International Journal of Therapeutic Massage and Bodywork: Research, Education, and Practice最新文献

Our aim is to describe a possible class of nonpathological spontaneous movements that has so far received little attention in the scientific literature. These movements arise spontaneously without an underlying pathology such as Huntington's, Parkinson's, cerebral palsy or spinal cord injury. The movements arise in many different contexts including therapeutic, social, religious, and solitary settings. Anecdotal evidence suggests that the movements are related to development and maintenance of form, being part of inherited autoregulatory behaviors and hence bringing an overlooked therapeutic potential. We describe contexts in which they occur, illustrate with case reports, and characterize the movements in terms of their various triggers, movement phenotypes, and conscious and subconscious influences that can occur at both the individual level as well as during collaborative movement relationships between patient and therapist. This description is intended to create a more widespread awareness of the movements, and provide a foundation for future research as to their healing potential.

Background: Premenstrual syndrome is a highly prevalent cyclical disorder among women of childbearing age which interferes with daily activities, mood, and quality of life.

Purpose: To evaluate the effects of a foot reflexology protocol on relieving premenstrual syndrome symptoms in nursing students.

Setting: Nursing School, São Paulo University, Brazil.

Participants: A convenience sample of 17 nursing students, diagnosed with moderate-to-severe premenstrual syndrome as assessed by the Premenstrual Symptoms Screening Tool (PSST).

Research design: A pre-post pilot intervention study.

Intervention: The intervention consisted of eight reflexology sessions lasting 30 minutes for eight weeks.

Main outcome measure: Evaluation of the participants by the PSST applied at the beginning and at the end of the study.

Results: The participants had an average age of 21.7 (±2.6) years, ranging from 19 to 28 years; all were single, and most were in the third year of the course (58.8%); 75.6% lived with their family; 82.4% do not use contraceptives; 64.7% reported regular menstrual flow with an average duration of 5.1 (±1.1) days, and an average menstrual cycle interval of 29.3 (±4.9) days. The intervention significantly reduced the premenstrual symptoms assessed by the PSST (p<.017) with a pre-post difference of 10.2 points in the overall score, and the items score decreased between 1.2 to 3.4 for difficulty concentrating, insomnia, hypersomnia, feeling overwhelmed, muscle/ joint pain, bloating, weight gain; and between 3.5 to 5.2 to anger/irritability, anxiety/ tension, tearful, depressed mood, decreased interest in daily activities, fatigue, overeating, and breast tenderness. There was a significant decrease regarding the functional impact of premenstrual symptoms domain in the overall score with a pre-post difference of 10.7, and between 1.7 and 3.0 for all of the items (p<.04), except for the item "your home responsibilities".

Conclusion: Foot reflexology has shown promising results in reducing premenstrual syndrome symptoms.

Background: Migraines involve moderate-to-severe neck and face pain that lasts four to 72 hours, and are followed by fatigue and stiffness. Migraines are treated using medications, massage therapy (MT), and non-pharmacological alternatives. Cervical spondylosis (CS) is characterized by degeneration of the intervertebral discs, neck pain, and involvement of soft tissues in the cervical area. CS is treated using medications and manual therapy, including MT.

Objective: To determine the effects of MT on cervical range of motion and daily function in a patient with migraines and CS.

Case presentation: The patient was an active 56-year-old female diagnosed with migraines and CS. Initial evaluation included cervical range of motion (ROM), goniometry, reflexes, myotomes, dermatomes, local sensation testing and orthopedic tests. Assessment was followed by five MT treatments. Swedish massage, myofascial trigger point release, and proprioceptive neuromuscular facilitation (PNF) stretching were applied to the back, neck, head, and face. The Headache Disability Index (HDI) was administered on the initial and final visits to evaluate patient function. Cervical ROM was measured pre- and posttreatment using a universal goniometer. Treatment was conducted by a second-year MT student at the MacEwan Massage Therapy Teaching Clinic in Edmonton, Alberta.

Results: All cervical ranges of motion improved. The Headache Disability Index score decreased, but was not considered significant. The patient reported decreased stiffness in the upper back and shoulders, reduced migraines, and better sleeping patterns after the MT intervention.

Conclusion: MT was effective in increasing cervical ROM, but had no significant effect on daily function. Further research is warranted on effects of MT on CS and migraines.

Background: There is a high prevalence of moderate-to-high levels of chronic stress among nurses, as well as an occurrence of musculoskeletal disorders.

Purpose: To evaluate the effectiveness of chair massage to reduce chronic stress and musculoskeletal pain in the Oncology Nursing team.

Setting: Two teaching cancer hospitals, one public and the other private, in São Paulo city, Brazil.

Participants: A total of 60 women from the Oncology Nursing team.

Research design: A randomized controlled trial divided into two groups: chair massage and control without intervention.

Intervention: The massage group received two chair massage sessions lasting 15 minutes, twice a week, for three weeks.

Main outcome measure: Reduction of stress and pain measured by the List of Signs and Symptoms (LSS) and the Brief Pain Inventory (BPI), respectively.

Results: The average age was 32 (± 5.3) years. There was a reduction of stress measured by the LSS with a statistical difference in the group-time interaction (p < .001), with a Cohen's d value of 1.21 between groups. The BPI analysis showed a statistically significant difference in the group-time interaction for general activity (p < .008), mood (p < .03), work (p < .000), and sleep (p = .03), with reduced pain interference in these components.

