The great specialists in massage therapy at conferences in Montreal

1^er May 2002 – More than 400 American, Belgian, Canadian, French and Quebec researchers and therapists will meet in Montreal from May 16 to 18 to take stock of research in the field of massage and touch.

Among the headliners of this first International Congress on the science of touch¹, we note among others Dr Janet Khan, PhD, former president of the Foundation ofAmerican Massage Therapist Association, Dr Tiffany Field, director for 20 years of the Touch Research Institute from the University of Miami School of Medicine and Dr. David Eisenberg, director of the Complementary and Alternative Medicine Research and Education Program, Harvard University School of Medicine. Several pioneers in the field of touch, such as the French Dominique Leroux and Raymond Sohier as well as the Quebecers Andrée West and Michelle Guay, will be among the presenters.

Sponsored by the Canadian Center for Research on Touch (CCRT) and the Department of Kinanthropology at the University of Quebec at Montreal, the congress is one of the first events of its kind to bring together the European tradition of physiotherapy and the tradition North American, strongly influenced by the movement of human potential. “Numerous studies indicate that touch has become increasingly important and has occupied a greater place in therapy in recent years,” says Dr. Marcus Wenner, director of CCRT. He adds that “researchers are constantly finding new applications for it, whether in hospitals with premature babies, children with cancer or the general public. “

The organizers of the congress do not hide their objective to stimulate research and to recognize the therapeutic or palliative applications of the science and art of touch. Among the main topics covered, we note the relief of pain by massage and the effects of massage on orphans lacking touch, on the elderly and on children with cancer, the development of research protocols in massage therapy and the scientific evaluation of the effects and mechanisms of massage.

PasseportSanté.net intends to cover the event in a special way and in particular to report on several presentations as of May 17. It is to be continued.

Christian Lamontagne – PasseportSanté.net

1. For more information on the International Congress on the Science of Touch: Canadian Touch Research Center