Use your FSA before it expires!

Flexible Health Spending Accounts (FSA) are great, but they have one big drawback--they expire at the end of the year. Here’s some good advice on how you can make sure you use every last cent of it. We suggest you see your primary care physician or chiropractor now and ask for a prescription for manual therapy for a medical condition. 

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More information about how these accounts work:

FSAs and health reimbursement accounts cover massage or manual therapy only if it is a medical treatment for a specific problem, not if it is to relieve general tension.

Medical conditions and health concerns that are proven to be relieved by massage therapy are carpal tunnel syndrome, back pain, arthritis, fibromyalgia, anxiety, depression, and any type of pain, including orthopedic and non-orthopedic conditions. Especially in the wake of the opiod crisis, official recommendations for physicians have changed. Here is an example from the American College of Physicians, explicitly asking medical doctors to prescribe massage therapy for back pain. You can find the actual guidelines here if you need to convince your physician.  

You can also read this enlightening article about how the efficacy of manual therapy as in massage was proven. In general, you might be able to use your FSA for a lot more than you thought possible. Here is a big list. 

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