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NEWS RELEASE

March 26, 2003

For More Information Contact: Rebecca Wilkowski, Phone:(800) 729-0941

Massage Ranked One of Top CAM Services in Hospitals

The presence of massage therapy in hospital-based settings confirms its popularity in the fall 2002-released Health Forum/American Hospital Association’s 2000-2001 Complementary and Alternative Medicine Survey. Of the more than 23 percent of responding hospitals that offer complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) services, massage therapy was the second-most popular inpatient and outpatient service.

Massage therapy topped several other types of CAM therapies mentioned in the survey, and followed behind the most popular CAM service - pastoral care. In total, 16 CAM services were examined.

Some other interesting findings from the survey include:

• In a three-year span, the number of hospital with CAM programs more than doubled;

• Approximately half of hospitals that offer CAM mentioned patient demand s a reason for implementing such therapies;

• When general information about CAM therapies is sought out by physicians and hospitals, the majority (73 percent) turn to CAM-focused periodicals; and

• Physician resistance to CAM therapies ranked high (63 percent) in why hospitals are facing difficulties in implementing CAM programs.

In recent years, massage therapy has reached some of the nations’ top hospitals, including Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York and Stanford Hospital in California. According to the American Hospital Association, 15% of hospitals now offer CAM therapies and almost 60% of medical schools offer courses in CAM. And according to the Journal of the American Medical Association, 42% of adults in the United States utilize at least one of the sixteen forms of alternative therapies surveyed. Total out of pocket expenditures related to alternative therapies are conservatively estimated at $34 billion. This is comparable to all out-of-pocket expenditures for physician visits and exceeds out-of-pocket expenditures for all hospitalizations.

Massage practitioners looking to expand their practices, or those considering becoming a licensed massage professional, can be encouraged by these findings, as the chance to work in hospital settings appears promising in the near future.

Popular among all age groups, massage is effective for relaxation and stress reduction, as well as medical reasons, including muscle soreness/stiffness/spasms, injury, headaches, pain reduction, blood and lymph circulation and improved immune system function. Massage has been shown to reduce blood pressure and heart rate and increase endorphins, the body’s natural painkillers. More than one in four Americans report having had a massage from a massage therapist in the past five years, spending a total of between $4 and $6 billion on 114 million visits each year.

The explosion in the popularity of massage can be attributed to the growing population of aging baby boomers and an increased awareness of the effects of stress and the physiological benefits of massage. Doctors are now prescribing massage to their patients, and sports teams are hiring massage therapists as well. A growing number of businesses and organizations, including the U.S. Department of Justice, are also offering massage in the workplace to decrease job stress and increase productivity.

For more information on massage or training to become a licensed massage professional, please contact Pacific College at (800) 729-0941.

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