Research

Advancing the massage therapy profession through research. 

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Humans instinctively value the healing power of touch, and modern massage therapy comes from a long and venerable tradition reaching through time and across cultural boundaries. 

Rigorous research about massage can challenge tradition, but it strengthens our profession, and provides guidance for massage therapists to be as effective as possible. Since its inception over 30 years ago, the Massage Therapy Foundation has funded many research projects. Topics have ranged from massage for peripheral neuropathy related to chemotherapy to postural control of elders, migraines, cancer, and spinal cord injury. In addition, MTF has consulted on numerous large-scale studies, funded five systematic reviews (one on stress, and one on sports massage), founded and published the International Journal of Therapeutic Massage & Bodywork (IJTMB), and hosted six International Massage Therapy Research Conferences. The Foundation also founded and runs MassageNet Practice-based Research Network (PBRN), which utilizes data collected in clinical practice to offer researchers a better understanding of real-world results.