International Journal of Therapeutic Massage & Bodywork (IJTMB)
Not a member yet
344 research outputs found
Sort by
The Use of Mixed Methods for Therapeutic Massage Research
Get PDFMixed methods research is the integration of quantitative and qualitative components in a research project. Whether reading or designing a mixed method research project, it is important to be familiar with both qualitative and quantitative research methods and the specific purposes for which they are brought together in a study: triangulation, complementarity, expansion, initiation, and development. In addition, decisions need to be made about the sequencing and the priority or importance of each qualitative and quantitative component relative to the other components, and the point or points where the different qualitative and quantitative components will be integrated.
Mixed methods research is increasingly recognized for its ability to bring multiple points of view to a research project, taking advantage of the strengths of each of the quantitative and qualitative components to explain or resolve complex phenomena or results. This becomes critical when complex healing systems like therapeutic massage are being studied. Complex healing systems may have multiple physiological effects, often reflected in changes throughout the patient’s body. Additionally, the patient’s experience of the treatment may be an important outcome
Survey of the Use of Massage for Children with Cerebral Palsy
Get PDFBackground: Conventional medicine and complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) are merging into the broader field of “integrative medicine.” Massage is no longer considered complementary or alternative in some conventional medical circles today.
Purpose: We aimed to determine the prevalence of massage use among children with cerebral palsy (CP) in the Pacific Northwest in the United States, the reasons that massage is being used, and the limits of recruitment for a future randomized controlled trial.
Methods: This study, the first step in a three-stage research plan, was conducted at the Neurodevelopmental and Neurology clinics at Seattle Children’s Hospital, a tertiary pediatric hospital that provides service to patients primarily from Washington, Alaska, Montana, and Idaho. As a feasibility study (stage one), it precedes a planned pilot study (stage two), and subsequently, a full-scale randomized controlled trial (stage three) of whether massage can improve the health of children with CP. The study subjects—104 families with a child with CP ranging in age from 17 months to 21 years—were surveyed by the principal investigator and a research assistant in exam rooms at the hospital.
Results: In the families surveyed, 80% of the children had received massage at some point. Massage was currently being used in 51%, and trained professionals were providing the massage in 23%. Most families use massage for musculoskeletal relaxation, to improve quality of life, and to help their children sleep. Lower maternal income was associated with relatives as compared with professional massage therapists providing the massage. Massage therapy use by the mother and more severe CP were significantly associated with current use of massage for the child.
Conclusions: Most children with CP in the Pacific Northwest have used massage. Most parents surveyed believe that massage is helpful to their child. Additional research is needed to determine whether massage should be routinely recommended for children with CP
International Journal of Therapeutic Massage and Bodywork (IJTMB): A Second-Year Retrospective Reflecting Google Analytics and Open Journal Systems Sources
Get PDFMuscle Repositioning: Combining Subjective and Objective Feedbacks in the Teaching and Practice of a Reflex-Based Myofascial Release Technique
Get PDFMuscle Repositioning (MR) is a new style of myofascial release that elicits involuntary motor reactions detectable by electromyography. This article* describes the principal theoretical and practical concepts of MR, and summarizes a workshop presented October 31, 2009, after the Second International Fascia Research Congress, held at Vrije Universitiet, Amsterdam. The manual mechanical input of MR integrates the client’s body segments into a block, which is evident as a result of the diagnostic manual oscillations the practitioner imparts to the client’s body. Segmental integration is achieved when the client’s body responds as a unit to the oscillatory assessment. It appears that manually sustaining the condition of segmental integration evokes involuntary muscle reactions, which reactions might correspond to mechanisms that maintain homeostasis, such as pandiculation. It might be that these reactions are part of the MR mechanism of action and underlie its clinically observed efficacy in the treatment of musculoskeletal disorders. For the practitioner and the client alike, segmental integration provides unique sensations. In teaching MR, these paired sensations can be used as kinesthetic feedback resources, because quality of touch can be guided by the client’s reported sensations, which should match the practitioner’s sensations. Another form of feedback with respect to quality of touch is the visually discernable degree of segmental integration. Finally, because the involuntary motor activity elicited by the MR touch can be objectively monitored through electromyography and possibly other instrumented measurements, the MR approach might yield objectivity, precision, and reproducibility—features seldom found in manual therapies
Release of Myofascial Pain with Deep Cross-Friction Named “Roptrotherapy”
Get PDFThis article is the expanded abstract of a workshop presented at the Second International Fascia Research Congress; October 27 – 30, 2009; Amsterdam, Netherlands
Understanding the process of fascial unwinding
Get PDFFascial or myofascial unwinding is a manual therapy in which a therapist encourages a client’s body to move into areas of ease. It typically involves the client undergoing an induction procedure and this is usually followed by a spontaneous reaction. This paper proposes a model that builds upon the neurobiological, ideomotor action, and consciousness theories to explain the process and mechanism of fascial unwinding.
During fascial unwinding, the therapist stimulates mechanoreceptors in the fascia by applying gentle touch and stretching. Touch and stretching induce relaxation and activate the parasympathetic nervous system. It also activates the central nervous system, which is involved in the modulation of muscle tone as well as movement. As a result, the central nervous system is aroused and thereby responds by encouraging muscles to find an easier, or more relaxed position, and by introducing the ideomotor action. Although the ideomotor action is generated via normal voluntary motor control systems, it is altered and experienced as an involuntary response. Consequently, fascial unwinding can be thought of as a neurobiological process employing the self-regulation dynamic system theory
Directions and Dilemmas in Massage Therapy Research: A Workshop Report from the 2009 North American Research Conference on Complementary and Integrative Medicine
Get PDFBackground: Massage therapy (MT) is widely used and expanding rapidly, but systematic research on its mechanisms and effects, in contrast with many other therapeutic fields, has a short history.
Purpose: To take stock of the current state of MT research, and explore approaches, directions, and strategies with the potential to make the next two decades of MT research optimally productive.
Setting: The 2009 North American Research Conference on Complementary and Integrative Medicine held in Minneapolis, MN.
Method: Using a modified Delphi method, study authors led an interactive workshop that aimed to identify established MT research findings, needed MT research, weaknesses and limitations in currently available MT research, and directions to pursue in the next two decades of MT research.
Participants: Thirty-seven conference attendees included MT researchers, educators, and practitioners, and other health care practitioners who already work interprofessionally with MT who actively participated in the workshop and ensured that a diversity of perspectives were represented.
Results: The MT field has made rapid and laudable progress in its short history, but at the same time this short history is probably the main reason for most of the current shortcomings in MT research. Workshop participants, drawing on a diversity of backgrounds, identified many opportunities and strategies for future research.
Conclusion: Though lost time can never be recovered, we should not allow our field's late start in research to be a demoralizing handicap to progress. Modern scientific methods and technologies, applied to the range of directions and dilemmas highlighted in this report, can lead to impressive progress in the next 20 years of MT research