Issue link: https://www.massageandbodyworkdigital.com/i/81195
MASSAGE & BODYWORK: How do you feel about the state of current research and where do you see it progressing? THOMAS FINDLEY (TF): Research in structural integration is really just beginning to start. Structural integration claims to work on fascia, and there is a lot more information on fascia available. Without that, you can't do much research into structural integration. So I see research progressing now that we have some ways to measure not just client outcomes—how they feel—but also some aspects of fascia and fascial structure. I see it progressing such that we can document structural changes in very detailed ways. M&B: Is it unique in that there are still physiological studies that need to be done in order to advance the study of actual practice? TF: That's not unique. Every field of medicine and practice is that way. We need the underlying physiology. Then we need ways to measure underlying physiology so we can get back into the clinic and see what we do when we treat clients. Structural integration is no different than any other practice in that way. M&B: In an interview with Massage & Bodywork ["Discovered Human Potential," October/November 2003, page 84], Thomas Myers called Rolfing "halfway an art and halfway a science." As a practitioner of Rolfing Structural Integration yourself, do you agree with that characterization? TF: That applies to not just structural integration. Treatment is halfway an art and halfway a science, and that's true across medicine, not just bodywork. I have one foot in the science and one foot in the art all the time I work with people, and I have one foot in the science and one foot in the art when I'm doing research. People forget that research is art and science also. There are too many things to research, there are too many things to observe, and the art is to figure out which ones I'm going to pick for a given project. M&B: Is there an inherent distinction between conventional medical research and research into complementary and alternative (CAM) therapies, or should they be essentially the same? TF: I don't see much of a difference. Part of the difference is, and this is true in medicine also, for some therapies it's a black box: it seems to work, we just don't know why. And that's true when you have a drug and you have an effect you didn't expect. You say, "Oh! Let's study that effect and figure out why it's doing that." It's not that much different in bodywork and other CAM therapies. We try to come up with some hypotheses for what is going on in the middle, but the reality is that you have an input and a change in the client, and you're trying to measure it. That's the same with medical practice, also. For increasing research capacity, which is the ability to participate in research projects, the very best thing I can recommend is to start writing case reports. The MTF hosts two contests every year— one for practitioners and one for students—where people can submit their case reports. Winners are invited to publish in an international journal and present their findings at a large meeting. Even if you're not interested in entering the contest, the guidelines for how to write a good case report are available at the MTF website. For people who want to go beyond this, your best option is to think about a graduate school program. Some of the people doing research in massage today have their master's or doctorate degree in psychology, public health, nursing, gerontology, and a host of other fields that Thomas Findley Thomas Findley, PhD, is a doctor of physical medicine and rehabilitation, as well as a certified advanced Rolfer who currently serves as the director for research at the Northern New Jersey Pain & Rehabilitation Center. He is also the executive director of the Ida P. Rolf Research Foundation and the Fascia Research Congress, taking place in Vancouver, British Columbia, March 28–30, 2012. His research has included studies on neurological and muscular conditions, and treatment of veterans with medically unexplained conditions. overlap with massage therapy. My hope is that one day we will also have an advanced degree program specifically for our own profession, but, for now, students need to find an associated field that can tie in.