Methodological issues in the scientific investigation of massage and bodywork therapy: Part I

Abstract

The original version of this four-part paper was first commissioned by the American Massage Therapy Association (AMTA) Foundation to serve as background for the Massage Research Agenda Workgroup (MRAW). The Foundation is a 501 (c) (3) charitable organization of the AMTA committed to ‘advancing the knowledge and practice of massage therapy by supporting scientific research, education, and community service’. The MRAW consisted of health care professionals from diverse backgrounds (including body workers, social scientists, and research scientists) who gathered for a 3-day conference in March of 1999 to compile and submit appropriate, as well as realistic, research goals in the field of massage therapy and bodywork. Assumed in this agenda is the value of research for all health care professions, including massage. As stated in the Executive Summary of the MRAW recommendations, ‘rigorously controlled and replicated research is a key to the professionalization of any health care field’. Also explicit in the MRAW recommendations is the necessity that research conducted in massage therapy and bodywork truly reflect the profession and ultimately serve its clients. A few of the goals of the MRAW are as follows: