Proposed Idea for a Position Statement: Massage Therapy for Abdominopelvic Pain
The Assembly of Delegates participated in a round table talk about the benefits or cautions of the AMTA having a position statement on the benefits of massage for abdominopelvic pain.
Several different views were discussed with this position statement.
Some of the Pro ideas were: deliver high quality abdominopelvic massage has been shown to increase mobility and decrease pain from many different sources, making sure there is quality education in abdominopelvic massage can add to credibility of the medical effects of massage.
Some of the Con ideas were: without good regulation and education requirements the risk of client injury goes up with abdominal pelvic massage.
In the end, the Assembly voted with over a 2/3 majority for the AMTA to move forward with the development of a position statement in support of massage for Abdominopelvic Pain.
Discussion Topic: Defining Modalities
As a discussion topic, the Assembly of Delegates discussed if it would be beneficial or not to have a standardized definition of specific massage modalities, like; Swedish, Deep Tissue, Sports, and Clinical.
During the discussions there were several pros and cons discussed with the idea of defining modalities. It was also brought up that these are more techniques under the larger modality of Massage Therapy.
Where there is benefit to having some standardized definitions, it was generally stated that this conversation was premature, and that we as an Association, and Massage Therapists would be better served putting our energy toward other matters before we address specific definitions.
The information from both the vote and discussion topic has now been given to the National AMTA Board.
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Teri Josephson LMT
