Sherman Karen J, Dixon Marian W, Thompson Diana, Cherkin Daniel C
Center for Health Studies, Group Health Cooperative, Seattle, Washington 98101, USA.
BMC Complement Altern Med. 2006 Jun 23;6:24. doi: 10.1186/1472-6882-6-24.
One of the challenges in conducting research in the field of massage and bodywork is the lack of consistent terminology for describing the treatments given by massage therapists. The objective of this study was to develop a taxonomy to describe what massage therapists actually do when giving a massage to patients with musculoskeletal pain.
After conducting a review of the massage treatment literature for musculoskeletal pain, a list of candidate techniques was generated for possible inclusion in the taxonomy. This list was modified after discussions with a senior massage therapist educator and seven experienced massage therapists participating in a study of massage for neck pain.
The taxonomy was conceptualized as a three level classification system, principal goals of treatment, styles, and techniques. Four categories described the principal goal of treatment (i.e., relaxation massage, clinical massage, movement re-education and energy work). Each principal goal of treatment could be met using a number of different styles, with each style consisting of a number of specific techniques. A total of 36 distinct techniques were identified and described, many of which could be included in multiple styles.
A new classification system is presented whereby practitioners using different styles of massage can describe the techniques they employ using consistent terminology. This system could help facilitate standardized reporting of massage interventions.
在按摩与身体疗法领域开展研究面临的挑战之一是，缺乏用于描述按摩治疗师所提供治疗的统一术语。本研究的目的是开发一种分类法，以描述按摩治疗师在为肌肉骨骼疼痛患者进行按摩时实际所做的事情。
在对有关肌肉骨骼疼痛的按摩治疗文献进行综述之后，生成了一份候选技术清单，可能纳入该分类法。在与一位资深按摩治疗师教育工作者以及七位参与颈部疼痛按摩研究的经验丰富的按摩治疗师进行讨论之后，对这份清单进行了修改。
该分类法被概念化为一个三级分类系统，即治疗的主要目标、方式和技术。四类描述了治疗的主要目标（即放松按摩、临床按摩、运动再教育和能量疗法）。每个治疗主要目标都可以通过多种不同方式来实现，每种方式由多种特定技术组成。总共识别并描述了36种不同的技术，其中许多技术可包含在多种方式中。
提出了一种新的分类系统，使用不同按摩方式的从业者可以用一致的术语描述他们所采用的技术。该系统有助于促进按摩干预措施的标准化报告。
