A Promising Career Track:
Hospital-Based Massage

Many students wonder what type of massage to specialize in, once they’re out of school. A new survey shows that hospital-based massage is one career track that is growing rapidly.

The survey shows that the number of hospitals offering massage therapy has increased by more than one third over the past two years.

The bi-annual survey was conducted by Health Forum, a subsidiary of the American Hospital Association, on behalf of the American Massage Therapy Association, and polls hospitals across the United States about programs they offer.

Of the hospitals that have massage-therapy programs, 71 percent indicated they offer massage for patient stress-management and comfort, while more than two-thirds (67 percent) utilize massage therapy for pain management. Fifty-two percent said they provide massage for cancer patients, and 67 percent offer massage to their staff for stress management.

According to the survey, hospitals also use massage therapy for:

• Improving mobility and movement (52 percent)
• Pregnant women (51 percent)
• Part of a physical-therapy regimen (50 percent)
• Hospice or end-of-life care (37 percent)
• Edema (33 percent)
• Infants (24 percent)
• Post-operative care (25 percent)
• Pre-operative care (17 percent)