How Does a Medical Massage Differ from a Regular Massage?
Medical massage is when a therapist works on a specific injury or pain problem. They make a plan to actually fix what's wrong, not just make you feel good for a day.
Regular massage is for relaxing and feeling less stressed. Its nice and feels good but it don't really fix injuries or long-term pain.
Here's the big thing: in Georgia, your insurance might pay for medical massage if your doctor says you need it. But they won't pay for regular relaxation massage cause that's just for feeling good.
Got pain that won't go away in Athens? Call The Body Temple Spa at (959) 400-9242. We're at 435 Hawthorne Ave Ste 800 and we can figure out what type you need.
What Is Medical Massage Anyway?
My friend Tom works construction and he messed up his back real bad. He went and got a massage at some place and felt amazing for maybe two days. Then boom, the pain came back worse than before.
Know why? Cause he got a relaxation massage when what he really needed was medical massage to actually fix the problem.
Medical massage is for things like:
- You got hurt (car accident, sports, work injury)
- Pain that won't go away no matter what you try
-Your recovering from surgery
- Your doctor says you got something like sciatica or carpal tunne
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The therapist actually checks you out first and makes a plan. Its not just "tell me if this hurts", its more like "okay, this muscle right here is pulling on your shoulder blade wrong and we're gonna fix it over the next few weeks."
When someone comes to The Body Temple Spa for medical massage, we spend way more time asking questions. Like "when does it hurt the most?" and "what makes it worse?" Then we make a real plan - not just rub your back for an hour.
Medical Massage vs Regular Massage: What's Different?
They Got Different Goals
Medical massage: Fix the actual problem. Like make your sciatic pain go away or help your shoulder move normal again after surgery.
Regular massage: Just help you relax and feel less stressed. Your not trying to fix nothing - just chill out.
They Work On You Different
Medical massage: Only works on the parts that hurt or got injured. If your shoulder is messed up, we might spend the whole hour just on your shoulder, neck, and upper back, targeting specific trigger points and tension areas that contribute to your pain.
Regular massage: They do your whole body - legs, arms, back, everything - to make you feel relaxed all over.
How Hard They Push and How Many Times You Go
Medical massage: Sometimes they push hard, sometimes light - depends on what your body needs. And you gotta come back like twice a week for a while, then maybe once a week. It takes time to fix stuff.
Regular massage: Usually just nice medium pressure that feels good. You only go when you feel like it - no plan or nothing.
Does Insurance Pay For It?
Medical massage: Maybe yes if your doctor writes you a prescription saying you need it.
Regular massage: Nope. You pay yourself cause insurance says that's just for fun.
Here's what happens at our place in Athens all the time: someone books a regular massage online, then when they get here they say "oh yeah my shoulder has been killing me for like six months." That's when we stop and say "hey, you might need medical massage instead so we can actually help fix that, not just make it feel better for two days."
Wait, What About Deep Tissue and Therapeutic Massage?
Okay this confuses everybody cause these words get used for everything. Let me make it real simple.
Deep Tissue Massage: This just means they push harder to get to the deeper muscles. You can get deep tissue as part of medical massage OR as part of relaxation massage. Its not its own thing, its just how hard they push.
Therapeutic Massage: Honestly this word don't mean much. Some places use it to mean medical massage. Other places just mean "a massage that helps you", which is basically any massage.
Medical Massage: This is the real deal when your hurt or got chronic pain. The therapist is trying to fix a specific problem using whatever techniques work - might be deep tissue, might be trigger points, might be other stuff.
Real story from our spa: This guy called asking for deep tissue cause he thought that's what he needed. When we talked to him, turns out he was in a car wreck three months ago and still can't lift his arm up. That ain't a "I want hard pressure" thing - that's a medical massage thing where we gotta figure out what's wrong and make a plan to fix it.
Who Actually Needs Medical Massage?
You probably need medical massage instead of regular massage if
:
Your Pain Won't Go Away: Like your back or neck has hurt for months or years. Regular massage feels nice but the pain always comes back.
