Issue link: https://www.massageandbodyworkdigital.com/i/68178
news notes COMPILED BY SEAN EADS The Massage Therapy Foundation has recognized five students APPOINTMENTS TO NCCAM M. Katherine Shear, MD, and Xiaoming Tian, MD, CMD, LAc, were appointed to the National Advisory Council for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (NACCAM). NACCAM is the chief advisory board for the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (NCCAM), which oversees complementary and alternative medicine on behalf of the U.S. government. The advisory panel meets three times per year to recommend prioritization and direction for CAM research. Shear is the Marion E. Kenworthy professor of psychiatry and director of the Bereavement and Grief Research and Training Program at Columbia University. Tian is director of the Academy of Acupuncture and Chinese Medicine and Wildwood Acupuncture Center in Bethesda, Maryland. Electroacupuncture for Urologic Pain A new study conducted in Seoul, Korea, shows electroacupuncture reduces pain in chronic urologic conditions, including bladder and prostate problems. The research was conducted on 39 men, who were divided into three groups. One received 12 sessions of electroacupuncture, another had 12 sessions of sham electroacupuncture, and the third received no acupuncture. All three groups received advice and exercise. In the first group, the sacral nerve was stimulated along six acupuncture points and the National Institutes of Health's Chronic Prostatitis Symptom Index was used to assess responses. The group reported a significant drop in pain over the sham and exercise-only groups, and showed a 6-point index drop compared to only two- and three-point drops in the other groups. The findings, reported in the May 2009 issue of Urology, are supported by similar conclusions by researchers in New York and Malaysia in 2007 and 2008, respectively. for outstanding case reports in the field of massage therapy. Student Case Report Winners Announced The Massage Therapy Foundation recognized five students for outstanding case reports in the field of massage therapy. Winners of the gold and silver awards are Amy Axt Hanson and John Sherwin, respectively. Both students attend the Seattle School of Massage and have been invited to present their findings at the American Massage Therapy Association national convention in September. Three other students received honorable mention. The student case award contest is designed to promote research literacy among massage professionals. The 2009 contest results are available at Massagetherapyfoundation.org. 18 massage & bodywork september/october 2009