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Committee hears calls to modernize 'Asian massage' language; stakeholders propose 'manual therapy' or clearer definitions
Summary
Practitioners and associations told the California Acupuncture Board committee that statutory and regulatory language such as “Asian massage” is outdated, creates confusion with other professions and complicates insurance and interprofessional communication; several stakeholders urged a coordinated legislative or regulatory modernization effort.
Stakeholders urged the California Acupuncture Board to modernize statutory and regulatory language that currently lists “Asian massage” and similar legacy terms under the board’s permitted adjunct modalities.
Multiple commenters said the term “Asian massage” is ambiguous for both consumers and other health providers. Neil Miller (CalATMA) said he has repeatedly asked what “Asian massage” means and that modern clinical communication would benefit from clearer terms such as “manual therapy.” “If I tell a medical doctor I do manual therapy, they understand that as a clinical technique; Asian massage is not standard modern terminology,” Miller told the committee.
Legal staff noted the phrase appears in statute (Business and Professions Code provisions cited by staff) and that the regulations provide examples—“tui na, shiatsu, acupressure and other techniques utilizing manual therapy”—but the wording has caused confusion for licensees, payers and the public. Staff recommended stakeholders gather a prioritized list of changes and the board noted that statutory changes require legislative action while narrow clarifications could sometimes be addressed by regulation.
Marilyn Allen (American Acupuncture Council) and other commenters recommended the profession prepare a consolidated proposal and noted other boards and the legislature have previously modernized archaic language through targeted bills or the Sunset/legislative review processes.
Ending: The committee asked stakeholders to provide proposed definitions and examples the board can review, and suggested the profession consider a joint approach with other California licensing boards or the legislature to modernize terminology.
