International Journal of Therapeutic Massage & Bodywork (IJTMB)
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Possible Role of Court-Type Thai Traditional Massage During Parturition: a Randomized Controlled Trial
Get PDFBackground and Objectives: Court-type Thai traditional Massage (c-TTM) applied during intrapartum may have some benefit other than pain relief. This study aimed to evaluate the effect of c-TTM during the first and second stage of labor, as well as pain alleviation in the first stage.Methods: This was a randomized controlled trial study. Eligible participants were singleton pregnant mothers with cervical dilation between 3–5 cm and no medical complications. Both trial groups received the same routine antepartum care except for 1 hour additional c-TTM given to the experimental group when they were in the active phase of labor. The pain score was taken from the participants at the time before labor pains started, at the time of active labor, 1, 2, 3, and 4 hours after the intervention. Pain was recorded by the researcher using a visual analog scale. The primary outcome during the first and second stages of labor was compared between groups. Pain relief during the first stage of labor and analgesic drugs used were compared as a secondary outcome. This trial is registered under the identification number TCTR20171115003.Results: Fifty-nine participants were enrolled and randomly assigned with 1:1 allocation to groups. The duration of first and second stage labor was significantly shorter in the experimental c-TTM than in the conventional control group (mean ± SD: 198.37 ± 62.80 minutes: 268.52 ± 137.81 minutes, p value =.02 and 17.54 ± 9.49 minutes: 23.35 ± 15.01 minutes, p value =.03, re-spectively). There was no difference of pain score between the groups.Conclusion: One hour of c-TTM can signifi-cantly decrease the duration of the first and second stages of labor. The pain score recorded is not statistically different between the groups
Increasing Transparency in Editorial Practices and Process at the International Journal of Therapeutic Massage and Bodywork
No full textMassage Therapy in Management of Occupational Stress in Emergency Medical Services Staffs: a Randomized Controlled Trial
Get PDFBackground: Results of various studies indicate that emergency medical service (EMS) staff suf-fer from occupational stress that adversely affects their quality of life and their care quality. Purpose: This study aimed at determining the ef-fect of massage on occupational stress experienced by emergency medical service staff. Setting: Prehospital emergency medical services stations of a city in the southwest of Iran.Participants: A total of 58 members of staff of the emergency medical services, working in prehospi-tal emergency medical services stations. Research Design: In this randomized controlled trial, a total of 58 EMS staff were selected from prehospital EMS stations, according to inclusion and exclusion criteria, and then assigned in two groups (29 in massage and 29 in control group) randomly by the minimization method. The inter-vention group received Swedish massage, twice a week for four weeks in the morning after the end of the work shift. Each massage session lasted 20–25 minutes. Subjects in the control group received no intervention. The level of occupational stress of the two groups was measured under the same condi-tions before and after the intervention by using the expanded nurses’ occupational stress scale (ENSS). Data were analyzed with the SPSS16 software by using the chi-squared test, paired and independent-sample t tests, one-way ANCOVA. P value < .05 was considered as the level of significance.Results: The mean and SD of total occupational stress scores in the control group was 114.41±30.11 in pretest and reach to 112.58± 30.62 in posttest stage. Also the mean and SD of total occupa-tional stress scores in the intervention group was 130.20±26.45 in pretest and reach to 110.41±21.75 in posttest stage. A one-way ANCOVA showed that there is a significant effect of massage on EMS staff’s occupational stress level after controlling for pretest score (p = .001).Conclusions: The training and the application of massage therapy can serve as an effective method in reducing occupational stress in emergency medical centers.
Mentor, Scholar, Academic, and a Massage Therapist: an Interview with Amanda Baskwill, PhD(c), MSc, RMT
Get PDFAmanda Baskwill, PhD(c), RMT is influencing the massage therapy profession from seemingly all angles; she is a researcher, massage therapist, edu-cator, innovator, and mentor. Baskwill previously was a full-time faculty member at Humber College in Ontario, Canada, and now holds the position of Associate Dean in the Allied Health School of Health Sciences at the same institution. She has published widely on research centered on the mas-sage therapy profession, as well as the safety and effectiveness of massage therapy as a treatment for various conditions. This interview explores the development, career, and research of the in-novative educator and scholar, Amanda Baskwill
Visceral Manipulation Decreases Pain, Increases Cervical Mobility and Electromyographic Activity of the Upper Trapezius Muscle in Non-Specific Neck Pain Subjects with Functional Dyspepsia: Two Case Reports
