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 25 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, the Massage Therapy Foundation 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 four international science conferences on massage therapy research.
Below you will find downloadable infographics of research articles provided by the Massage Therapy Foundation. These infographics are a visual shorthand in a PDF format with links to the original article for those who want more detail.
Enjoy!