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But there are cases of apparent abuse, according to nurses union CEO Umar Sheikh.

In a town hall question and answer teleconference for nurses soon after the tentative contract was reached last month, he told union members that under the system of unlimited massages “abuse is possible.”

He cited the $174,000 case and said at that rate, the nurse and his or her dependents would have had 1.8 massages per day. There is a provision in the nurses union benefits package to curb such egregious spending but the language is vague, with reference to “reasonable and customary limits” on such perks.

Sheikh said there is no proposal to revoke massage therapy for “vulnerable” nurses who need them for medical and preventive purposes, but the proposed review to take place over the next year would consider whether to introduce a cap to curb the exponential growth in costs to publicly funded hospitals and other health care facilities.

Massage therapy is a popular health and wellness treatment approach and many have said it can help nurses reduce stress and its associated symptoms, not to mention relieve muscle and joint pain. B.C. has eight schools for massage therapy training and there are about 400 new registrants each year. In 2015, there were 4,183 active registrants, up from 3,653 just two years earlier.

The Registered Massage Therapists Association of B.C. said the “significant rise” in massage therapy use is attributable to studies showing evidence of benefits, an increase in the public’s interest in non-surgical and drug-free treatments and higher educational standards among therapists.