In his editorial accompanying our systematic review of aromatherapy (June Journal),1 Vickers2 concludes that ‘it is not of pressing scientific importance to know whether aromatherapy enhances the effects of massage, since the essential oils used in aromatherapy are not particularly toxic or expensive’. I believe that this statement is misleading, perhaps even unscientific. If massage therapy al...

Several of the continuing education (CE) options offered at the 2009 American Massage Therapy Association National Convention represented the Research Track sponsored by the Massage Therapy Foundation. Included among these CE options were these sessions (presenters indicated parenthetically): Learning Through Clinical Research (Douglas Nelson and James Ivaska); Research Rocks (Angela Palmier an...

BACKGROUND Despite the growing popularity of therapeutic massage in the US, little is known about the training or practice characteristics of massage therapists. The objective of this study was to describe these characteristics. METHODS As part of a study of random samples of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) practitioners, we interviewed 226 massage therapists licensed in Connecti...

Background. Massage therapy is a noninvasive treatment that many individuals with multiple sclerosis (MS) use to supplement their conventional treatment. Objective. We hypothesize that massage therapy will improve the leg function and overall quality of life (QoL) of MS patients. Design. A two-period (rest, massage) crossover design was used. Twenty-four individuals with MS ranging from 3.0 to ...

Purpose Manualization is considered to be an integral methodolo-gic component for rigorous research on complementary and alternative therapies. Clinical trial design of manual therapies may be especially challenging since techniques are often individualized and practitioner-dependent. Methods Here we describe our methodology in creating a standardized and reproducible massage intervention tailo...

Infant massage was first introduced in China in 2nd century BC. Massaging the newborn has been a tradition in India and other Asian countries since time immemorial. Various oil-based preparations have been used depending on the regional availability. There has been a recent surge in this ancient art particularly as a therapy among parents and professionals in the Western world. Evidence exists ...

Claims for the efficacy of massage therapy must currently be viewed with caution until more hard data becomes available. Utilization of massage therapy as an effective treatment for post-exercise recovery from physical activity or in preparation for physical activity in horses cannot currently be supported by strong scientific evidence. Author’s Address: Department of Kinesiology & Physical Edu...

BACKGROUND The intent of the present study was to determine the effectiveness of massage therapy in the rehabilitation of post-anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction patellofemoral pain syndrome. The primary complications following surgical repair of the anterior cruciate ligament-classified as patellofemoral pain syndrome-are hamstring flexion contracture and quadriceps weakness, leading to...

[Purpose] This study performed an effect-size analysis of massage therapy for shoulder pain. [Subjects and Methods] The database search was conducted using PubMed, CINAHL, Embase, PsycINFO, RISS, NDSL, NANET, DBpia, and KoreaMed. The meta-analysis was based on 15 studies, covering a total of 635 participants, and used a random effects model. [Results] The effect size estimate showed that massag...