Directions and Dilemmas in Massage Therapy Research: A Workshop Report from the 2009 North American Research Conference on Complementary and Integrative Medicine

Background: Massage therapy (MT) is widely used and expanding rapidly, but systematic research on its mechanisms and effects, in contrast with many other therapeutic fields, has a short history. Purpose: To take stock of the current state of MT research, and explore approaches, directions, and strategies with the potential to make the next two decades of MT research optimally productive. Setting: The 2009 North American Research Conference on Complementary and Integrative Medicine held in Minneapolis, MN. Method: Using a modified Delphi method, study authors led an interactive workshop that aimed to identify established MT research findings, needed MT research, weaknesses and limitations in currently available MT research, and directions to pursue in the next two decades of MT research. Participants: Thirty-seven conference attendees included MT researchers, educators, and practitioners, and other health care practitioners who already work interprofessionally with MT who actively participated in the workshop and ensured that a diversity of perspectives were represented. Results: The MT field has made rapid and laudable progress in its short history, but at the same time this short history is probably the main reason for most of the current shortcomings in MT research. Workshop participants, drawing on a diversity of backgrounds, identified many opportunities and strategies for future research. Conclusion: Though lost time can never be recovered, we should not allow our field's late start in research to be a demoralizing handicap to progress. Modern scientific methods and technologies, applied to the range of directions and dilemmas highlighted in this report, can lead to impressive progress in the next 20 years of MT research