MTF & S4OM ACRONYMS THAT MATTER

Cliff Korn

Vice President

Massage Therapy Foundation

Who Are We?

• We are a philanthropic institution [501(c)(3)]

that advances the knowledge and practice

of massage therapy by supporting scientific

research, education and community service

• Our Vision: The practice of massage

therapy is evidence-informed and

accessible to everyone.

Should We Collaborate?

Do MTF Goals align with S4OM Needs?

1. Advance research on therapeutic massage and bodywork.

2. Foster massage therapy initiatives that serve populations in need.

3. Promote research literacy and capacity in the profession.

4. Support the evidence-informed practice of therapeutic massage and bodywork based upon available research, client factors, and practitioner experience and judgment.

5. Fortify the Foundation’s financial resources and organizational effectiveness.

Working Together

Here are some fantastic ways to get involved with the

Foundation:

• Donate-when you give to us, you give to the profession

• Sponsor-whether you choose to sponsor an event or a

seminar, know that you are committing to building a better

industry

• Volunteer-we can not do it without the many individuals

who so kindly donate their time

• International Journal of Therapeutic Massage &

Bodywork-get your ad featured in one of the only peer-

reviewed online journals for massage therapists

Tools We Use (Programs)

• Community Service

Grants

• Case Report Contest

• IJTMB.org

• Research Posters

• Research Conference

• eBooks

• Research Literacy

Courses

• Research Grants

• Research Perch

• Research Agenda

Collaboration opportunities!!

2013 Community Service Grant Recipients

• HIV Comprehensive Wellness • Donna Pine-Kimil; Gay Men's Health Crisis, New York, NY

• Infant Massage for At-Risk Families • Nath Chad; Grinnell Regional Medical Center, Grinnell, IA

• Grief Massage at The Respite: Comfort for Life Transition and Loss • Aimee Taylor; The Respite, A Center for Grief and Hope, Charlotte,

NC (Sponsored in part by a donation from Biotone)

• Massage Therapy in Pediatric Palliative Care • Dr. Jeffrey Gold; Children's Hospital Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA

(Sponsored in part by a donation from Biotone)

2013 Case Report Contest Award Recipients

Students

• Gold Award Winner

• Jennifer Nielsen - Chronic

Hyperventilator with Irritable Bowel

syndrome

• Silver Award Winner

• Morag Wehrle - Professional

Violinist

• Bronze Award Winner

• Linda Ching – Piriformis Syndrome

• Honorable Mention

• Meghan Reid - Spinal Cord Injury

Practitioners

• Gold Award Winner

• Angela Burke - Stress

Reduction in Children with

Autism Spectrum Disorder

• Silver Award Winner

• Laura Allen - Chronic Low

Back Pain

• Honorable Mention

• Rosi Goldsmith - Parkinson’s

Disease

International Journal of Therapeutic

Massage and Bodywork (IJTMB.org)

• Scientifically-based articles of a research, educational, and practice-oriented nature

• Indexed in PubMed

• Began in 2008

Editors • Antony Porcino, PhD

• Karen Boulanger, PhD

• Albert Moraska, PhD

• Niki Munk, PhD

• Whitney Lowe

• Glenn Hymel, PhD

Research Posters/Conferences

• Involvement with MTF

through submitting

posters or having

platform presentations

• AMTA National

• International Massage

Therapy Research

Conference

OTHER MTF PROGRAMS

OF INTEREST TO S4OM

2013 Research Grant Recipient

“The Effect of Massage Therapy on Cancer

Related Fatigue in Breast Cancer Survivors”

Paulette Swanson, PT, DPT, MS, cert. MDT Middlesex Hospital Cancer Center, Middletown, CT

Samueli Institute- Systematic Review

• Samueli Institute is a non-profit research organization supporting the scientific exploration of healing processes and their role in medicine, with the mission of transforming health care worldwide.

• Current review • Massage therapy for pain

• Future reviews • Massage therapy for

cancer pain

• Massage therapy for

surgical pain

ANY QUESTIONS?

ANY SUGGESTIONS FOR

COLLABORATION?

Research pyramid of evidence

Research Agenda

1. Build a research infrastructure within the massage

therapy profession.

• Encourage development of a research literate massage therapy

profession.

• Work with stakeholders to establish research as a core competency

in the professional education of massage therapists.

• Fund the education of massage therapy researchers.

• Foster collaborations, create pathways and establish linkages that

encourage interactions of massage therapists with physicians,

clinical and experimental researchers, and social scientists.

Research Agenda

2. Fund research into the safety and efficacy of

massage therapy.

• Begin by funding studies that compare the relative effectiveness of

different massage modalities for a given condition

• Then fund studies that compare the optimum massage therapy for

a given condition with other standard methods of care (medical,

chiropractic, acupuncture, etc.).

Research Agenda

3. Fund studies of physiological (or other)

mechanisms by which massage therapy achieves

its effects.

4. Fund studies stemming from a wellness paradigm.

• Document what “wellness” means to stakeholders.

• Establish the dimensions of the effects of massage therapy on

“self‐healing.”

• Align these studies with the study of physiological mechanisms

above.

• Explore the interaction of consciousness, wellness and the actual

practice of massage therapists.

Research Agenda

• 5. Fund studies of the profession of therapeutic

massage.

• Fund studies that determine what makes a “good” or “great”

massage therapist.

• Document how massage therapists are perceived by themselves

and others.

• Evaluate the client assessment skills of massage therapists.

• Explore the dimensions of the therapeutic encounter.