A tribunal found the back injury suffered by the man had resolved and Comcare did not have to continue paying his massage bills.

In May 1984, the man was working security at Old Parliament House when he injured his back while moving furniture.

Comcare accepted he had sustained a lumbago pain arising out of, or in the course of, his employment.

Despite a number of attempts to return to work, the man, now 78, had been unable to engage in paid employment since that time.

The tribunal heard he had attempted many forms of treatment and rehabilitation, including a heat packs, wearing a brace, hydrotherapy, chiropractic treatment, laser treatment, physiotherapy, needle acupuncture, analgesic and neuralgic medication, and massage.

In 2016, after Comcare denied liability to continue paying compensation for his remedial massage therapy, stating: "Given the amount of massage received, it is reasonable now to conclude that any claimed therapeutic benefits is doubtful, accordingly I can't be satisfied that ongoing massage can still be considered as reasonable."

The man accepted he had received many massages since his injury, but sought a review of the decision, claiming "The only medical treatment that assists me is remedial massage".

But Comcare affirmed its original decision, noting records showed he had received received 1206 massage treatments over a period of 19 years.

The man appealed the decision to the Administrative Appeals Tribunal and the matter was heard in December.

The tribunal heard evidence from a number of medical experts, with opinions split on the value of continued massage treatment and the ongoing effects of the 1984 injury.

The man's treating medical team argued the accident continued to contribute to his pain, while acknowledging he suffered from both a degenerative spinal disease and diabetes

However, evidence from other specialists found the effects of the workplace injury had resolved and his current conditions had been caused by age related spinal disease and diabetes.

Tribunal deputy president John Sosso, in a decision published earlier this month, said the tribunal had to decide if there was "a relational connection between the massage therapy and the compensable injury".

Mr Sosso found the injury had resolved and affirmed Comcare's decision to stop paying for the rub-downs.

"The overwhelming weight of specialist medical evidence supports the contention of the [Comcare] that the 1984 injury no longer negatively impacts on the Applicant's condition, and his underlying spinal disease and diabetes have 'taken over'," the decision read.

"In short, the aggravation of the applicant's underlying condition brought about by the 1984 accident has resolved and is no longer a cause, let alone the primary cause, of his current condition.

"It therefore follows that the massage treatment obtained by the applicant is not medical treatment obtained in relation to his compensable injury as that injury at some time after 1984, but certainly before the reviewable decision, resolved itself."