Massage News for Today's MT - Massage Magazine

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This selection of massage news articles will help you keep on top of what’s happening in the massage therapy industry​

New Cancer-Care Guidelines Recommend Massage​

Guidelines related specifically to cancer pain, created by the American Society of Clinical Oncology and the Society for Integrative Oncology, recommend the integrative therapies of massage, acupressure, reflexology, yoga and acupuncture to address pain at various states of cancer treatment.

Of massage, the guidelines state: “Massage may be recommended to patients experiencing pain during palliative or hospice care. These recommendations are based on an intermediate level of evidence, benefit outweighing risk, and with moderate strength of recommendation. The quality of evidence for other mind-body interventions or natural products for pain is either low or inconclusive. There is insufficient or inconclusive evidence to make recommendations for pediatric patients.”

Read the full report here.​

7: The number of studies funded over the next three years that will explore myofascial pain syndrome, as part of the National Institutes of Health Helping to End Addiction Long-term Initiative (NIH HEAL). Source: heal.nih.gov.​

Long COVID Symptoms Include Muscle Aches​

An estimated 16 million people ages 18 to 65 in the U.S. suffer from symptoms related to COVID-19 infection, even months after falling ill, according to the U.S. Census Bureau, which added questions about Long COVID to its Household Pulse Survey, providing new data about the prevalence of Long COVID. Those symptoms include fatigue, headache, insomnia and muscle aches, any of which could bring some COVID survivors to massage.

These are the most common symptoms reported by Long-COVID sufferers two months into their recovery, according to the study “Characterizing long Covid in an international cohort: 7 months of symptoms and their impact,” by Davis et al., 2021. Access the full study here.

66: Percent of U.S. adults age 50-80 who have used integrative medicine, including chiropractic, yoga—and massage, at 41%.​

-Source: University of Michigan National Poll on Healthy Aging, July/Aug 2022.

$1.92 Million Gift Funds Pediatric Pain Research​

At Children’s Hospital Los Angeles, the Pain Management Clinic led by Jeffrey I. Gold, PhD, has developed integrative medicine practices as complements to medication to help children better manage the anxiety and pain and anxiety related to treatment or surgery.

Now this pioneering research is getting a boost: “The Carl F. Braun Trust has awarded Gold’s lab $1.92 million to support research on the evaluation of pediatric integrative medicine services as non-medication treatments for pain, according to a press release from the hospital.

“The gift will fund a three-year study to measure the impact of integrative health services for children suffering from acute and chronic pain, as well as for children receiving palliative care,” said the release. “Gold’s team will engage yoga and massage therapists, as well as a mindfulness practitioner, and will increase the service hours of acupuncture and biofeedback specialists in the clinic.

Using a variety of health outcome markers, the researchers will measure how various combinations of integrative practices affect children’s pain, anxiety, sleep, and quality of life.

There’s a New Franchise in Town​

Squeeze massage franchise company is now open in Studio City, California; Scottsdale, Arizona; and Nashville, Tennessee, with plans to launch up to 20 more locations in 2023, according to Squeeze co-founder and CEO Brittany Driscoll.

“The feel-good Revolution is one of our core values at Squeeze and is really the heartbeat of everything that we do—not only for our guests but for our team members as well,” said Driscoll. “It’s really about how we make each other feel and focusing on the human side of our business. We built our massage suites with massage therapists in mind—we even have extra padding in the carpets—so they can perform their job to the best of their ability.

The franchise offers competitive compensation, health benefits, paid vacation, growth opportunities, an annual stipend toward specialized training, flexible schedules, free monthly massages, a transparent feedback system and off-site team-building events, Driscoll said. The company’s massage therapists are hired as employees.

Squeeze guests can choose the Mid Squeeze, a 50-minute table massage, which costs $109, or the Main Squeeze, an 80-minute table massage, which costs $139. The company offers memberships at $119 per month called Pay-Per-Squeeze. Every session includes deep tissue, heat therapy, percussion therapy and aromatherapy at no additional charge.

Read “Massage Franchises Offer Benefits, Bonuses and New Company Cultures in Response to Labor Shortage.”​

Is Aromatherapy an Alternative to Opioids?​

A new study indicates the use of a lavender-and-peppermint aromatherapy patch that slowly releases essential oils reduced anxiety—and resulted in 50% lower opioid use in the first 48 hours after hip-replacement surgery.

The study by researchers at the University of Pittsburgh is one of the first to employ a randomized, placebo-controlled design to look at whether aromatherapy reduces anxiety. Those in the placebo group wore a patch that emitted sweet almond oil (an oil not credited with anxiety-lowering qualities).

“Our results suggest that, by controlling anxiety, aromatherapy can help control pain and reduce opioid consumption,” the researchers concluded, in a press release from the European Society of Anaesthesiology and Intensive Care. “This is important, given the established role of the use of opioids in surgical patients in the overall opioid crisis in the US.”

Work At Woodhouse When You Want​

Massage therapists can now select open shifts at Woodhouse Spa locations nationwide.

To plug gaps in the labor market, Woodhouse Spas’ 75-plus locations across 22 states are offering available shifts to local, licensed massage, esthetician, cosmetology and nail tech providers via the Soothe platform. These providers are engaged as independent contractors, according to a Soothe spokesperson.

Recent data from the International Spa Association (ISPA) indicated that 58% of current spa-goers visited a spa for the first time ever in the past two years, and 39% of spa-goers reported that they visit the spa more often now than before the pandemic, according to a Soothe press release.

“Yet [ISPA’s] 2022 U.S. Spa Industry Study estimated that there are currently 45,000 job vacancies across the spa industry, including 29,000 for massage therapist positions, compared to 17,310 massage therapist position vacancies in 2019,” the release noted.

Download MTF’s Ergonomics Report​

The Massage Therapy Foundation’s (MTF) “Ergonomics Project: Phase One Report” offers information on keeping your body in alignment and your practice of massage sustainable. Download it here.

Read “Can the Right Ergonomics Really Extend Your Career?” by the MTF’s Marla M. Gamze and Geri Ann Nelson.​

About the Author​

Karen Menehan is MASSAGE Magazine’s editor in chief–print and digital. Her recent articles for this publication include “A Move to Transcend State Boundaries: Updates on the Interstate Compact for Massage Therapists” and “This is How Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Practices Make Business Better,” one of the articles in the August 2021 issue of MASSAGE Magazine, a first-place winner of the national 2022 Folio Eddies Award for editorial excellence.

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