6 AMTA's National Sports Massage Team has helped improve the visibility of massage in general. 6 Massage is being used to boost athletic performance. 6 Public interest in and use of alternative treatments is more common than previously thought. 7 Users of unconventional therapy tend to be white, well-educated, higher income baby boomers living in the West. A recent survey of family physicians found that more than half regularly prescribe alternative therapy or have tried it themselves.
Treatments can be less invasive and some perceived as safer.
10 Prevalent public usage and the lack of scientific documentation have sparked a renewed interest in research. As health care costs rise, HMOs, insurance companies and employers are increasingly looking to prevention and alternative solutions. However, research on efficacy and cost effectiveness is needed before more alternative treatments are covered. 14 Oxford Health Plans, an HMO based in Norwalk CT with coverage in Connecticut, New York, and New Jersey, began a study in 1993 to investigate whether it was cheaper and more effective to use alternative medicine in treating chronic symptoms such as lower back pain and migraine headaches. 15 Subsequently established an Office of Alternative Medicine.