Current Activities
Clinic Client Study - The consortium is just completing
data analysis on a qualitative study of how clients describe the effects
of massage. The study was conducted in the student clinics of ten consortium
schools.
A Taxonomy of Therapeutic Massage and Bodywork - The consortium has drafted a taxonomy of therapeutic massage and bodywork designed especially to facilitate a range of research-related functions. The taxonomy will be made available on this website after publication.
Low Back Pain Study - A committee from the consortium is working with Drs. Dan Cherkin and Karen Sherman of Group Health Center for Health Studies in Seattle on a study comparing two different forms of massage as treatments for chronic low back pain. The consortium designed the two intervention protocols being investigated. This study follows on the research done by Cherkin and Sherman some years ago that found massage to be beneficial in reducing pain and restoring functionality in people with chronic low back pain. The current study, by comparing two very different forms of massage, one more relaxation-oriented and one more structurally-oriented, will help us understand whether one type of massage is more helpful in this regard than another; and if so, what implications that has for understanding the mechanism(s) through which massage does help alleviate pain.
Presentations:
A Taxonomy of Therapeutic Massage and Bodywork - The consortium has drafted a taxonomy of therapeutic massage and bodywork designed especially to facilitate a range of research-related functions. The taxonomy will be made available on this website after publication.
Low Back Pain Study - A committee from the consortium is working with Drs. Dan Cherkin and Karen Sherman of Group Health Center for Health Studies in Seattle on a study comparing two different forms of massage as treatments for chronic low back pain. The consortium designed the two intervention protocols being investigated. This study follows on the research done by Cherkin and Sherman some years ago that found massage to be beneficial in reducing pain and restoring functionality in people with chronic low back pain. The current study, by comparing two very different forms of massage, one more relaxation-oriented and one more structurally-oriented, will help us understand whether one type of massage is more helpful in this regard than another; and if so, what implications that has for understanding the mechanism(s) through which massage does help alleviate pain.
Presentations:
- September 2005 - Building a Research Program in Your Institution: Lessons from the Massage Therapy Research Consortium - Panel Presentation made at Highlighting Massage Therapy in CAM Research, Albuquerque, New Mexico. September 25-27, 2005.
- May 2006 - Taxonomy of Therapeutic Massage and Bodywork: An Aid in Developing Sophisticated Intervention Protocols - workshop to be given at the North American Research Conference on Complementary and Integrative Medicine will be held in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, May 24th-27th, 2006.
- September 2007 - Client Descriptions of the Effects of Massage: Preliminary Data from a Qualitative Study. Presentation to be made at AMTA 2007 National Convention, Cincinnati, OH.
