Issue link: https://www.massageandbodyworkdigital.com/i/68016
SOMATIC RESEARCH VIEW 1. QUALITATIVE AND QUANTITATIVE RESEARCH Qualitative studies (from quality) deals with descriptive or narrative aspects of research, while quantitative studies (from quantity) deal with numbers, i.e., all the things that can be counted and measured. We can learn about these methods by evaluating various research articles. When A. Billhult and K. Dahlberg wanted to establish the idea of "meaning" of massage for cancer patients receiving treatment in a hospital, they took a qualitative approach. The researchers asked questions that focused on the experience of the study participant. Questions such as "How do you mean?" "Can you tell me more?" and instructions for the subjects to give examples led to responses about the quality of their massage care. Responses included a sense of feeling strong, empowered, and that "massage gives a meaningful relief also because it contributes to a balance between autonomy and dependence."2 By contrast, when L.H. Craig's team wanted to study the effects of neuromuscular therapy on people living with Parkinson's disease, they looked at quantitative measures to establish how much improvement the participants showed in scores for motor function. They found significant improvements in scores for tremor, Clinical Global Impression scale (CGI-Change), and finger- tapping speed, as well as a "modest improvement in quality of life."3 A mixture of methods, combining qualitative and quantitative approaches, can draw on the strengths and advantages of both while reducing the limitations of each. VIEW 2. LEVELS OF ANALYSIS In a similar manner, being able to zoom in on various levels of analysis helps us focus on an issue at its proper scope. Does it close in tightly to examine effects at subcellular scale? Does the research take a high-level view, not of individuals but of averages across an entire population? Is the focus somewhere in between, or does it require examination of multiple levels at the same time? How can you get to the level you need and use it? Below are brief examples of how research can be viewed at many different levels. For additional detail, I encourage you to read the studies cited. SUBCELLULAR Massage research at the subcellular level explores the effect of massage on the smallest components of cells. For example, F. Liu and L. Huang demonstrated that injected DNA could be delivered to the liver in mice for gene therapy to treat metabolic disease by massaging the liver after injection, a technique that is simple, repeatable, side-effect-free, and able to enhance the mice's survival.4 Further, in a separate research article, Liu's team showed that the pressure had an effect on the gene expression via the venous blood pressure; they propose that their "data suggest the mechanical massage produces transient membrane defects through which naked DNA can enter into the liver cells by simple diffusion."5 While it will be a long time, if ever, before this technique is directly applicable in the clinic, it is important fundamental and translational knowledge. It provides insight into the most basic mechanisms of how massage operates on the body. Using those basic mechanisms as building blocks, we can begin to better understand how massage works at all of the levels of analysis we are examining, and to translate that understanding from one level to another. Tissues connect with your colleagues on massageprofessionals.com 125