News and Articles

Integration Into A Multidisciplinary Environment

The idea of a multidisciplinary environment is a convenient concept to most people – a way to benefit from an array of services in one location – as we strive to make the most of our time, which often seems too short to accomplish the number of tasks we have outlined in our daily routines.  The key to really benefiting from this concept is integration among disciplines within the environment.

Clients benefit from this type of setting, as they are readily able to access alternative treatments should they feel one particular method is not portraying the results initially hoped for.  Multiple disciplines are also able to complement, and in some cases increase, a client’s recovery by integrating more than one treatment.  Clients have often seen tremendous outcomes when a treatment plan has been created among the practioners involved, tailored to each unique and individual portrayal of a condition, in order to address all necessary concerns from each treatment perspective.  For example, when massage therapy and chiropractic services are combined, the muscles get the appropriate assessment and treatment by the massage therapist and the joint restrictions are evaluated thoroughly and addressed by the chiropractor.  As tight muscles pull our joints out of alignment sometimes and joint restrictions place undue stress on the surrounding muscles, both these treatments complement the other greatly.

Recognition and respect for the area of specialization of each profession is the basis of true multidisciplinary integration and is achieved through each professional learning what other professionals do, what they can contribute, and how they can complement.  When practioners can confidently and happily refer clients to another practioner to ensure they are receiving the best care and results, treatment in a multidisciplinary centre often reinforces to the client that they are receiving optimal care and their health is the primary concern and goal.

Massage therapy has been integrating into healthcare for many years now, from helping to identify the early onset of conditions with primary healthcare, to collaborating in settings to aid in the return to work, to helping those recover post-surgery.  As it appears, multidisciplinary integration is at the forefront of healthcare in the twenty-first century.

Laura Knight, RMT