Issue link: https://www.massageandbodyworkdigital.com/i/72343
SOMATIC RESEARCH read the research they are publishing to see if collaborative opportunities that are of interest exist near you. Once you become familiar with a body of research from an institute or university, contact the PI. Contact information for the researchers is often included in the citation. Most researchers make themselves available for answering questions and discussing study results, usually via email. Write an introductory email: comment on the body of work of the researcher, acknowledging an aspect of a recent study you find valuable (always start with positive feedback), and ask a specific question that you might have about the project. Let them know you are willing to participate in future studies, should a position become available. Provide some background on your area of expertise (what type of clients you work with, as well as your level of research literacy), and what interests you have in research. Be prepared to talk about their research and related studies. You do not have to be research capable, just research literate, to get your foot in the door. Show interest in what they are studying, and offer suggestions on how you might contribute to their work. Be willing to start out at the ground level, accepting whatever help they might need in the beginning. If there are no paid opportunities to participate in clinical trials in your area, become a part of a practice- based research network (PBRN) and contribute research data through surveys. PBRNs commonly exist in various health-care professions with the goal to involve health-care providers working together with researchers to answer community-based health-care questions and translate those research findings back into practice. MassageNet (MassageNet.org) is the first PBRN for the massage community.14 The mission of MassageNet is to develop a channel for communication between massage therapists, students, researchers, educators, administrators, and health- care policy makers. In addition to surveys, MassageNet conducts primary research and shares the latest research findings in the field to expand the body of knowledge available to the massage profession and other health specialists. You do not have to be research capable, just research literate, to get your foot in the door. Find a way to participate in generating research, whether through a PBRN, writing case reports, or participating as a paid member of a research team. Go beyond your newly found research literacy skills and play a bigger role in research, influencing the body of knowledge on massage and bodywork. 1984, Diana Thompson has created a varied and interesting career out of massage: from specializing in pre- and postsurgical lymph drainage to teaching, writing, consulting, and volunteering. Her consulting includes assisting insurance carriers on integrating massage into insurance plans and educating researchers on massage therapy theory and practice to ensure research projects and protocols are designed to match how we practice. Contact her at soapsage@comcast.net. A licensed massage practitioner since NOTES 1. North American Primary Care Research Group Committee on Building Research Capacity and the Academic Family Medicine Organization Research Subcommittee, "What Does It Mean to Build Research Capacity?" Family Medicine 34, no. 9 (October 2002): 678–84. 2. National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine, "Strategic Objective 4, Improve the Capacity of the Field to Carry Out Rigorous Research," accessed September 2011, http://nccam. nih.gov/about/plans/2011/objective4.htm. 3. Ibid. 4. Group Health website, accessed September 2011, www. ghc.org/about_gh/co-op_overview/index.jhtml. 5. Karen J. Sherman et al., "Development of a Taxonomy to Describe Massage Treatments for Musculoskeletal pain," BMC Complementary and Alternative Medicine, accessed September 2011, www.biomedcentral.com/1472-6882/6/24. 6. Daniel C. Cherkin et al., "Comparison of the Effects of 2 Types of Massage and Usual Care on Chronic Low Back Pain, an RCT," Annals of Internal Medicine 155 (July 5, 2011): 1–9. Accessed September 2011, www.annals.org/content/155/1/1.full. 7. Patti Neighmond, "Got Low Back Pain? Massage Therapy May Rub It Out," accessed September 2011, www.wbur.org/npr/137609072/got-low- back-pain-massage-therapy-may-rub-it-out. 8. "Massage Eases Low Back Pain in Randomized Controlled Trial," Science Daily July 5, 2011, accessed September 2011, www.sciencedaily. com/releases/2011/07/110704174603.htm. 9. "Working with Group Health Research Institute," accessed September 2011, www.grouphealthresearch. org/research/collaborate/collaborate-with-ghri.html. 10. "Massage Therapy Research," accessed September 2011, www.mayoclinic.org/ massage-therapy/research.html. 11. Osher Center for Integrative Medicine, "Research," accessed September 2011, www. osher.ucsf.edu/research/index.html. 12. Yale School of Medicine, Integrative Medicine at Yale, "Active Clinical Trials: Exploring Massage Benefits for Arthritis of the Knee," accessed September 2011, http://medicine.yale.edu/ integrativemedicine/research/trials.aspx. 13. Touch Research Institute, accessed September 2011, www6.miami.edu/touch-research. 14. Massage Therapy Research Network, accessed September 2011, www.massagenet.org/index.php. tune in to your practice at ABMPtv 121