The Massage Therapy Foundation is delighted to invite you to participate in our Student Case Report Contest. This contest fosters an opportunity for students to develop research skills by conducting their own research case report in which they will summarize their results in the format of a professional research paper. Top-rated reports will receive recognition in the way of publication opportunities and cash rewards. This educational event also provides research acclaim for the host schools.
Uncertainty abounds in the future of our work, but I’m convinced of at least one thing: the massage profession 20 years from now will need to be research literate. This is true regardless of modality or business model – research literacy will be as important to career longevity as body mechanics or business skills.
When I say this to a group of massage educators, they mostly agree, but each will offer a healthy dose of realism. Like all educators, they contend with scarce resources, bureaucratic stasis, and willful students. Moreover, most massage teachers feel they lack the research literacy that they’re supposed to instill in students. So it’s one thing to trumpet the need for research literacy, but quite another to create it.
What do we mean by research literacy, anyway? What abilities – if we saw them in every massage school graduate — would constitute success? I suggest these four essential skills as a worthy goal for every massage school. We should ensure that every graduate has the ability to:
We are pleased to announce our partnership with Lippincott Williams & Wilkins (LWW) in hosting the NCB-approved workshop Teaching Research Literacy (TRL) to be held June 18-19, 2011, at Irene’s Myomassology Institute in Southfield, MI.
“The Massage Therapy Foundation is excited to welcome Lippincott Williams & Wilkins as a Partner in our Teaching Research Literacy program,” said Ruth Werner, president of the MTF. “This support demonstrates their commitment to furthering research literacy and capacity in the massage therapy profession.”
Lippincott Williams & Wilkins is the leading provider of massage therapy resources, offering a suite of products that is comprehensive, high quality, and accessible to meet the needs and challenges of today’s massage instructor, school owner, student, and working therapist.
We developed the Teaching Research Literacy program to work with massage school faculty to build research literacy competencies into their cirricula. The MTF sends a presenter to the school who works closely with the school’s faculty, as well as encouraging faculty from nearby schools to attend as well. This class is a time for educators to build skills together, and to engage in the active exchange of ideas for how they can take very basic research literacy concepts into virtually every massage class. For more information on our Teaching Research Literacy program or sponsoring a TRL event, please visit our website or email Gini at gohlson@massagetherapyfoundation.org.
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Rosemary Chunco is a recent Gold Award Winner in the Massage Therapy Foundation’s Practitioner Case Report Contest (PCRC). In this video, Rosemary discusses how massage research can make you a better massage therapist. She also gives tips on how to begin utilizing massage research and why she entered the MTF’s Case Report Contest.
We are pleased to announce the winners of the Massage Therapy Foundation’s 2010 Practitioner Case Report Contest. This year’s Grand Prize Gold Award has been awarded to Rosemary Chunco, LMT, BA, MSc, of Plano, Texas. Her winning case report was titled “The Effects of Massage on Pain, Stiffness and Fatigue Levels Associated with Ankylosing Spondylitis: A Case Study.” As the first place winner, Chunco will receive a $2,500 cash award contingent upon undergoing the peer review process with a scientific publication, an invitation to present her paper and poster at the 2011 AMTA National convention and a $1,000 stipend to be used toward travel to the Convention.
Chunco said of the process of creating a case report, “Planning, implementing and completing a case study in my own practice had an unforeseen positive impact in many ways, including a noticeable increase in my level of analytical thinking, increased confidence in an ability to find pertinent information on a problem, and a significant increase in my knowledge on a specific condition. Moreover, being able to contribute to the profession by the provision of information also gave me a feeling of satisfaction that I have not encountered before… I hope that others will decide to complete case reports and experience the benefits that can result from such a venture.”
Chunco’s report focused on a 47-year old female patient with Ankylosing Spondylitis (AS), a disease that causes inflammation of the joints between the spinal bones, and the joints between the spine and pelvis. With massage, the patient reported a reduction in the intensity of her stiffness, pain and fatigue, and Chunco observed increases in forward and lateral flexion. Chunco concluded that massage shows promise as a treatment for symptoms associated with AS. Read the full abstract.
An Honorable Mention was awarded to Rosalyn A. Smarr, LMT, of Dayville, Oregon, for her case report titled “The Effects of Specific Injury Treatment and Facilitated Stretching on Acromial Clavicular Joint Pain with a Possible Separated Shoulder.” This report focused on the effect of massage at aiding in full recovery after a shoulder joint injury with positive results. Read the full abstract.
The MTF has chosen to encourage the writing of case reports to provide an opportunity for massage therapists and bodyworkers to develop research skills and enhance their ability to provide knowledge-based massage to the public. Visit our website to learn about all previous winners and to find out information on how to enter the 2011 contest. The deadline to apply is October 8, 2011.
Megan Klawitter has been the
Foundation Coordinator of the Massage Therapy Foundation since 2010. She is
responsible for all communications and marketing for the MTF including
overseeing the blog and website. You can contact her directly at mklawitter@massagetherapyfoundation.org.
massage therapy research winners research winners of massage therapy writing massage case studies
The Massage Therapy Foundation is delighted to invite you to participate in our Student Case Report Contest. This contest fosters an opportunity for students to develop research skills by conducting their own research case report in which they will summarize their results in the format of a professional research paper. Top-rated reports will receive recognition in the way of publication opportunities and cash rewards. This educational event also provides research acclaim for the host schools.
We are pleased to announce our partnership with 
We developed the Teaching Research Literacy program to work with massage school faculty to build research literacy competencies into their cirricula. The MTF sends a presenter to the school who works closely with the school’s faculty, as well as encouraging faculty from nearby schools to attend as well. This class is a time for educators to build skills together, and to engage in the active exchange of ideas for how they can take very basic research literacy concepts into virtually every massage class. For more information on our Teaching Research Literacy program or sponsoring a TRL event, please 
