Starting September 2002, FirstHealth of Andover's professional staff have announced they will be team-teaching at Merrimack College North Andover, Massachusetts. This full-semester course is entitled “Integrative Approaches to Sports Medicine.”

This is an exciting opportunity for everyone at FirstHealth. This multi-disciplinary healthcare clinic is in a position to help educate future practitioners about Complimentary Medicine and how and when to apply some of the different modalities offered.

While preparing some massage therapy statistics, some interesting facts  were discovered relating to how massage therapy is becoming mainstreamed in the United States. According to the Associated Bodywork and Massage Professionals founded in 1987 with over 38,000 members, “there are over 140,000 trained therapists providing massage and bodywork in the United States. Over 950 state-approved schools (14% more schools that there were two years ago), provide massage and bodywork training. Consumers receive over 80,000,000 sessions annually, for which they pay more that $4 billion.” Gee, I knew I was busy!

According to an American Massage Therapy Association survey, 17% of American adults had a massage in the past year, twice as many as in 1997. Of these, only about 35% are feeling needy for medical reasons; most of them want to relax, relieve stress, and pamper themselves.¹

But for many, massage is not simply about paying someone to help them relax. It’s about maintaining their health. Massage has long been part of the treatment for muscular and arthritic conditions, sports injuries and chronic pain. Prenatal and infant massage are also catching on and a rape-crisis center in North Carolina even offers massage or “safe touch” as part of its therapy. ²

How much difference does massage make to your physical well being? The National Institutes of Health is currently funding three studies trying to quantify the medical benefits. And in March the White House Commission on Complementary and Alternative Medicine Policy released a paper calling for more research into massage and more public education on massage.³

“People don’t touch that much. They’re watching TV or on the computer,” says Dr. Paul Schwinghamer, a chiropractor and owner of a massage school in Los Angeles. “It’s one of those things you don’t really notice that you need. But nine times out of 10, after a massage, you think, ‘I should be doing this more often.” ⁴

(1,2,3,4; Time Magazine, “Massage goes Mainstream” July 29, 2002 Vol. 160 No. 5)