Give the gift of massage this season.

If you’re having trouble finding the perfect Christmas gift for your friends and relatives this year, may I make a recommendation? Get them a massage.

I know, I know. It’s a bit predictable for a licensed massage therapist with a massage therapy blog to recommend massage as a present, but who could possibly be better equipped to make a case for it? It would be a sin for me not to say something on its behalf.

Massage is easily transportable. You don’t have to assemble, ship, or wrap up a massage gift certificate. Simply put the certificate in an envelope or gift card holder and slide it into your mom’s stocking or send it to your cousin eight states away.

Massage can be for anyone. Even your dad, who says he already has everything, can enjoy a massage for Christmas. It certainly won’t be another gag gift to pile into his den. Even your great aunt could benefit from massage. If an older relative is wary about getting a massage for the first time, you can also buy a massage for yourself and offer to take her out for a spa day. Once she finally goes she’ll be hooked.

Massage is a great way to say thank-you. This year, skip out on the gift baskets or extra tips for your child’s teacher, the mailman, and your hairdresser. A massage gift certificate is more personal and it will go a long way for people who endure stressful days to make your life better.

Massage can also be a great group gift. Talk to your superiors at work to arrange (and pay) for a corporate massage therapist to come to your office. After your coworkers get a seated massage, they will go back to work feeling a little less stressed out—and a little more thankful for you—in the midst of the workplace holiday mayhem.

Massage can fit many budgets. You can opt to splurge on a 90-minute hot stone massage for your best friend or get a 30-minute pick-me-up for the members of your immediate family. I also mentioned in a previous post that many cheap massage deals are out there. If you want to buy in bulk, consider getting all of your family members (even your least favorite ones) certificates for a 10-minute chair massage at a massage station in your local mall. If you decide to hand out gift certificates before Christmas Day, you will give them a good excuse to take a little rejuvenating break from their holiday shopping.

Massage can be free. When I was a little kid, I used to give my mom the gift of “coupons” for things like free hugs and house vacuuming. It sounds a little silly, but if someone gave me a home-made coupon for an eight minute back massage, (example here) I definitely wouldn’t laugh or complain. Would you? I urge you to try it out if you’re strapped for cash. An added bonus: picking up the new skill could make you everyone’s favorite friend/relative in the very near future.

Insurance coverage is money in the bank.

In December 2008, the National Health Interview Survey showed that about 38 percent of American adults and around 12 percent of kids are treated with complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) of some sort. Kaiser says that at least 75 percent of adults have at least tried it. Some people receive treatments such as massage and acupuncture to complement their conventional medical care, while others rely solely on such therapies as alternative medicine .

Based on conversations I’ve had with my clients, I believe that a much larger percentage of the population would try—and regularly seek—alternative medical assistance and preventative care if insurance companies were willing to cover more of it.

The good news is that insurance companies are starting to see the light when it comes to covering CAM. Because consumers’ interest in CAM coverage has increased dramatically in recent years, insurance companies have started to offer coverage for treatments like chiropractic, massage therapy, acupuncture and sometimes even naturopathy and biofeedback.

You owe it to yourself to find out if your insurance plan covers massage therapy or other CAM treatments. At the risk of sounding like a Geico advertisement:  A few moments could save you lots of money on complementary and alternative medicine. Here’s how to do it…

Just look at the details of your insurance plan by scanning your insurer’s website, reading the handbook you were given, or calling a knowledgeable agent. If you find that a CAM treatment is covered, investigate what limits are in place. For example, find out if there is a cap on how many visits you can make to a chiropractor and decipher how much you can spend. Know that even if your plan doesn’t cover a treatment, it may offer a discount on certain CAM treatments.

If your insurer is riding with the times, congratulations! Here comes the tricky part. When it comes to actually getting things covered, you will need to:

1. Have a reason to go. Even if your insurance company does cover something, a caveat is that you probably won’t get it covered unless you have a legitimate medical reason to need treatment. Is your back giving you problems because you aggravated it at work? Could chiropractic care and massage therapy potentially prevent you from needing costly surgery in the future?
2. Find a doctor willing to refer you to an alternative practitioner. Your primary care physician may be willing to help you out.
3. Find an in-network provider that “counts” on paper. For example:  I, a massage therapist, can perform 30-minute massages covered and coded as “trigger point massage” under some insurance plans because I work for a chiropractor who works with many insurance-covered injury cases. However, if I were working for Massage Envy, chances are slim at this point (2009) that your insurance would cover a massage from me.
4. Run it all by your insurance provider before you jump on the table (massage, chiropractic, or otherwise.) Better safe than sorry.