Conclusion: Chair massage reduced stress and pain interference in the team's daily life activities, bringing a positive impact in the context of work stress and pain in Oncology nursing professionals.

Background: Ice massage is one of the common hydrotherapeutic procedures. The current study is first of its kind, conducted to evaluate the effect of ice massage to head and spine on blood pressure and heart rate variability in patients with hypertension.

Materials and methods: Fifteen hypertensive subjects with the mean ± standard deviation (SD) age of 48.87 ± 11.17 yrs were recruited and underwent only one session of ice massage to head and spine for 20 min. Blood pressure and heart rate variability were assessed before and immediately after the intervention.

Results: Results of this study showed a significant reduction in systolic blood pressure (p = <.001), diastolic blood pressure (p < .001) and heart rate (p = .012), and a significant increase in R-R Interval (the intervals between adjacent R waves in the electro cardiogram) (p = .001) in the post-test assessments compared to its respective pre-test assessments.

Conclusion: Results suggest that 20 min of ice massage to head and spine may reduce blood pressure and heart rate in patients with hypertension. However, there is no evidence that this provides any significant clinical impact for the patient.

Discussions of professionalism and conflict within practice are an important area of enquiry as massage therapy practice continues to be recognized within the health care realm. The scientific literature has paid little attention to these massage therapy professional and ethical dilemmas. Herein, we explore one such area of conflict between a client and therapist in regard to communication and complaints. An interview was conducted to gain further insight to the situation and is structured based upon the following interview guide: description of the instance, how the therapist handled this situation, reflection on how the therapist's actions contributed to the situation, brief discussion of how other professions handled these types of situations, and reflection on what could have been done differently.

Background: Foam rolling (FR) is a self-myofascial release technique with unclear effects on autonomic functioning, indexed by heart rate variability (HRV). FR can be perceived as painful or relaxing, which may explain interindividual HRV responses.

Purpose: To determine if acute FR alters resting HRV. A secondary aim was to determine if perceived pain during FR would predict HRV responses.

Setting: Academic institution.

Methods: In a randomized, crossover design, healthy adults (50% female) performed total body FR or control on separate days. Perceived pain ratings were obtained following FR of each muscle group and summed to generate an overall perceived pain rating. Seated measures of the mean RR interval and the natural logarithm of the root-mean square of successive RR interval differences (LnRMSSD, a parasympathetic HRV index) were obtained at 5-10 min pre-, 5-10 min post-, and 25-30 min post-FR.

Results: No effects were observed for RR interval (p = .105-.561) or LnRMSSD (p = .110-.129). All effect sizes ranged from trivial-small (0.00-0.26). Changes in RR interval (r = 0.220-0.228, p = .433-.488) and LnRMSSD (r = 0.013-0.256, p = .376-.964) were not associated with pain scale sum. Baseline LnRMSSD was associated with pain scale sum (r = -0.663; p = .001).

Conclusion: FR did not systematically alter HRV, nor did perceived pain ratings predict HRV responses. Those with lower pre-FR HRV reported higher perceived pain during FR. Basal cardiac autonomic activity may, therefore, influence pain sensitivity to FR in healthy adults.

Background: Plantar fasciitis (PF) is a common degenerative condition of the plantar fascia. Symptoms include tenderness on the plantar surface of the foot, pain on walking after inactivity, and difficulty with daily activities. Rest, non-steroidal anti-inflammatories, and manual therapies are frequently used treatments for PF. Trigger point release (TrPR) for PF has been found as a viable treatment option.

Objective: To determine the effects of massage, including proximal TrPR, for pain and functional limitations in a patient with PF.

Method: A student massage therapist from MacEwan University administered five massages, one initial and one final assessment over five weeks to a 46-year-old female with diagnosed PF. She complained of unilateral plantar heel pain (PHP) and deep pulling from mid-glutes to the distal lower limb bilaterally. Evaluation involved active and passive range of motion, myotomes, dermatomes, reflexes, and orthopedic tests. The treatment aim was to decrease PHP by releasing active trigger points (TrPs) along the posterior lower extremity to the plantar surface of the foot, lengthening the associated muscles and plantar fascia. Hydrotherapy, Swedish massage, TrPR, myofascial release, and stretches were implemented. Pain was measured using the numerical rating scale pre- and post-treatments, and the Foot Function Index was used to assess function at the first, middle, and last appointments to assess the effectiveness of massage including proximal TrPR for PF.

Results: PHP and functional impairments decreased throughout the five-week period.

Conclusion: The results indicate massage, including proximal TrPR, may decrease pain and functional impairments in patients with PF. Further research is necessary to measure its efficacy and confirm TrPR as a treatment option.

The scope of the IJTMB includes not only publishing scientific research studies, but also to publish education innovation and practice-oriented approaches for all allied health providers whose practice include manually applied therapeutic massage and bodywork. The aims of the Practice and Education sections of the Journal are described in this editorial. The Education section covers topics including curriculum and competencies development, instructional design and delivery, instructional technology, distance learning, and testing/evaluative procedures for both initial education as well as continuing education. Planning, organization, marketing, and management of a successful practice, the incorporation of new scientific findings and methods into clinical practice, new clinical approaches to prevention and treatment of specific health conditions, and ethical issues are included in the Practice section. In an effort to increase publication within these sections we have put forth this call to action. We invite educators and practitioners to submit manuscripts discussing innovations in massage therapy education, how schools and students dealt with the Covid-19 pandemic, practitioners and clients adapted to the pandemic, investigations of the massage therapy profession and about massage therapists, as well as interesting case studies.