Medical massage therapy is finally gaining acceptance in the medical world. Acceptance = Medical Insurance Coverage. I guess that is the indicator of true acceptance. Doctors have not really been reluctant to prescribe massage therapy. Insurance companies on the other hand - have been reluctant to pay for it.

I don't understand why this is the case - is it because medicine is supposed to taste bad? If you're sick or in pain - aren't you supposed to be that way as long as the insurance company is paying? The things that make a person feel better have never actually been considered by insurance compaines as "medically necessary". Wouldn't it be great if things that kept you healthy were actually covered by someone - and then the insurance company wouldn't have to pay for much because you wouldn't be sick.

I've had this dream for ages now - Companies could have some sort of pool of monies allocated by them as well as contributed to by their employees - these monies would be TAX DEDUCTIBLE - for the company as well as for the employee. From this pool of money - certain things would be covered on a daily basis. Excercise would be part of work - just like gym was part of school. Healthy food that would be good for you and make you feel good would be available for you. Time out for meditation in the middle of the day would be mandatory. Everyone would have an hour massage each week. What a lovely idylic picture I've painted, but I believe it could work. Think about productivity. If people were well rested, well fed, relaxed and calm - I'd bet money that they would be much more productive and creative than their stressed out, overweight, unhealthy colleagues.

Now that the New York Times is writing about medical massage, maybe mainstream America will wake up and massage therapy will be considered as common as dress-down Fridays.