Specific techniques and modalities are the key tools of our profession. But as any artisan or craftsmen will tell you, each tool is only as good as the person using it. Sometimes, we may look to one specific assessment or treatment technique to give us the key results we are looking for.
Do you use massage tools in your practice? Do you work with post-natal women? If so, this month’s Massage Therapy Foundation (MTF) research column features a case study that might interest you.
According to the Massage Therapy Foundation’s website (www.massagetherapyfoundation.org) a case study documents a massage therapist’s experience with an individual client. Case studies help the practitioner and the massage therapy profession improve communication and critical thinking skills, and they can contribute to future research and clinical practice. If you are a massage therapy student, read on to see how you can enter the MTF Student Case Report Contest.
We all want to save our thumbs and have long, pain-free careers. This month, the MTF is reviewing what could be called massage tool research. It is not a commonly researched topic, so we are highlighting information from the Department of Physical Therapy at Indiana University. In this case study, Amy Bayliss, et al, reported on how instrument-assisted soft tissue mobilization (ISTM) was used to treat a post-natal patient with chronic calf pain.