they have chronic pain or not, success also relies heavily on listening to the client. Cindy Steinberg, National Director of Policy and Advocacy for the U.S. Pain Foundation explains, “There is no one-size-fits-all when it comes to treatment for managing chronic pain. It is therefore important for the therapist to listen closely to their client’s description of their pain and response to the techniques tried.”
As with many people who deal with chronic health conditions, many if not most clients dealing with chronic pain are likely on at least one or more medications. It is pertinent that the massage therapists be aware of the medications being used and fully understand how they might impact a session. It is extremely important for the therapist to determine what the clients expectations are. Clients also need to briefed in terms of how much pain relief they should expect as well as if and when they should start seeing results.
“What I typically tell people living with pain is if you can get a 10%-20% reduction in your pain with a single treatment or activity limitation, and you find several treatments that give you this amount of relief, you can combine them and get a 40%-50% reduction in your pain," Steinberg says. "A 50 percent reduction in pain may mean the difference between staying at home or being able to go out and enjoy an evening with friends."
Steinberg suggests that the best practice is for health care providers to try non-pharmacological therapies and non-opioid pharmacological therapies when it comes to chronic pain before prescribing opioids, given the risks. “Integrative therapies, especially noninvasive therapies like massage therapy, have a potentially big role to play in helping manage chronic pain,” she says.
Health care providers approach to pain management needs to adapt and change. Either by adding non-pharmacological integrative therapies, like massage, into treatments before prescribing medication or mixing the two techniques. In Winter of 2019, AMTA Massage Therapy Journal surveyed that 70% of Americans believed massage should be considered a form of healthcare. And every day more research is being uncovered showing the benefits massage therapy has in the role of pain management. Now all we have to do is take the steps, work together, and listen to what those that are suffering need.
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