Massage Therapy Awareness Week

Massage therapy awareness week is October 21 - 27

A Proclamation

His Excellency Governor Deval L. Patrick

Whereas Therapeutic massage can benefit people of all ages: and

Whereas Research has shown massage may be helpful in controlling pain, relieving stress, boosting immune system functioning and reducing heart rate and blood pressure: and

Whereas The United States Bureau of Labor Statistics has found that the employment of massage therapists is expected to increase by 20 percent from 2012 t0 2020: and

Whereas Consumers are spending in excess of $2 to $4 billion annually on massage therapy and recognizing the benefits of massage therapy, insurance companies now cover such services: and

Whereas The American Massage Therapy Association (AMTA), a 55,000 member professional association for massage therapists, and the Massachusetts Chapter of the American Massage Therapy Association, consisting of over 3,500 members, provide consumer and professional education information on massage and help consumers and health professionals locate qualified massage therapists in their areas;

Now, Therefore, I, Deval L. Patrick. Governor of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, do hereby proclaim the week of October 21st-27th to be, Massage Therapy Awareness Week

And urge all citizens of the Commonwealth to take cognizance of this event and participate fittingly in its observance.

Given at the Executive Chamber in Boston, this nineteenth day of October, in the year two thousand and twelve, and of the Independence of the United States of America, the two hundred and thirty-sixth.

By His Excellency

Deval L. Patrick

Governor of the Commonwealth

William Francis Galvin

Secretary of the Commonwealth

Step in the Right Direction

Now that we know our Governor Deval Patrick is a fan of massage therapy is it time for us to take action and start pushing for massage therapy in our state to be covered by health insurance. But this isn’t a cause that I can do on my own. I need a lot of support from professionals in the medical community and from clients who have been help by massage.

In order for massage to be covered by health insurance our insurance commissioner Joseph G. Murphy needs to approve it as a covered benefit. That’s where you come in. We need to have many health care professionals and clients writing letters to his office explaining why massage is an important health care benefit. Please send your letters to

Division of Insurance

1000 Washington Street, Suite 810

Boston MA 02118-6200

If we all pull together we may be able to see a positive change in our health care system.