Mayo Clinic's approach
Mayo Clinic's Integrative Medicine and Health program combines conventional medicine with integrative approaches to support physical, mental and spiritual wellness. Mayo Clinic healthcare professionals work with trained and board-certified massage therapists to create treatment plans for injuries or other conditions.
Massage therapy is available in both inpatient and outpatient settings at Mayo Clinic. Mayo Clinic offers it as part of integrative medicine services. Massage may help reduce swelling, improve joint movement, ease muscle tension and spasm, increase circulation to support healing, and lessen pain.
Many Mayo Clinic massage therapists have extra training in practices such as acupressure, reflexology, kinesiology, scar tissue mobilization, oncology massage and lymphatic drainage.
Mayo Clinic researchers have studied massage therapy for people having heart or chest surgery. Massage helped reduce pain and anxiety. This supported its use as a routine part of care after open-heart surgery. Over time, Mayo Clinic added massage therapy in other surgery areas, and more massage therapists joined care teams. People staying in the hospital also can request massage therapy as part of their care.
Mayo Clinic volunteers offer hand massages to people staying in the hospital. Studies show these 15-minute hand massages can help people feel better by lowering anxiety and increasing calmness.
Mayo Clinic offers wellness services to patients, families and staff. Rejuvenate Spa, a full-service spa located at Mayo Clinic's campus in Rochester, Minnesota, is a part of the Mayo Clinic Healthy Living Program. The spa offers massage and other relaxation and cosmetic services.
Expertise and rankings
Mayo Clinic has been a leader in making massage therapy part of patient care in the hospital for almost 20 years. Mayo researchers in the Integrative Medicine and Health Research Program have studied massage therapy in people having certain surgeries, such as heart and chest surgery. These studies found massage helped ease pain and anxiety.
Massage therapy may be offered during a hospital stay. People staying in the hospital may have wounds from surgery or may be connected to medical equipment such as IV lines or chest drains. Because of this, Mayo Clinic has a training program to help massage therapists work with people who are in a hospital. The training program, Medical Massage Therapist, is available at Mayo Clinic's campus in Minnesota.
Each year, healthcare professionals at Mayo Clinic provide inpatient and outpatient massages to thousands of people dealing with conditions ranging from cancer to sports injuries.
Locations, travel and lodging
Mayo Clinic has major campuses in Phoenix and Scottsdale, Arizona; Jacksonville, Florida; and Rochester, Minnesota. The Mayo Clinic Health System has dozens of locations in several states.
For more information on visiting Mayo Clinic, choose your location below:
Costs and insurance
Mayo Clinic works with hundreds of insurance companies and is an in-network provider for millions of people.
In most cases, Mayo Clinic doesn't require a physician referral. Some insurers require referrals or may have additional requirements for certain medical care. All appointments are prioritized on the basis of medical need.
Learn more about appointments at Mayo Clinic.
Please contact your insurance company to verify medical coverage and to obtain any needed authorization prior to your visit. Often, your insurer's customer service number is printed on the back of your insurance card.
Clinical trials
Explore Mayo Clinic studies of tests and procedures to help prevent, detect, treat or manage conditions.
Sept. 16, 2026