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RESEARCHING THE RESEARCH - what are the challenges, obstacles and questions?
I'm throwing this thread up as a method of us helping one another.
I'm sure many of us are like me and new to the whole area of research literacy. In the most recent edition of Massage Today Ruth Werner addresses research, it's importance is also addresses the need for research literacy. She also provides some good links which every therapist should consider bookmarking. This is one area in which we can be proactive in educating ourselves.
In another thread some starting points were given, and so I will put them on here again:
Here is a good intro article on research literacy and here is another
Other articles can be found here
This is the anatomy of a research article
For a starter book on understanding research consider:
Making Sense of Research by Martha Brown Menard
and if you want to get more into the detail of research methodology, then:
Research Methods for Massage and Holistic Therapies by Glenn Hymel
So lets help each other get our heads around finding, interpreting and critiquing the research.
Throw your questions up on this thread and hopefully the more research "literate" amongst us will help out!
I'm sure many of us are like me and new to the whole area of research literacy. In the most recent edition of Massage Today Ruth Werner addresses research, it's importance is also addresses the need for research literacy. She also provides some good links which every therapist should consider bookmarking. This is one area in which we can be proactive in educating ourselves.
In another thread some starting points were given, and so I will put them on here again:
Here is a good intro article on research literacy and here is another
Other articles can be found here
This is the anatomy of a research article
For a starter book on understanding research consider:
Making Sense of Research by Martha Brown Menard
and if you want to get more into the detail of research methodology, then:
Research Methods for Massage and Holistic Therapies by Glenn Hymel
So lets help each other get our heads around finding, interpreting and critiquing the research.
Throw your questions up on this thread and hopefully the more research "literate" amongst us will help out!
Views: 285
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Mike Hinkle on
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Thank you, Vlad. This should be another good thread!
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Permalink Reply by Robin Byler Thomas on
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I just bought Glenn Hymel's book for $5 plus shipping on Amazon from a seller with a perfect 10/10 rating; used in new condition. Several more copies left at various prices.
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For anyone who's interested here are the two articles I referred to, in another thread, written by a statistician who presents an argument for better statistical methods applied to MT and CAM research. They are not the easiest read but do make a strong case for:
Participant centered analysis focused on gathering data specific to the individual; good for recommending the appropriate modality for each person rather what's good for the average.
Separation tests as a method of inferential testing, in early-phase trials, as more useful than the null hypothesis standard for MT and other CAM research. Because many early stage testing in MT has been limited by funding to small sample sizes that gave them little statistical power and led to decisions of no treatment effect. The purpose of a separation test is to find an indication that further research is justified, or not.
Why do we care? Because many energy modalities have not proven effective in studies and got tossed too quickly because they didn't get the funding for bigger numbers of participants, for one.
For another, people are continuing to choose energy modalities and we need to test their safety, efficacy, and impact on the public without tossing them in beginning trials because funding goes elsewhere. - Attachments:
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Hi Rick,
Have you tried doing a search?
You can go to http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/ or http://www.clinicaltrials.gov/
Try copying and pasting if these links don't work.
Type in blood pressure and body work, or blood pressure and massage, or some combination of these terms or others, and see what abstracts come up. They will give you a summary of the study with the conclusions usually listed at the end. We can help you from there if you need it.
Rick Britton said:i am particularly interested on any research that has been done on reduction of blood pressure through bodywork
if anyone could post a link or two I would be grateful
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Interesting, what'd you think Rick?
Did you find anything else?
Rick Britton said:
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Yea, you might try taking their blood pressure before and after a sesssion. I choose most often to do a light massage with hypertensive cleints, however a few have insisted on deeper, integrative work; so I bought a cuff and did readings before and after sessions with a client who was a nurse. She would do readings after she got home too (about an hour after) and the next morning. Her pressure was reduced. I had another who didn't react as well and so will not do deep work on her; even though she's on hypertensive medication; she now goes to someone else.
Did you find any other studies with different results?
Rick Britton said:you see over the years I have had a whole bunch of clients report back to me, and often several weeks later, that they have experienced a reduction in blood pressure following extensive structural, myofascial and deep tissue work. More often than not they came to me for pain reduction work and postural correction; my approach has always been to create space, release deep restrictions, improvement and so on - and to work globally as it were.
It seems logical to me that reducing restriction in the soft tissue could well have a significant effect on blood pressure - the major blood vessels pass through the larger muscles don't they? Some of these clients ended up reducing or eliminating their medication. Maybe they got the reduction because they feel better in general. I dont really know the answer to that.
Interesting that the article shows reductions following deep tissue work huh?
Anyway, I would really like to be able to market my work directly as a natural treatment for blood pressure reduction and some solid science, rather than anecdotal evidence, would really help me to achieve the goal. Wouldn't it be great if we could get whole groups of hypertensives healthy and off their meds??
Robin Byler Thomas said:Interesting, what'd you think Rick?
Did you find anything else?
Rick Britton said:
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Here's one that validates what I was taught about applying light Swedish massage for reduction of hypertension:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov.ezproxy1.library.arizona.edu/pubmed/164...
It found Trigger Point Work and Sports Massage not to be effective at reductions; they said anything that causes pain was not good. I do find most hypertensives have a stronger reaction to specfic work.
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Rick Britton said:
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Yes, so you know what works already and we both found the same study that says it depends on the work and the client.
I know there's more out there validating light work for reduction of blood pressure.
You might look here for some older studies by T. Fields: http://www6.miami.edu/touch-research/abstracts.htm
Rick Britton said:i believe the trigger point and sports massage didnt work for several reasons.
I have always found, in the UK at least, that most practitioners apply far too much pressure and cause far too much pain. It is my experience that this kind of work is less effective at releasing tissue permanently.
I am not at all surprised that light touch work was more effective. I practice light touch in all my work and i always find that much better in achieving genuine release and unwinding
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Permalink Reply by Christopher A. Moyer on
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Hi Rick.
Robin gave you some great ways to find studies. Add google scholar to your resources, too - it's really quite good, and in some cases it will link you directly to the study you want.
Concerning MT and blood pressure, I am really interested in your theory as to how it might reduce blood pressure. That's interesting and makes sense; I wonder if that is in fact how it might be working.
I generally want to avoid directing folks to my own studies on here, but you might be interested in the results of MT on BP that we found in our 2004 study, which you can access here.
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CAM, where've you been?
Are you going to check out my attachments on separation trials and participant studies?
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