You Got Injured: From a car accident, playing sports, hurting yourself at work, or whatever. If you need help recovering, that's medical massage.
Your Doctor Told You To Get Massage: When your doctor or chiropractor says get massage therapy, they mean medical massage - not spa massage.
You Got Specific Problems: Medical massage really helps with stuff like:
- Sciatica (that shooting pain down your leg)
- Carpal tunnel (your hands hurt and go numb from typing)
- Headaches from your neck muscles being too tight
- TMJ (jaw pain)
- Frozen shoulder (can't move your shoulder right)
-Foot pain that won't quit
Your Had Surgery: After some surgeries,your doctor might say massage can help you heal better as part of a comprehensive recovery plan.
Regular Massage Don't Really Help: If you keep getting massages and feel great for a day then the pain comes right back, that means you need medical massage with an actual plan.
People we see all the time in Athens:
The computer person: Works at UGA sitting at a desk all day. Got neck pain and headaches that won't stop. Regular massage feels nice but don't fix why it keeps happening. Needs medical massage for the posture problems.
The construction guy: His back has hurt for like 15 years from lifting heavy stuff. Tried everything. Needs medical massage on specific muscles and maybe we talk to his chiropractor too.
The surgery person: Had shoulder surgery, did all the physical therapy, but it still don't feel right. Doctor says massage can help with the scar tissue and tight muscles.
How To Get Medical Massage in Athens
So you decided you need medical massage. Now what do you do?
Finding Someone Good
Look for massage therapists who got:
- Georgia license (everybody gotta have this)
- Extra training in medical massage
- Experience with injuries and pain problems
At The Body Temple Spa, all our people are licensed by Georgia and some of them got special training in medical massage. We been in Athens since June 2020 helping people with everything from car accidents to chronic pain.
Do You Need a Doctor's Note?
In Georgia, you don't always need a prescription from your doctor to get medical massage. But it helps if you want insurance to maybe pay for it or if you got hurt in a car accident.
Even without a prescription, a good medical massage person can still check you out and make a plan.
What Happens When You Go
First they ask a bunch of questions: You fill out papers about your health and tell them what hurts and when it started.
They check you out: The therapist looks at the problem area and sees how you move and which muscles are messed up.
They explain the plan: They tell you what they found and how many times you probably gotta come back and what they're gonna do.
First massage: Usually like 60 or 90 minutes working on just the problem areas.
Making more appointments: You schedule when to come back and they tell you stuff to do at home like stretches or using ice.
How Much It Costs
Medical massage in Athens usually costs between $125 and $170 each time you go.
What we charge at The Body Temple Spa:
- 60 minutes Deep Recovery: $170
- 90 minutes Deep Recovery: $195
- 60 minutes Sport Therapeutic: $130
If your doctor writes you a prescription, some insurance will pay for medical massage.
We can give you papers to send to your insurance so maybe they'll pay you back some of it.
Stop Just Dealing With Pain - Actually Fix It
Look, getting a relaxation massage when your stressed is totally fine. Those are great for feeling better.
But if your been hurting for months, if you got injured, or if your doctor said you need massage, don't waste money on spa massages that only help for like two days.
Medical massage in Athens actually fixes the real problem instead of just covering it up temporary.
At The Body Temple Spa, we helped tons of Athens people with car accident injuries, neck pain from computers, back pain from work, all kinds of stuff. We make real plans, keep track of how your doing, and talk to your other doctors if we need to.
We ain't just trying to make you relaxed for an hour - we're trying to fix what's actually wrong so you can go back to living normal without hurting all the time.
Ready to fix your pain for real?
Call us: (959) 400-9242
Our website: thebodytemplespas.com
Where we are: 435 Hawthorne Ave Ste 800, Athens, GA 30606
When we're open:
- Monday-Thursday: 8 AM–10 PM
- Friday-Saturday: 8 AM–10 PM
- Sunday: 8 AM–6 PM
When you call, just tell us what's hurting and we'll let you know straight up if medical massage can help you or if you need something else. We don't try to sell you stuff you don't need.
We're right here in Athens ready to help you get better - for real, not just temporary.