International Journal of Therapeutic Massage & Bodywork (IJTMB)
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Medical Provider Recommendations to Massage Therapy: a Card Study
Get PDFBackground: Communication between massage therapy patients and their medical providers has not been widely described, especially with respect to health care in the United States. Purpose: To examine which type of medical providers recommend massage therapy (MT), and how often massage therapy patients tell their providers about their treatment. Setting: Independent massage therapy practices in a Practice-based Research Network (PBRN) in Northeast Ohio.Participants: 21 licensed massage therapists (LMT). Research Design: A cross-sectional descriptive study. For consecutive, nonrepeating visits to their practices, each LMT completed up to 20 cards with information on the patient and visit. Analysis compared visits for patients based on whether they reported telling their health provider about their use of MT or being recommended for massage by a health provider.Results: Among 403 visits to 21 LMTs, 51% of patients had told their primary care clinician about seeing an LMT, and for 23%, a health-care provider had recommended visiting an LMT for that visit. Patients who told their primary care provider that they use massage therapy were more likely to be established patients, or to be seen for chronic pain complaints. Visits recommended by a physi-cian were more likely to be for chronic conditions.Conclusion: Patients who are established in the massage practice and those receiving massage for a specific condition are more likely to tell their primary care provider that they use massage and are also more likely to have been recommended for massage by a health-care provider. This information will help LMTs target and inform patients about the importance of talking with their health-care providers about their use of massage, and provide LMTs with a starting point of which types of health-care providers already recommend massage. This information will further open the dialogue about the integration of massage therapy in conventional health care.
The Effect of Foot Reflexology on Hospital Anxiety and Depression in Female Older Adults: a Randomized Controlled Trial
Get PDFBackground: Patients with cardiovascular diseases usually suffer from hospital anxiety and depression. Aim: This study aimed to investigate the effect of foot reflexology massage on anxiety and depression in female older adults suffering from acute coronary syndrome.Participants: Ninety older women with acute coronary syndrome were randomly assigned into intervention and control groups (n=45 in each group).Research Design: A randomized controlled trial.Intervention: The intervention and control groups received foot reflexology massage and routine care, respectively.Main Outcomes Measures: The levels of anxiety and depression were evaluated using the hospital’s anxiety and depression scale (HADS) before and immediately after foot reflexology massage.Results: Foot reflexology massage reduced both anxiety (F(1.44)=19.11, p = .001) and depression (F(1.44)=16.76, p = .001) in acute coronary patients relative to control patients. The intervention had a large effect on hospital anxiety and depression.Conclusions: Foot reflexology massage is an efficient and safe intervention for alleviating psychological responses among female older adults suffering from acute coronary syndrome during hospitalization
A Pilot Study of Partner Chair Massage Effects on Perinatal Mood, Anxiety, and Pain
Get PDFBackground: Women worldwide experience perinatal mood, anxiety, and pain contributing to pregnancy and birth challenges, maternal and infant bonding, and childhood development. Perinatal women seek massage therapy for relax-ation, pain management, and emotional support, but may encounter socioeconomic barriers. Prior studies demonstrated improved perinatal health by teaching partners of pregnant women a side-lying massage. Purpose: This study examined health effects to perinatal mood, anxiety, and pain, by teaching partners of pregnant (PG) women a chair massage. Setting: Participant’s homes in Tucson, Ari-zona, USA. Participants: Twelve PG women with minor mood, anxiety, and pain: 67% white, 33% His-panic, college educated, married, aged 32 years (± 3.86 SD), 67% expecting a first child, annual incomes ? 50,000 (67%).Research Design: A pre/postintervention pilot study in a single group for eight weeks.Intervention: Twice weekly partner-delivered chair massage and its relation to perinatal mood, anxiety, and pain.Main Outcome Measures: Pre/poststudy peri-natal massage effects were measured with the Edinburgh Depression Scale (mood), the STAI-AD (anxiety), and the VAS (pain). Weekly text messag-ing tracked dose and frequency, follow-up surveys measured sustainability, and birth outcomes were acquired by texting. Results: Study retention was 86%, protocol compliance 94%, with couples averaging 10-min-ute, twice weekly chair massage over the eight-week study period. Paired-sample t tests indicated statistically significant improvements to perinatal mood and anxiety, Cohen’s d, a large strength of effect size (p = .012, d = 0.87; p = .004, d = 1.03). A trend was observed for reduced pain, with a medium strength of effect size (p = .071; d = 0.58). Follow-up surveys indicated most couples were sustaining at least weekly massage. Birth outcomes showed healthy infants with no complications, mean birth weight of 7.26 pounds, and mean ges-tation of 39 weeks.Conclusion: This is the first evidence of partner chair massage as safe and effective complementary home management of perinatal mood, anxiety, and pain
A Series of Case Reports Regarding the Use of Massage Therapy to Improve Sleep Quality in Individuals with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)
No full textBackground: Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a common mental health diagnosis in Canada with prevalence estimated at about 2.4% in the general population. Previous studies have suggested massage therapy may be able to reduce the symptoms of PTSD. One of the symptoms commonly experienced is difficulty falling or staying asleep. No previously published massage therapy research has specifically assessed sleep symptoms of PTSD.
