Our Mission

Provide a nurturing environment for therapeutic massage-focused clinicians, students, educators, and researchers to develop and facilitate collaborative research projects and educational resources that directly impact and reflect massage practice. Collaborative efforts within MassageNet shall be attuned to the current needs of its members and other therapeutic massage stakeholders, not limited by the biases of any single governing group.

Our Vision

MassageNet will be an enduring, sustainable collaborative space for massage research that reflects real-world practice, addressing the needs of all massage therapy aspects.

What Makes Us Unique

What makes MassageNet unique is that we are a Practice-based Research Network (PBRN).  This type of network utilizes a method of research in which data is collected in clinical practice, rather than in a research environment. This method offers researchers the ability to better understand what actually happens in the field, rather than what happens in the tightly controlled research setting. We are devoted to understanding the effectiveness of client care, as well as the healthcare process that occurs within individual practices.

PBRNs have not traditionally focused on complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) practitioners, leaving a gap in the field of healthcare knowledge. We hope to fill this gap through a focus on how massage therapy contributes to the health of today’s patients.

History

MassageNet was established in 2009 with funding assistance from the Massage Therapy Foundation and support from the National University of Health Sciences in Lombard, Illinois. MassageNet was spearheaded and managed by Jerrilyn Cambron, PhD and Jennifer Dexheimer, LMT.

In 2020, the Foundation board of trustees expressed renewed interest in the network and began strategic planning for a re-launch.

Our official re-launch occurred at the International Massage Therapy Research Conference in Alexandria, Virginia, May 12-13 2022. You can sign-up to participate in the initial survey HERE.

Other Information