Prevalence, patterns, and predictors of massage practitioner utilization: Results of a US nationally representative survey

Abstract

Approximately 7% (15.4 million) of US adults used massage therapy in the past year, mainly for general disease prevention, wellness or musculoskeletal pain. The majority of respondents reported positive outcomes of massage on specific health problems and overall well-being. Massage utilization was rarely covered by health insurance. Despite the majority of massage users considered massage therapy combined with medical care helpful, most did not disclose massage therapy use to their health care provider.

Use of Complementary Health Practices in a Church-Based African American Cohort

“…Overall, African Americans are less likely to use massage therapy than non-Hispanic Whites; however, the sociodemographic profile of this sample (i.e., high education and income) matches characteristics of typical users of massage. 45 Use of meditation (10%) was also high in their sample yet similar to recent national estimates (8%). 3 Both massage therapy and meditation are used to reduce stress and anxiety and treat pain, 45,46 common ailments in African American populations.…”

“…45 Use of meditation (10%) was also high in their sample yet similar to recent national estimates (8%). 3 Both massage therapy and meditation are used to reduce stress and anxiety and treat pain, 45,46 common ailments in African American populations. 47,48 Complementary health, and particularly massage and meditation, may be seen as viable mechanisms for stress relief or sought out for increasing wellness in their sample.…”

“…24,44 Next, the higher prevalence may have been driven by use of massage therapy, which was reported by nearly 30% of the sample and far higher than estimates in the United States (*7%) and in other estimates in African Americans (4%). 2,3,45 Reasons for elevated use in this sample are not clear. Overall, African Americans are less likely to use massage therapy than non-Hispanic Whites; however, the sociodemographic profile of this sample (i.e., high education and income) matches characteristics of typical users of massage.…”

Advancing health promotion through massage therapy practice: A cross-sectional survey study

“…The Institute of Medicine (IOM) conducted a summit to discuss the topic of Integrative Medicine in the health of the public; at this summit, the IOM suggested that complementary and integrative therapy providers can help to increase patient adherence with conventional therapies ( Summit on Integrative Medicine and the Health of the Public, 2009 ). A recent article investigating which Americans use, and what predicts use of, massage therapy 2 (MT) found that 12.8% of the US adult population had used MT at some point in their life time, and 56.3% of these adults used MT for wellness or disease prevention purposes ( Sundberg et al, 2017 ). Researchers concluded that gaps in the literature exist specifically around MT and health promotion/disease prevention ( Sundberg et al, 2017 ).…”

“…A recent article investigating which Americans use, and what predicts use of, massage therapy 2 (MT) found that 12.8% of the US adult population had used MT at some point in their life time, and 56.3% of these adults used MT for wellness or disease prevention purposes ( Sundberg et al, 2017 ). Researchers concluded that gaps in the literature exist specifically around MT and health promotion/disease prevention ( Sundberg et al, 2017 ). The American MT Association estimates that United States has >350,000 massage therapists ( American Massage Therapy Association, 2017 ) and the US department of Labor estimates the growth potential of this profession to be upwards of 22% by the year 2024 ( U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2015 ).…”