February 1, 2002 – A new database relating to scientific research in massage therapy is now available free of charge on the Internet. 1 The official announcement of this birth was made at the last annual meeting of theAmerican Massage Therapy Asociation (AMTA), in Quebec.
The database currently contains 2,000 entries of documents related to the effectiveness and benefits of massage therapy and deep body work. The documentation was compiled from numerous electronic sources of medical information including Index Medicus (directory of scientific journals) and Medline (medical research database), two authoritative sources on the subject.
There are general references but also specific indications about particular techniques or subjects (for example cancer, infants, etc.). The information that appears when using it is the names of the authors of the research, the year, the title of the study, the name and references of the journal in which it appeared, and a list of keywords. To complete these data, it is expected that articles in different languages will be added.
The AMTA Foundation, responsible for the project, promises a biannual update of the database, which it hopes will be used by massage therapists as well as by care providers and those interested in the subject.
Élisabeth Mercader – PasseportSanté.net
From Alternative Therapies in Health and Medicine, January-February 2002
1. AMTA Foundation. Search the AMTA Foundation Massage Therapy Research DatabaseSM. [Consulté le 30 janvier 2002]. http://www.amtamassage.org/foundation/newsearch.htm