Objectives: The research question was, “For individuals who have PTSD as a result of experiencing traumatic events, does MT have an effect on sleep quality?”Methods: A prospective series of case reports describing 10-week MT treatment plans provided by Registered Massage Therapists at Sutherland-Chan Clinic’s Belleville location. Three individuals with PTSD were recruited using promotional posters in the community. Treatment focused on improving sleep quality and followed a pragmatic treatment protocol using light to moderate pressure. Out-comes were measured using a sleep diary, Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index, and the Leeds Sleep Evaluation Questionnaire.
Results: Data collected at baseline and throughout the series showed inconsistent improvement and worsening of symptoms amongst participants. Treatment was well tolerated and attended. No harmful incidents were noted.
Conclusion: For these participants, MT did not predictably impact sleep quality. It is possible, as the underlying cause of poor sleep quality was unlikely resolved, the participants did not have a significant change in their sleep quality. This differs from findings of previous studies in which MT improved sleep for patients with poor sleep quality due to exposure to traumatic events. There is need for further understanding of how MT affects sleep. 
The Effect of Massage Therapy Using Frangipani Aromatherapy Oil to Reduce the Childbirth Pain Intensity
Get PDFBackground: Pain during labor is one of the worst pains experienced by women. If the woman cannot adapt to it, it may lead to uncoordinated uterine contractions causing a long-complicated labor with the possibility of death of the mother and baby.Purpose: The aim of the study is to observe the ef-fect of massage treatment using frangipani aroma-therapy oil to reduce the childbirth pain intensity.Setting: Pembantu Dauh Puri Health Center Denpasar, Bali, Indonesia. Participants: Pregnant women in labor. Research Design: A quasi-experimental research design was used with pretreatment and posttreat-ment groups and a control. The respondents were 70 pregnant women in labor in Pembantu Dauh Puri Health Center Denpasar, Bali, Indonesia. Data were collected during scheduled observa-tion and were analyzed using the Mann-Whitney statistical test. Intervention: The participants in the treatment group were massaged with frangipani aromather-apy oil by rubbing and pressing the hand palms to the back region at thoracic vertebrae 10, 11, 12 and lumbar 1 levels. The women in the control group were massaged with virgin coconut oil in the same manner as that done to the treatment group.Main Outcome Measure: This study aimed to in-vestigate the potential of frangipani aromatherapy oil to be used as maternity care in helping pregnant women become more comfortable in the process of normal birthing, based on modified midwife examination form, which contain Numeric Rating Score (NRS), and interviews with the participants to measure the pain intensity.Result: Before the massage treatment, most of the respondents experienced severe pain. While receiv-ing massage without aromatherapy, respondents mostly still experienced severe pain. However, after a massage treatment using frangipani oil aroma-therapy, most respondents experienced reduced pain. There was a statistically significant effect of massage treatment using frangipani aromatherapy oil on the childbirth pain intensity (p < .001).Conclusion: In this study, massage treatment using frangipani oil aromatherapy decreased the childbirth pain intensity
“Let’s Make Submissions Easier”: Revised Author Guidelines at IJTMB
No full textRecent reports indicate formatting and reformatting manuscripts costs scholars an exorbitant amount of time, effort, and energy. In an effort to reduce barriers to submission to the IJTMB, we have simplified and streamlined the guidelines for initial manuscript submission. If manuscripts are accepted for publication, authors will be asked to format according to standard IJTMB guidelines. The new guidelines for authors are presented below, followingthe editorial
What Should We Do Different, More, Start and Stop? Systematic Collection and Dissemination of Massage Education Stakeholder Views from the 2017 Alliance for Massage Therapy Educational Congress†