If your insurer is still a bit behind the times, you aren’t necessarily doomed. Directly ask your insurer to give you reasons why a particular CAM treatment isn’t covered. A representative may mention something regarding lack of scientific evidence. Now’s your chance to shine: Visit this website and do some research of your own. You may be able to find sound evidence that a certain treatment is effective. If you do find that evidence, cite it and dispute a denied claim.

Even if your individual attempt doesn’t end up working in the short-term, your efforts will not have been in vain. When enough people bring complaints and supporting evidence to the table, insurers will begin to change their minds about what gets covered.

Take a stand and be part of a revolution!

From what I’ve read, Bob Hope got a massage every day of his professional life. The man lived to be over 100 years old! Wouldn’t it be great if we each had the money to hire a personal massage therapist? Maybe if that were the case the world would see less war. Maybe we’d hug out our problems the way our parents told us to when we got into fights with our siblings.

So the reality is that most of us don’t have money like Bob Hope and political leaders aren’t quite hugging out war-related issues. Yet another reality is that massage is now turning into less of a luxury and more of a necessity. More massage therapy options are giving people (such as struggling massage therapists and freelance writers) the chance to get a well-deserved, quality massage at a discount.

Here are four major ways to find a cheap massage no matter where you live:

1. Look Up Massage Therapy Schools – Just use a search engine to locate massage therapy schools in your city. Most massage therapy schools require their students to have a certain amount of hands-on hours at a student clinic. Massage therapy school websites will give you the information you need to determine the cost of a student massage. If the site itself does not give you this information, the school will definitely provide a phone number. Massage therapy schools often charge between $25 and $40 for a 50 to 60 minute long treatment. That’s less than a third of what you would pay for a massage at most spas. Schools are even cheaper than Massage Envy, plus you won’t have to worry about schools automatically taking money out of your bank account every month.

2. Visit a Chiropractor’s Office – If you can’t find a massage therapy school near where you live, visit Google once more to find local chiropractors. More and more, chiropractors are hiring massage therapists to provide an assortment of massage therapy modalities for patients. Chiropractors also generally charge much less than a spa would charge for a 50 to 60 minute massage. The office I currently work for has a sliding scale depending on the services a person chooses to receive from us, but our “Wellness Package” is very popular. With that package, $40 covers a single 53-55 minute massage or two 25-minute massages per month.

3. Find Cheap Seasonal Deals – This method will take a little bit of research on your part, but if you manage to snag a great deal you won’t regret the effort you put into it. When you look around at spas and hotels near you, you will find that, especially around special occasions like Mother’s Day and Valentine’s Day, most places that offer massages will also offer cheap massage deals. A common discount is something along the lines of a “2-4-1 Romantic Getaway Massage”.

4. Travel Off-Season – If you’re only looking for a luxurious spa day at a discount, the best way to find a fancy cheap massage is to plan an off-season vacation to a place like Scottsdale, AZ where there are tons of luxurious day spas. In Scottsdale, this means: visit during the summer! It is sweltering hot between the months of May and September, and many spas have to offer cheap massage deals because most people don’t want to “vacation” in 112 degree weather. The weather really isn’t a big issue if you’re planning to spend most of your time getting pampered indoors anyway. Keep an open mind!

Tips/Warnings:

• When you visit a chiropractor’s office or massage therapy school for a cheap massage, don’t expect a bells-and-whistles treatment that involves aromatherapy, cucumber eye masks, chanting, and rain sticks. You may be able to find one, but if actually you do I’d like to hear about it.
• Avoid “cheap massage” places that are open until midnight. This also goes for “cheap massage” places where the therapists wear long fake nails and high heels.
• There is a chance that visiting a student clinic will mean that you get a less experienced therapist. This may occasionally mean that the quality of the massage is diminished, professional massage therapists also vary in quality. (Besides, you can simply opt to visit on a different day if you want to avoid getting the same therapist.) Let student therapists know if you have any health conditions so they can ask supervisors for assistance if necessary.