Get PDFBackground and Purpose: The lack of clear knowledge about the etiology of nonspecific neck pain (NS-NP) strengthens the need for other mech-anisms, still poorly described in the literature, to be investigated. Therefore, a quantitative analysis of two cases of NS-NP in subjects with functiona dyspepsia was conducted in order to verify the immediate and seven-day postintervention effects of visceral manipulation (VM) to the stomach and liver on neck pain, cervical range of motion (ROM), and electromyographic (EMG) activity of the upper trapezius muscle. Case Description: Case A was an 18-year-old female with a complaint of nonspecific neck pain for one year, with reported pain on waking, momentary intermittent pain, and occasional symptoms of paresthesia in the upper limbs. Case B was a 25-year-old female with a complaint of cervical pain for one year, accompanied by pain in the unilateral temporomandibular joint, and medial thoracic region. Both cases presented functional dyspepsia.Outcomes: The results demonstrated (sub-jects A and B, respectively) a general increase in cervical ROM (range: 12.5% to 44.44%) and amplitude of the EMG signal (immediately postintervention: 57.62 and 20.78; post seven days: 53.54% and 18.83%), and an increase in muscle fiber conduction velocity immediately postintervention (4.44% and 7.44%) and a de-crease seven days postintervention (25.25% and 21.18%). For pain, a decrease was observed immediately postintervention (23.07% and 76.92%) and seven days postintervention (100% for both subjects). Discussion: A single VM provided important clinical improvement in neck pain, cervical spine range of motion, and EMG activity of the upper trapezius muscle, immediately and seven days postintervention in two NS-NP subjects with func-tional dyspepsia
Retracted Article: Evaluating the Effect of Slow-Stroke Back Massage on the Anxiety of Candidates for Cataract Surgery
Get PDFBackground: The patients under cataract sur-gery often experience anxiety not only during the surgery, but also prior to the surgery.Purpose: We sought to determine the effects of slow-stroke back massage on anxiety in patients undergoing cataract surgery. Setting: The study was conducted in the Amiral-momenin Hospital of Zabol city, south-east of Iran.Participants: A total of 60 candidates of cataract surgery participated in the study.Research Design: The participants were ran-domly allocated to either control or intervention groups. The intervention group received slow-stroke back massages, while patients in control group received routine interventions.Intervention: The slow-stroke back massage was performed on the patients assigned to the interven-tion group. The intervention was performed in the morning of the surgery day at 30 minutes before the surgery. The researcher performed each mas-sage session in a sitting position. The duration of each massage session was 15 minutes. Main Outcome Measures: Anxiety was assessed in the both groups in the morning of the surgery, before and immediately after the intervention. In-dependent samples Student’s t test, paired samples Student’s t test, and chi-squared test were used to analyze the data.Results: Anxiety was not significantly different between the two groups before and after the mas-sage (p = .816). On the other hand, paired samples Student’s t test showed a significant difference comparing the anxiety scores before (49.7±5.43) and after (45.16±3.89) the massage in the interven-tion group (p < .001). Conclusions: Based on our results, slow-stroke back massage, which is a low-cost and safe method, reduced anxiety in patients who were candidates for cataract surgery
The Psychotherapeutic Relationship in Massage Therapy
Get PDFBackground: Psychotherapy and massage therapy (MT) are effective treatments for depression and anxiety. Little is certain about the mechanisms behind these effects in MT, but in psychotherapy they are attributed to a combination of common and specific factors, at the heart of which lies the therapeutic relationship. Research into the psychotherapeutic relationship in MT, therefore, may advance understanding of its impact on depression and anxiety.Purpose: This research seeks to elucidate the components of the psychotherapeutic relationship in MT to inform training, research, and practice.Participants & Setting: Two participants—a therapist and a client—from Melbourne, Australia. Research Design: A qualitative methodology was employed whereby one therapeutic relationship was observed over the course of three massage treatments. After each treatment, the participants commentated recordings of the sessions. The recordings were transcribed and analyzed using Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) and Conversation Analysis (CA). Themes and subthemes were extracted from the analysis.Results: Four overarching themes emerged: Separateness, Pleasure, Merging, and Internalization. Separateness is associated with the subthemes of Boundaries, Performance of Roles, and Power. Pleasure is associated with the subthemes of Safety, Comfort and Communication. Merging is associated with the subthemes of Contact and Empathy. Internalization has no subthemes.Conclusions: The results suggest that a clearer conceptualization of the therapeutic relationship in MT may help massage therapists more pur-posefully treat depressed and anxious clients. A greater emphasis on self-awareness in the professional development of massage therapists may also foster this. Additionally, the role of pleasure in the therapeutic relationship in MT warrants closer examination
Changing Author Guidelines to Include Patient and Public Involvement
Get PDFMultiple benefits have been found when pa-tients and the public are included as research co-investigators. To this end, a change is being made to the IJTMB authorship guidelines to include a new subsection within the Methods section of manuscripts, entitled “Patient and Public In-volvement”. We recommend that authors include in this section information on how patients and other stakeholders were included in the design, implementation, data analysis, and dissemination of studies. Further guidelines are provided.
Discussing Oncology Massage Research: an Interview with Danielle Gentile, PhD
Get PDFThis interview introduces the Journal’s readers to a new massage therapy researcher, Danielle Gentile, PhD, who is a Health Services Researcher and Assistant Professor of Medicine in the Depart-ment of Supportive Oncology at the Levine Cancer Institute for Atrium Health in Charlotte, North Carolina. Dr. Gentile’s research focuses on social media in health care, integrative oncology, and the effects of integrative modalities—including mas-sage therapy—on pain in patients with cancer. In the interview, Dr. Gentile describes what excites her about the field of massage therapy and how she integrates massage therapists into her research