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AMTA is highlighting its advocacy efforts to expand access to massage therapy for veterans and promote new research.
November 1, 2024
AMTA is highlighting its advocacy efforts to expand access to massage therapy for veterans and promote new research. We are dedicated to ensuring that veterans can experience the health advantages of massage therapy, which is a benefit covered by the Veterans Health Administration (VHA), when deemed clinically necessary by a care team.
AMTA regularly engages with the VHA to advocate for increased funding and broader access to massage therapy services for veterans. Additionally, we collaborate with veteran researchers and actively involve our members in addressing regional issues affecting veterans.
As a member of the stakeholder coalition Friends of Veterans Affairs (FOVA), AMTA supports access to complementary and integrative health services for veterans, including massage therapy. AMTA has been recognized for its contributions to FOVA’s initiatives, particularly in expanding research on the benefits of massage therapy for military and veteran populations.
The FOVA Budget Proposal for FY 2025 features a spotlight on AMTA’s efforts, underscoring its commitment to advancing research that demonstrates how massage therapy enhances veterans’ health and wellness.
These research initiatives include exploring the role of integrative therapy nurses at the Minneapolis VA Medical Center, promoting reintegration for National Guard veterans through integrative therapies, and understanding veterans’ perceptions of massage therapy. This work is part of a wider push to secure ongoing funding for critical health programs that ensure veterans receive comprehensive care.
FOVA advocates for funding and support for medical and health research programs within the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). Its mission is to ensure veterans receive top-quality healthcare by promoting research that advances medical treatments and technologies.
FOVA also plays a key role in influencing policy decisions and securing funding to improve VA research infrastructure, with a focus on innovations in prosthetics, mental health, and complementary therapies.
Recent research continues to affirm the positive effects of massage therapy for U.S. veterans, showing its potential to improve overall health and well-being. An evidence map of massage therapy offers a structured overview of existing studies, categorizing them by the strength and certainty of their findings. This tool helps researchers, clinicians and policymakers quickly assess where strong evidence exists and where further investigation is needed.
Since 2018, the VA Health Services Research & Development Department has updated its evidence map, which tracks the benefits of massage therapy for veterans. Recent findings highlight six reviews with moderate certainty of evidence showing that massage therapy can improve conditions such as chronic back pain, fibromyalgia and myofascial pain.
This represents significant progress compared to earlier maps, which included only low-certainty conclusions. The growing body of evidence strengthens the case for massage therapy as an effective treatment for specific conditions commonly faced by veterans.
Despite the increased use of massage therapy within the VA healthcare system since 2016, further research is needed to advance its role in integrative healthcare for veterans. High-quality randomized controlled trials are crucial to building a more robust evidence base for the effectiveness of massage therapy in managing pain and other health conditions.
AMTA continues to support new research through the Massage Therapy Foundation, including a study with the Defense and Veterans Center for Integrative Pain Management. This study focuses on an evidence-based approach to using massage therapy to reduce the burden of chronic pain within the Department of Defense and the VA.
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