Get PDFIntroduction: The Future of MT and Bodywork Forum, held July 27 during the 2017 Alliance for Massage Therapy Education (AFMTE) Educa-tional Congress in Tucson, Arizona, systematically gathered the thoughts and opinions of various massage education stakeholders through an exercise following the principles of the World Café model.Methods: Forum attendees participated in three, concurrent 30-minute Breakout Group Sessions (Rounds) in three different adjacent rooms, focused on Continuing Education, Schools, or Employment. During each session, participants rotated for 3, 2.5, 2, and 1.5 min-utes between four tables, asking what should be stopped, started, done differently, or changed in massage education related to the focus topic. Participants recorded their responses in marker on large Post-it® notes (3M, Maplewood, MN). These were reviewed by each of that round’s participants who awarded “importance points” to each response, with 6 blue and 3 orange dots each worth 1 and 3 points, respectively. The Post-it® notes with comments and point alloca-tions were transcribed into a data spreadsheet and analyzed for descriptive statistics and top scoring comments from each room.Results: 85–91 attendees participated in the three breakout sessions resulting in 674 comments with 3,744 assigned value points. The top five scor-ing comments from each room per session (N = 45) determined stakeholder’s most critical views. Stop comments made up the smallest total comments proportion (19%), yet largest top scoring com-ment proportion (36%)—potentially highlighting unified frustration for various massage education practices. Comparatively, Start comments made up 26% of total comments, but the smallest high-est scoring proportion (18%)-perhaps suggesting stakeholders feel it more important to improve what is already being done rather than beginning new endeavors in these areas.Conclusion: Stakeholder opinions on the future of massage therapy education can be system-atically gathered in large conference settings and organized, analyzed, and disseminated to inform field decision-making
Improving Clinical Outcomes and Quality of Life with Massage Therapy in Youth and Young Adults with Cystic Fibrosis: a Pilot Study
Get PDFBackground: Cystic Fibrosis (CF) is an autosomal recessive disorder of exocrine glands characterized by abnormal production of thick mucus, primar-ily in bronchi of the lungs. Individuals experience recurrent respiratory infections, increased work of breathing, cough and musculoskeletal changes with pain. Previous research found that massage therapy (MT) decreased pain, muscle tightness, and anxiety in individuals with CF, but did not use valid/reliable measurements of quality of life (QOL).Purpose: To evaluate the effects of MT on QOL and clinical outcomes in individuals 8 to 21 years old with CF. Setting: A 622-bed nonprofit pediatric hospital in Ohio in the United States.Participants: Convenience sample of 24 patients with CF; 12 randomly assigned to treatment and control groups, respectively. Research Design and Intervention: Prospective two-group controlled pre/post pilot study using deep tissue myofascial trigger point massage over 10 to 12 weeks.Measurements: Pediatric Quality of Life Inven-tory (Peds QL 4.0); Cystic Fibrosis Questionnaire-Revised (CFQ-R); numeric rating scales (NRS) for pain, muscle tightness, ease of breathing, relax-ation; pulmonary function (PFT); single breath count; thoracic excursion (TE).Results: All participants were Caucasian; mean age 15.7 (SD = 3.5) years; 16 (66.6%) female. No significant differences were found in terms of age, gender, baseline pain between MT and control groups. At the final visit, compared to the control group, the children in MT group showed statistically significantly reduced muscle tight-ness (p = .048) with a large effect size (?²=0.163) and marginally statistically significantly higher levels of relaxation (p = .052), less pain (p = .076), and improved upper TE (p = .078) and lower TE (p = .056) scores with large and moderate effect sizes (?² = 0.156, ?² = 0.095, ?² = 0.083, and ?² = 0.073). No statistically significant differences in children’s and caregivers’ QOL scores between the two groups were found.Conclusions: Massage therapy was found to significantly reduce muscle tightness, marginally significantly help pain, relaxation, and thoracic excursion in participants with C
